Alexander Isak hobbled off for Liverpool during a physical battle which saw Tottenham reduced to nine men on Saturday, and Hugo Ekitike believes the game resembled a war
Hugo Ekitike admitted that Liverpool won the "war" against Tottenham after securing a 2-1 victory in London, as the hosts received two red cards during a vicious encounter.
Richarlison's late goal wasn't enough to inspire a miraculous comeback for Tottenham, as goals from Ekitike and Alexander Isak secured all three points for Liverpool. However, Isak hobbled off after scoring, as his knee buckled following a strong Micky van de Ven challenge.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk avoided a serious injury in the first half after Xavi Simons scraped his studs down his calf and was shown a straight red card. Tottenham ended the game with nine men, and Ekitike admitted that it wasn't a typical soccer match.
Eight yellow cards and two reds were brandished during Saturday's clash, as Tottenham lacked discipline during the defeat. Although Ekitike's goal ensured that Liverpool celebrated its third-straight win in all competitions, the Frenchman was unhappy with how events unfolded.
"It was very physical today," Ekitike said. "There were a lot of duels, but sometimes, it was bad. That wasn’t football.
"It was a bit too much, but that’s part of football. It was a great war, and we won."
The first half was relatively uneventful, with Simons' red card the main action during a scoreless 45 minutes. That all changed in the second half, as Isak scored after 56 minutes before limping off.
Ekitike then scored a looping header to double Liverpool's lead, but the game became tense when Richarlison pulled one back in the 83rd minute. Tottenham then created several opportunities despite being down to 10 men, but were soon reduced to nine as Cristian Romero received a second booking.
Liverpool held on and jumped to fifth in the Premier League table, escaping North London with three points despite losing Isak. "It was a tough game," Ekitike added. "At 2-0, they put us under difficulties, but that’s also being a good team to not concede at 2-1.
"We kept the result, and that’s a good thing. We have to keep going. It’s a long way to being confident and going through to win."
When reflecting on the chaotic 90 minutes, Ekitike said: "That’s part of football. The fans of Spurs have been unbelievable today, they pushed them really hard so it was difficult for us.
"We have our fans as well, who were great today. They pushed us and we kept the result. When they score, we saw they were pushing, and it was difficult for us.
"But I think we had control of the game if we take the total of the game, we deserved to win today."