With the stakes raised even higher and the team needing to stop the rot from six consecutive Premier League defeats, Tottenham entered a place where they rarely earn anything…Anfield. But the side stayed resilient, and on the back of Richarlison’s hatred of Liverpool, the club got a well-deserved point in the dying minutes of the match for a 1-1 draw.
Skeptical about the match given all that has occurred at Tottenham, whether it’s the defeats in the league, a 5-2 embarrassment in the Champions League
opening leg against Atletico Madrid, or the fact that 12 players are out again due to suspensions or injuries, the doubt coming into Anfield was high.
Playing a 3-5-3/4-4-2 setup with Djed Spence on the left and Souza on the right, Spurs had to fight off the early pressure from Liverpool as the home side forced Vicario and Dragusin to play balls deep to the front three instead of trying to play passing moves and move the ball up the pitch.
The match remained goalless through the first 17 minutes. The roar from the away end echoed the passion they brought to energize the team. Liverpool then won a soft foul in a dangerous free-kick area for Dominik Szoboszlai. Szoboszlai entered the match with three direct free kicks, and Spurs had allowed 11 goals from outside the box, a league high. The Hungarian hit his free kick to a relatively easy spot for Vicario to punch away. However, a poor first step and a hop to his right meant the Italian keeper barely got his hand on the ball. The ball ended up in the net, and Spurs were down 1-0.
Seeing the replay and knowing Vicario should have saved it, the players’ faces around the box showed frustration as it was another display of the team falling down early and needing to scrape it back to even have a chance.
Down 1-0 and barely having anything in the attacking half of the pitch, outside of Souza’s knuckle rip outside the box, Richarlison put the team on his back the rest of the match. Having chance after chance in the first half and the best being right before the half off a corner delivery from Mathys Tel, Richarlison’s down header had Alisson Becker reacting late to parry the shot away.
After an hour into the match, the game opened up with Liverpool sending on its big-time players and Spurs having the likes of Xavi Simons. Xavi joined the match quickly off a corner kick from the side, as his first touch was a volley attempt and his second touch a blocked shot.
Mentioning how close Richarlison was in the first half to leveling the match, the second half had him even closer as a leaping header from an insuring cross from Archie Gray narrowly missed his head. But, it was off a break where the Brazilian had his best chance. Getting the loose ball just outside the box and having Virgil van Dijk on his back, pulling his shoulder slightly, Richarlison took an off-balance shot that forced a save and had the striker appealing for a penalty that possibly could have been given if he had never gotten the shot off.
Either way, Spurs were close and deserving of a goal, and the side had to fight through the attacking storms Liverpool brought forth as Salah, Ekitike, Gakpo, and others all had chances to bury the game for good.
With the match still 1-0 and close to entering extra time, Spurs got the goal they rightfully deserved.
The emotions on the face of the Brazilian and the rest of side showed that they are ready to drag this club out of the relegation zone and into safety before the end of the season.
Nicking that point at the end to sit at 30 now, Spurs have a true six-pointer on the line next weekend when the side hosts Nottingham Forest. Before that match, Spurs will host Atletico Madrid for the second leg of the Round of 16 Champions League match (down 5-2 on aggregate).
