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Aha, Will Unwin’s match report is with us…
…which means we’re done here. Thanks all for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t use them all. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and peace out.
“The headlines will be all about Spurs, rightly,” begins Kári Tulinius, “but this was a bad performance from Liverpool, especially in attack. I don’t think a single attacker made the right decision in the second half, they shot in bad situations, and passed the ball when the shot was on. Slot needs to calm his team down, they’re so anxious. The difference from last year is striking.”
I agree that the decision-making was poor, but I think it’s the lack of cohesion and imagination which is most damning. In the maelstrom of the moment, players will always make bad calls under pressure in, but how little clue they appear to have in possession speaks of poor preparation and low confidence.
We began the day wondering about Igor Tudor, but are we ending it wondering about Arne Slot? Yet again, Liverpool lacked energy, wit, bravery and invention which, given the players they have and being the champions they are, is inexcusable. We don’t know who drove the summer transfer work, but ignoring the needs of defence and midfield was Slot’s work, he’ll be in even more trouble than he is in any case.
ShareThe league table Photograph: GuardianShareFULL TIME: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs win their first point under Igor Tudor and a point clear of West Ham and Forest; a terrible result for Liverpool leaves them fourth, one ahead of Chelsea, two behind Villa and five off Man United.
90+6 min But a loose pass means lost momentum, Ekitike eventually swivelling inside the box to shoot … and a long barrier from Dragusin makes a vital block! Gosh, that looked like a Dr Tottenham special, but Liverpool are too ill.
90+5 min I’ve not a clue why, but before it can be taken, Tudor takes off Richarlison and brings on young James Rowswell, Liverpool clear the corner and have four on two!
90+4 min Sent away down the left, Simons is onside, just – he’s made a difference – but his pass is awry and Spurs must content themselves with a corner as we move into the last minute of injury-time.
90+3 min While we’re criticising Liverpool, we must also praise Spurs, who’ve been far more resolute than in recent months. Richarlison, in particular, has always believed, and Spurs are now seeking a winner!
90+2 min I’m afraid this is Liverpool this season, a lack of intensity, conviction and cohesion catching up with them. They don’t combine well and don’t have the talent or physicality to compensate for that.
90+1 min We’ll have one additional minute; Slot sends on Chiesa for Mac Allister.
ShareGOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Richarlison 90)
AND IT WAS COMING! A long hump from Viacario, Robertson gets caught underneath it, doesn’t challenge, and Kolo Muani wanders past him, squares, and Richarlison, who loves scoring at Anfield, uses the direction of the ball to just about sweep past Alisson while Van Dijk has a coronary. How Spurs needed that!
Richarlison scores for Spurs! Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 14.21 EDT
89 min Now he’s in his preferred position, we’ve seen much less of Archie Gray BUT EXCUSE ME WHILE I INTERRUPT MYSELF!
8 min Spurs win a free-kick near halfway so send up the big men, but the delivery is high and slow, allowing Alisosn plenty of time to come for it and punch clear then, when the visitors retrieve possession, Simons shoots low form 22 … and Alisson dives to save.
86 min Szoboszlai drives forward and shoots wide; Liverpool are nearly there.
85 min “I can’t decide:,” says Sam. “Does the fact that this is our best performance in months mitigate the ‘He’s lost five games from five”; argument? Should we stick, build on the positives and let an improving side take.on Forest? Or twist and risk losing momentum?”
I’d twist – sticking in the game here is a very different thing to taking three points at home, and the Forest game next Sunday is too big to allow a man who keeps losing and seems to have no love for the players or club.
83 min Spurs get the ball away easily enough, then Slot sends on Trey Nyoni, an 18-year-old midfielder, for Gakpo. He slots in on the left, having presumably been told to sit in and keep the 1-0.
Updated at 14.12 EDT
81 min Liverpool are slowing it down now, moving the ball taking as few risks as possible. There’s serious work to do on this team ion the centre of defence and midfield; they might need another right-winger too. Bur here’s Salah on the right, looking for a crossing lane and, in the process, winning a corner off Dragusin.
80 min So far this season, no side in the Prem has scored more goals after 80 minutes than Liverpool; only one has conceded more.
79 min It’s end to end now, Spurs working the ball out to Gray on the left; he swings in a cross, Richarlison dives, and misses his connection by a matter of inches.
78 min Salah hoists a moon-ball cross the back post where Robertson head back across … and Spurs clear. But Liverpool maintain pressure, Salah weaving across the face of the box and poking into it, Gravenberch and Ekitike combining before the latter shoots to no avail.
Mo Salah can’t get his shot away. Photograph: Phil Oldham/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 14.09 EDT
76 min “King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut,” writes Mark Turner, “such a great venue. Wasn’t there on its first night, but did hang out there in the early 90s.”
It’ll always make me think of these:
75 min And here’s Kolo Muani, on for Tel, while Olusesi, a young midfielder, replaces Spence.
74 min Spurs are doing OK at getting the ball to the edge of the box, but struggling to pick a route through from there. If I was Tudor, I’d bring on Kolo Muani for a defender, get Porro out wide, and have Simons feed balls in behind.
73 min And Liverpool counter, Mac Allister arrowing a ball out for Salah, who’s made a difference since coming on. He barges through a challenge, drags a shot, and Vicario saves with his foot, the ref missing it and awarding a goalkick.
72 min With 20 or so to go, Spurs are still in the game, Simons finding Tel down the right; his cross is cleared.
71 min …only for Robertson to cross straight to Danso.
70 min Liverpool’s defenders knock it backwards and forwards along the back four like we’re back in good old 1985 – they’ve really struggled to build momentum in matches this season, their play far too slow and considered. But they’re on the attack now, Gakpo winning it back well in midfield and finding Salah…
Updated at 14.00 EDT
68 min And here comes Richarlison, driving forward and unleashing with the outside of his right boot but, using the side rather than the toe of his foot, he doesn’t quite get his angles right, the shot far too close to the keeper, and Alisson saves easily enough.
67 min I’m not surprised Slot made the changes he did – the hiding that seemed possible, probably even, hasn’t materialised, and Spurs are starting to fancy themselves.
65 min So Gakpo moves left with Salah going right and Ekitike through the middle.
Updated at 13.53 EDT
64 min Triple change for Liverpool, Salah, Ekitike and Jones replacing Frimpong, Wirtz and Ngumoha.
On comes Mo Salah. Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersShare
Updated at 13.56 EDT
63 min Tel moves down the right, slinging over a cross that Alisson comes for and misses, but the ball flies behind.
62 min Spurs still sit off, but 1-0 down with 30 to go, they need more than the hope of a counter. Can they find a way to play more of the game in Liverpool’s half?
60 min Lovely from Ngumoha, hanging on to the ball for long enough to poke a pass between defenders for Wirtz, whose shot is blocked, but the more I see fro Liverpool’s no 73,, the more I think he’s in the process of making the left-wing slot his own.
57 min Now Liverpool win a corner and they’ll be conscious of how many times they’ve conceded late this season, so fancy another. The ball is cleared but they win a free-kick out on the right, cleared easily enough while, on the touchline, Salah and Ekitike warm up.
56 min Change for Spurs, Simons replacing Souza, and the corner is cleared to him, his shot coming off the laces only to be blocked.
55 min A long punt from Vicario puts Solanke in a ruck with Gomez; he barges through him and Richarlison is in, Van Dijk hanging off his shoulder like a ventriloquist’s dummy and doing just enough to lean on him so he falls while shooting; Alisson parrying the effort around the post. Another ref night’ve awarded a penalty there, because the challenge was physical without getting the ball; had Richarlison gone done sooner, this one might’ve had no choice.
Richarlison wants a penalty after Big Virg gets physical in the box. Photograph: Phil Oldham/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 13.50 EDT
54 min “Going through some old storage boxes while keeping an eye on the game,” bras Paul Griffin, “and discovering some nostalgia-sparking ticket stubs that I can’t bear to dispose of. I’m astonished to discover that I saw Szoboszlai Territory at Glasgow King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in 2007! Apparently they were third on the bill below Technical Area, and the headliners, 115 Charges, who seem to have disappeared without trace.”
52 min Important fro Ngumoha: he attacks his man on the outside and though his cross is cleared, the threat of a player who can go both ways, even if he has a strong preference for one of the two, making a huge difference to a … er … profile? Seconds later he’s back moving inside and shooting wide, but Porro, Spence and right-backs throughout the league can’t simply show him down the line.
51 min Frimpong frees himself down the right, whipping a square pass over to Ngumoha on the opposite side of the box. He dips inside and looks for the far top corner with his shot, but can’t get the necessary draw.
50 min Spurs win a throw deep inside the Liverpool half, Danso hurls in hard and flat … and Liverpool clear then win a free-kick.
48 min Ngumoha goes by Porro who tugs at him, lets go, and is circumnavigated as the youngster move into the box, falling when Souza comes across. There are shouts for a penalty but the contact was minor; Tudor is then booked for jawing at the lino or fourth official.
Pedro Porro is given the runaround by Rio Ngumoha. Photograph: Darren Staples/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 13.40 EDT