Liverpool just about did enough to earn three successive wins in all competitions with a 2-1 Premier League victory at nine-man Tottenham on Saturday, as a late Spurs fightback agonisingly fell short.
Arne Slot’s men looked to be cruising when finding themselves two goals up and with one-man advantage just after the hour, Spurs having had Xavi Simons sent off in the first half.
But a Richarlison strike in the 83rd minute put the Reds’ position in doubt as Spurs piled the pressure on towards the end.
Cristian Romero was then sent off as well in second-half stoppage time, and Liverpool got themselves over the line despite their seemingly alarming inability to kill off the game.
Nevertheless, victory for Liverpool lifted them – at least temporarily – to fifth place in the Premier League, trailing Chelsea only on goal difference, while Tottenham dropped yet more points on their own patch.
An otherwise desperate first half briefly came to life in the 33rd minute when Simons clumsily raked his studs down the back of Virgil van Dijk’s calf, earning him a straight red card following a VAR review.
It was a curious moment in that it was the first time a Dutch player had been sent of for a foul on a compatriot in the Premier League since April 2001 (Willem Korsten on Mario Melchiot) – but that was about as interesting as the first half got.
Mercifully, the second half brought significantly more intrigue.
Alexander Isak – brought on at half-time – got his second Premier League goal of the season to open the scoring in the 56th minute, clipping a left-footed finish beyond Guglielmo Vicario after being released by Florian Wirtz.
It was a big moment for both players, with Isak largely struggling for form in front of goal since joining the Reds, and Wirtz getting his first Premier League goal involvement.
However, in scoring, Isak was caught by Micky van de Ven and the centre-forward had to be replaced, making him only the second player to be subbed on, score and then be subbed off in a Premier League game this season.
Not that it prevented Liverpool extending their lead.
Hugo Ekitiké scored his eighth non-penalty goal of the 2025-26 Premier League campaign – a total bettered only by Erling Haaland (18) – with a brilliant header from Jeremie Frimpong’s deflected cross, outmuscling (shoving?) Romero in the process of finding the top-right corner.
Tottenham did pull one back to force a tense finish – Richarlison providing the finish just two minutes and 17 seconds after coming on following a goalmouth scramble in which Van Dijk crucially missed a clearance.
But a moment of madness saw Romero kick out at Ibrahima Konaté when Spurs were pressing for an equaliser, the Argentine subsequently shown his third Premier League red card, a total only Younes Kaboul (4) has surpassed for the club.
Spurs continued to scrap and their fightback attempts might be considered somewhat brave, but Liverpool just about got the job done.
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