Liverpool survive late Tottenham scare in seven-goal thriller

PREMIER LEAGUE Liverpool survive late Tottenham scare in seven-goal thriller

Kiplagat Sang 20:45 - 30.04.2023

Spurs collapsed inside the first 15 minutes but showed resilience and almost claimed a comeback.

Liverpool were lucky to emerge with a 4-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling match at Anfield on Sunday.

The win means Liverpool have climbed above Spurs into fifth place, seven points behind Manchester United in fourth, although they have played a game more.

On the other hand, the London club Spurs is sixth and nine points outside the top four.

Meanwhile, amid roars from the stand, Liverpool got off to a perfect start and broke the deadlock in the third minute to stun Spurs early enough.

Curtis Jones scored the all-important opener, but credit should go to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who emerged from the midfield and combined well with Mohamed Salah. The right-back whipped in a ball for Jones at the back post, and while he was all alone, he struck past Ben Forster.

Three minutes later, Luis Diaz added the second for the Reds. The home side pressed Spurs high as Salah fed Cody Gakpo on the right wing, and the Dutch forward crossed into the six-yard box before passing the ball to Diaz. Diaz found his way past Christian Romero and fired past Forster.

Spurs conceded a penalty in the 15th minute when Romero brought down Gakpo. Salah – who had missed his last two penalties – took the spot kick and successfully converted it for Liverpool’s third goal.

There was a glimpse of hope for Spurs late in the second half when Harry Kane scored. Oliver Skipp played a good ball down the left for Ivan Perisic, and Liverpool looked stretched. Virgil van Dijk failed to stop the Croatian, who found Kane, who managed a shot past Alisson Becker.

The Reds survived a 44th minute close shave as Son Heung-min hit the post. But eventually the flag went up, signaling that the Spurs’ forward was offside anyway.

Son was not lucky for the second time when he was denied by the post. Kane found Romero with a brilliant pass, but the latter’s acrobatic volley bounced once, then off the far post. Had Spurs taken all their chances at that time, the score would have read differently.

Spurs scored their second goal in the 77th minute when Son finally scored. The South Korean made a run in behind and stayed onside before he took it down with one touch and placed it beyond Alisson.

Richarlison equalized for Spurs in the third minute of added time after he met a free-kick delivered by Son. His header bounced down and up over Alisson for Spurs’ third goal.

However, the Reds fought back, and Jota scored the fourth in injury time. A minute after the away side had found an equalizer, Diogo Jota slipped in and fired a low cross past Forster into the bottom right corner.

The North London club has conceded 17 Premier League goals in April, the most goals they have conceded in a calendar month in the Premier League.