Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE: Premier League final score and result as Reds hold on for victory
Spurs 1-2 Liverpool: Mo Salah’s double was enough for the Reds despite Harry Kane pulling one back
Mohamed Salah cleverly fashioned one goal and was gifted another as Liverpool claimed a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Salah opened the scoring after 11 minutes when he expertly controlled a pass from Darwin Nunez inside the area, turned and fired a low shot into the corner with his left foot. His second goal five minutes before half-time was a gift from Eric Dier who miscued a header from a kick downfield by Alisson and the Egyptian ran clear and dinked the ball past Hugo Lloris.
The hosts had their moments with Ivan Perisic hitting the woodwork in each half and they could have had a penalty when Ryan Sessegnon was bundled over by Trent Alexander-Arnold. After the break, Spurs raised their game, boosted by Dejan Kulusevski returning from injury off the bench. He had an almost instant impact as he fed Harry Kane who scored in the 70th minute
But Liverpool weathered the storm to claim the win and end a run of two Premier League defeats, leaving them eighth on 19 points after 13 games. Spurs slipped to fourth on 26 from 14.
Relive the action as Liverpool downed Spurs in the Premier League:
Conte vs Klopp
Four of the six managerial meetings between Antonio Conte and Jurgen Klopp in the Premier League have ended in draws, with one victory apiece.
Jurgen Klopp knows importance of Liverpool’s ‘massive game’ at Tottenham
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits Sunday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur represents a “massive” game for his frustratingly inconsistent side.
The Reds have accrued almost as many points from six Champions League matches (15) as they have from a dozen games in the Premier League (16).
In midweek they enjoyed a morale-boosting 2-0 win over previously-unbeaten Napoli, arguably Europe’s form side, to add to two victories they have enjoyed over Manchester City in the league and FA Community Shield this season.
But, domestically, they have lost their last two games to Nottingham Forest and Leeds, who were both in the bottom two at the time, and points-wise Liverpool are closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
Jurgen Klopp knows importance of Liverpool’s ‘massive game’ at Tottenham
The Reds are already 10 points behind their weekend opponents in the Premier League
A shocking start for Liverpool
Liverpool have dropped 20 points in 12 league matches this season with four wins, four draws and four defeats. That’s just two shy of their final total last season.
The Reds have also recorded more victories in this season’s Champions League - five - than they have in the Premier League.
Comeback kings?
Tottenham have failed to score in the first half of any of their last six matches in all competitions, and have trailed after 45 minutes in each of their previous four games.
But, Spurs have won 10 points from losing positions this term, more than any other top-flight side prior to the latest round of fixtures.
Jurgen Klopp laments ‘disaster’ of injuries in final club games before World Cup
Jurgen Klopp believes it is a “disaster” for the players who will miss the World Cup because they get injured in club games in the weeks immediately before a winter tournament is crowbarred into the schedule.
A host of leading footballers have been ruled out of the competition in Qatar or are doubts for it after being hurt in recent fixtures, including Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Heung-Min Son and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Normally players would have had a longer time to recover between their final club matches and the World Cup, and Klopp believes the current spate of injuries were predictable because of the “crazy” way the calendar has been organised.
Jurgen Klopp laments ‘disaster’ of injuries in final club games before World Cup
‘Clear problems’ with the fixture schedule have led Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, and numerous others, to sustain injuries before the Qatar tournament
Tottenham vs Liverpool team changes
Antonio Conte makes just two changes to the Tottenham team that lined-up against Marseille during the week. Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura are both injured so they’re replaced in the starting XI by Yves Bissouma and Emerson Royal.
Jurgen Klopp meanwhile makes three changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Napoli in the Champions League. Andy Robertson, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott all return with Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones and James Milner dropping out.
Tottenham vs Liverpool line-ups
Tottenham XI: Lloris; Royal, Dier, Lenglet, Davies, Sessegnon; Bissouma, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kane
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Elliott; Salah, Firmino, Nunez
Klopp on Nunez
Darwin Nunez has slowly been growing into his role at the top of Liverpool’s forward line and has scored in two of the Reds last three outings across all competitions.
Jurgen Klopp was asked about Nunez’s uptick in form and he replied: “Big steps and still space for improvement because the boy is an incredible package.
“You could see immediately he is a real threat in the finishing area, involved in a lot of things. That’s why you then realise, the few big chances he missed, imagine he would have scored from them as well.
“He is involved in pretty much everything. He is always an option to pass to, to cross the ball to, these kind of things. He came on [against Napoli] and didn’t play extremely long but was involved in both goals, which is good. So, big steps, absolutely.”
Conte on his year at Spurs
Antonio Conte was appointed Tottenham Hotspur manager just over a year ago and was asked to reflect on his first 12 months in charge of the north London side at a recent press conference.
“There have been lots of positives.” he said, “We’ve improved a lot, in many things. Now, there is a clear vision, a path to follow.
“In one year, with the club all together, I think we made not so many mistakes, maybe it’s better to say it this way, not be presumptuous.
“We still need time and patience, it’s not easy to win in England. I’m really proud of the work we did together. I feel to stay in a family, and I’m starting to feel the people who work here, their sense of belonging for the Club, and this is very important.”
Tottenham vs Liverpool
Tottenham’s 4-1 win against Liverpool at Wembley on 22nd October 2017 is their only victory in the last 21 meetings in all competitions.
Liverpool have won five of their past nine league away fixtures versus Spurs, losing just once and matches between these sides have produced 10 Premier League own goals, more than any other fixture.
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