Arne Slot saw his Liverpool side stretch their unbeaten run to six games after the Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Saturday in a fiery encounter
Liverpool continued their climb up the Premier League table with three points against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening. The 2-1 victory was forged by Liverpool's summer signings, with Alexander Isak giving the Reds the lead in the second half after a weighted ball was slid through to him by an impressive Florian Wirtz.
Fellow new recruit Jeremie Frimpong sent in a deflected cross in the second half that Hugo Ekitike met with a looping header to make it 2-0. Former Everton star Richarlison halved the deficit for Spurs late on, but Liverpool hung on for their ninth win of the season.
However, while the Reds can celebrate six games unbeaten after a dreadful run of form derailed their Premier League title challenge, the evening was marred by an injury to Isak. The game was also punctuated by a series of controversies, including two red cards for Spurs.
Isak fell awkwardly after his shot to put Arne Slot's side ahead in the tie, and limped off after receiving treatment on the pitch. Mirror Football now takes a look at the latest news from Anfield, with events at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under the microscope.
Ekitike issued challenge
French star Ekitike has been told he will need to step up in the upcoming weeks following the injury sustained by Isak in the Premier League win over Tottenham.
The 23-year-old scored his 11th goal in all competitions for Liverpool with his second-half header against Thomas Frank's side. The former Eintracht Frankfurt looks well placed to spearhead Liverpool's attack after scoring five goals in his last three Premier League matches.
Speaking on BBC's Match of the Day after the game, ex-Newcastle keeper Shay Given conceded that losing Isak for any amount of time would be a cruel blow for Liverpool, especially with Mo Salah currently on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
"It’s a big loss if Isak has gone off injured again," Given said. "He’s had a stop-start campaign so far. But, Ekitike looks the real deal, doesn’t he?
"A brilliant striker, and he’ll have to step up. Obviously, Mo Salah has left as well to go to the Africa Cup of Nations. Ekitike will have to stay fit as well because it’s a big loss if Isak is out for a number of weeks now as well."
Liverpool now have a nervous wait to establish the severity of Isak's injury, with the club fearing that the Sweden international has suffered a 'significant' problem ahead of an MRI scan on Monday.
While the duration of the striker's potential absence remains uncertain, Slot did provide a brief update after the match, acknowledging it's never a positive sign when a player cannot carry on, particularly after finding the back of the net.
He said: "We'll have to wait and see. But if a player scores and then gets injured and doesn't try to come back on the pitch, that's usually not a good thing."
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Ex-Premier League star slams Tottenham behaviour
Spurs' lack of discipline has been slammed by ex-Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. Tottenham finished the Liverpool clash with just nine men.
Xavi Simons was given a red card in the first half, following a VAR review, for a challenge on his compatriot Virgil van Dijk. Christian Romero was also given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card later on in the tie.
Richarlison also appeared to grip Ekitike around the neck after scoring and later squared up to Dominik Szoboszlai. A collision between the Brazilian and Frimpong also saw the Dutch wing-back leave the pitch with a bloodied lip.
Rodrigo Bentancur also left a heavy challenge on Milos Kerkez. Hart believes Spurs' loss of control ultimately allowed Liverpool to see out the tie, despite Frank's side finding their way back into the game late on through Richarlison's goal.
Speaking on Match of the Day, the former England goalkeeper said: “They just totally lost control, and for me this is the worst, I really don’t like this.” He added: “Bentancur’s absolutely cheap shot on Kerkez, he’s hit him really hard there, fellow professional, no need for that.”
Ekitike later had his say on the ugly affair. He said: “It was very physical today. There were a lot of duels, but sometimes, it was bad. That wasn’t football.”