A spirited fightback fell just short as we suffered a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday evening, finishing the game with nine men in a dramatic and chaotic ending at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Having been reduced to 10 men in the first period following a straight red card shown to Xavi Simons for a challenge on Dutch international team-mate Virgil van Dijk, we conceded twice in 10 second-half minutes to Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike as the visitors made the most of their numerical advantage.
But we pulled one back through substitute Richarlison, his fifth career goal against Liverpool, and had the visitors on the ropes for the final stages, only to suffer another dismissal when Cristian Romero was sent off for a second yellow and we couldn’t find that equaliser in the closing minutes.
On a chilly evening in north London, five minutes had gone when the first effort at goal came, Randal Kolo Muani latching onto a bobbling ball 10 yards out only to see his effort blocked by Conor Bradley. The visitors had their first chance on 13 minutes, Dominik Szoboszlai lofting a free-kick in from the left which van Dijk headed straight at Guglielmo Vicario. The early stages lacked the intensity and tempo usually found in this fixture and it wasn’t until the 27th minute before the next major opportunity, as Djed Spence headed Pedro Porro’s cross back into the danger zone where Kolo Muani was waiting but his header was comfortable for Alisson in the Liverpool goal.
A big moment of controversy arrived moments later, when Xavi went to close down van Dijk as he was heading back towards his own goal and caught the Liverpool defender on the back of his calf. Referee John Brooks brandished the yellow card before VAR intervened, with Brooks upgrading the decision to a straight red card after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
That obviously left us down to 10 men but it also changed the atmosphere in the stadium as the noise cranked up in support of the team. Liverpool naturally started seeing more of the ball and Vicario did well to tip away a Florian Wirtz effort on 37 minutes, although we did have a couple of swift counters before the interval, the best of which ending with neither Kolo Muani nor Spence able to get on the end of Pedro Porro’s cross.
The visitors brought on Isak at half-time and the pattern of the game was set, Liverpool dominating possession as we dropped back with a low block to try to keep them out, hitting them on the break whenever we could. It worked for the first 10 minutes of the second half until Romero’s intended pass to Kolo Muani was cut out and Liverpool struck, Ekitike and Wirtz setting up Isak who slammed past Vicario with 56 minutes gone. It was the briefest of cameos for the Liverpool forward as he was injured taking his shot under pressure from Micky van de Ven and was substituted.
Despite the setback we kept plugging away and hit the woodwork when Kolo Muani showed good pace on the attack and hit a shot which flicked off Milos Kerkez and looped up over Alisson onto the crossbar. That misery was further compounded by Liverpool’s second, Ekitike heading home Jeremie Frimpong’s cross to leave us with a mountain to climb.
Our heads didn’t drop though and we pulled one back with eight minutes remaining. It was a right old scramble, Brennan Johnson with a shot blocked, Joao Palhinha knocking the rebound into the middle, van Dijk missing his clearance and Richarlison was on hand to roll the ball into the bottom corner. That goal changed the whole complexion of the game. Players and fans were up for the battle, Liverpool suddenly were hanging on and when Johnson slipped the ball in behind for Richarlison, it looked like the equaliser might come, but Ibrahima Konate got back to block.
We were throwing everything at the visitors only to be dealt another blow when Romero was given a second yellow card for his reaction towards Konate when they were both on the ground. That was in the third minute of nine added on, but still we kept going, Porro hitting a 30-yard free-kick which Alisson did well to gather low down. Even with nine men, we put Liverpool under pressure but Alisson was there to push away a dangerous cross from Wilson Odobert. In the end we couldn’t find the elusive second and suffered yet another home defeat, but we came so close to pulling off an incredible comeback.