Liverpool capitalized on their three-goal lead over Tottenham at Anfield, with a wild second half leading to a 4-3 victory.

Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham

Premier League (33), Anfield

April 30, 2023

Goals

Jones 3′ (Assist – Alexander Arnold)

Diaz 5′ (Assist – Gakpo)

Salah Pen 15′ (Assist – Gakpo)

40′ rod

son 77′

Richarlison 90+2′

iota 90+4′

Before Anfield kicked off, there was uncertainty over whether Spurs, who crumbled at Newcastle, or Spurs, who struggled at Man United, would emerge.

Within five minutes it was clear it was the first when Curtis Jones hit a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz scored to make it 2-0 on his first start since October.

Liverpool were unstoppable from the start and with Cody Gakpo leading the pack, Cristian Romero gave the referee no choice but to award a penalty as he mowed down the Dutchman on the ground, allowing Mo Salah to stand up on his 300th appearance and convert.

Tottenham were terrible overall, but there was a chance for Heung-min Son after Andy Robertson’s sloppy throw-in late in the half, only to be cleared off the line by Virgil van Dijk. However, Van Dijk slipped short of Spurs’ goal to make it 3-1, but Ivan Perisic volleyed in a cross for Harry Kane.

HT: Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham

After the break, the break started much closer, with Son and Romero both hitting the post within minutes, a clear warning for Liverpool.

A drive by Pedro Porro forced Alisson into a fingertip save as the Reds solicited more pressure than they should from a shaky defensive performance.

Jurgen Klopp addressed his bench on the hour, with Diaz retired in a likely pre-scheduled change as Diogo Jota took over for him, while a shaky Harvey Elliott was traded for Jordan Henderson.

Then there was a second for Spurs, this time for Son, who broke the offside trap when Robertson saw him off to finish superbly to make it 3-2. Liverpool were getting nervous and a long layoff after Jota’s high boot against Oliver Skipp caused away fans to go nuts only to increase the pressure from Klopp’s side.

Then there was Richarlison, the former Everton striker, with the equalizer in stoppage time – only to be leveled seconds later by a Jota winner.

Richarlison barely had time to put his shirt back on when Anfield broke out and Klopp pulled his hamstring in wild celebrations as Liverpool slipped to fifth.

TIA Man of the Match: Curtis Jones

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexandre-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Elliott (Henderson 63′), Jones (Milner 86′); Salah, Diaz (Iota 63′), Gakpo (Nunez 73′)

Unused Subs: Kelleher, Gomez, Matip, Tsimikas, Carvalho

Tottenham: forester; Romero, Dier, Davies; Porro (Lucas 90′), Hojbjerg, Skipp (Richarlison 84′), Perisic (Danjuma 90′); Kulusevski (Sarr 66′), son, Kane

Unused Subs: Austin, Sanchez, Tanganga, Lenglet, Devine

Next game: Fulham (M) – Premier League – Wednesday 3rd May 8pm (BST)

Also..

Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham: Liverpool players performance ratings 

This frankly silly season took an incredible turn for the bizarre on Sunday as Liverpool took a three-goal lead to win 4-3 late against Tottenham.

Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham

Premier League (33), Anfield
April 30, 2023

Goals: Jones 3′, Diaz 5′, Salah pen 15′, Jota 90+4′; Kane 40′, Son 77′, Richarlison 90+2′

Alisson – 6 (out of 10)

Quiet on the ball under pressure but was left oddly exposed by his defense given we went three so fast.

Was beaten six times: Kane scored, Spurs hit the post three times, Son scored, Richarlison thought he took a point.

Couldn’t do anything against any of them, so no huge blame, and he was strong in the air when needed – but the amount he had to make is a real concern.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8

If earlier in the season he was one of the worst in the team, now he is arguably the best on the ball. He seems confident again, passing the ball where he wants and with much more freedom to break through centrally with speed.

Great ball in front of Jones and too early openings for Gakpo.
Another goal had been scored against Liverpool from his wing, but this isn’t really Trent’s problem, more one that Klopp has to solve tactically: who covers when? Why is it a reactive, rotating cast filling that space?

Ibrahim Konaat – 5

Very aggressive with challenges from him higher up than usual, I like to get into midfield to do that and follow Kane very deep. He also did well shooting wider at right-back when he needed it in the first half, but seemed to go out on runners in central defense several times.

Lucky when Son passed him once and hit the post; he wasn’t so lucky the second time the South Korean scored.

Shortly after we made a nice tackle in the penalty area, but it was too jagged and we didn’t have a back line.

Virgil Van Dyke – 6

An early slide saw Perisic slip past him too easily for Spurs’ first-half goal, but earlier he had made a brilliant block on the line to prevent them from scoring.

As was Konate, who was too easily caught out of position, leaving easy forward runs for the Spurs forwards and was never able to get behind them again. Andy

Robertson-5

A great start with his winning overlaps and tackles, but also some very loose moments – finding himself useless and losing to Kane for his goal, then almost immediately losing another when Kulusevski stole it.
Slightly better defensively after the break but couldn’t stop a string of crosses from his side.

Fabinho – 7

He looked in fine form as he kept the Reds’ game running smoothly, collecting the ball in typical midfield fashion and showing at least two of his wide-eyed faces “It’s a terrible decision, arbitrator”.

Completely avoided in the second half with Spurs fighting as they went straight into the line of scrimmage from deep but made some big late clearances.
Harvey Elliot – 6

A first real involvement for Elliott in a while, and perhaps it showed a little in terms of his early involvement. He worked hard and got into the game more and more as the game went on but as expected didn’t exactly fare well in terms of defensive work behind Trent.

Curtis Jones-7

He has been in such good shape lately and fully deserves his run in the team. Nice ending to open the score in advance.

He’s work-rate again and that’s why he wins a place in the squad at the end of the campaign – the mix of industry and ingenuity, now with a goal and an assist in his last few games.

Mohammed Salah – 7

He put those penalty problems behind him to hook one onto the roof of the net and was a real threat in most of the Reds’ constructive play. It did not always ignore the right decision to be completely sincere, with a series of idiosyncratic passages at the end of its dribbling or no final product, but it is such an outlet and constant threat that she loved Perisic in depth for long pieces.
An excellent monitoring, also, running the hips out and forth.

Luis Diaz – 8

A first start since he returned from an injury and that I start. Goal of goals brilliantly taken on the fly shot and part of those DriBBels Infield brands that caused damage.

Having its energy and aggression alone is really great for the team with more physical fitness and matches will come more than that third of the world class. Cody Gakpo – 8 – Man of the Match

After a very spirited start, he put one in the first 15 minutes and was awarded a penalty for another. Showed great movement and first touch despite Spurs allowing him acres at all times and really took advantage of it.

Definitely deserves credit today for some good comebacks and ball wins, header challenges and restarting play as Spurs tore off the defense.

Substitute

Jordan Henderson (for Elliott, 62′) – 4 – Dismal. Lost the ball too easily and certainly didn’t win it back. Diogo Jota (in place of Diaz, 62′) – 7 – A little lucky not to have received a red card for kicking Skipp in the head – then buried a superb stoppage time winner for his fifth goal in four appearances.
Darwin Nunez (for Gakpo, 73′) – 5 – Lively, but we were poor when he arrived.

James Milner (for Jones, 86′) – n/a – I’ve been booked. Not sure there’s much else.
Unused submarines: Kelleher, Gomez, Matip, Tsimikas, Carvalho

Jürgen Klopp – 6

Well, this strange match probably shows a few things: we have a good squad and offensively they are set up to help them.

But defensively this system still has holes and everything underlines broadly that signings in midfield are crucial this summer, not only for options, but also for tactical balance.

Clearly there are many things Liverpool do well in training. Building play looks better, home form and confidence when the ball starts rolling is good.

But it can’t simply be a matter of waiting until the summer to fill some glaring gaps in the centre, and now chasing Trent as he comes onto the pitch. Another concern would be that the substitutions have once again made the team look significantly worse, with Darwin, Jota and Henderson doing little to retain possession, keep the ball calm or ease the pressure with defensive acumen.

All in all, from the fantastic first 15 minutes this match was a real grind and the total lack of control proved almost costly.

At least it did for Klopp: he pulled his hamstring in celebration by shouting at the fourth official!

Player Rating Definitions: 10 = Flawless | 9 = Excellent | 8 = Very good | 7 = Good | 6 = Average | 5 = Below Par | 4 = Bad | 3 = Very bad | 2 Terrible | 1 = Absolutely not