Key events
24 min Robertson’s inswinging corner is held well by Vicario. He needed that after the week he’s had.
23 min Bissouma blocks Gakpo from getting in Vicario’s face. Alexander-Arnold’s excellent corner is headed behind for another by Romero…
22 min Diaz wriggles through Van de Ven’s challenge in the area before Vicario denies him with what is essentially a block tackle. Good goalkeeping, but the upshot is a corner for Liverpool.
21 min Liverpool are playing some bright football after a slow start, and for now they look far more penetrative than Spurs.
19 min The lively Diaz is crumped by Bissouma, whose next foul will probably be a yellow card.
Mo Salah has looked sharp from the first whistle and now he has put Liverpool ahead. Gakpo cut inside from the left and teased a beautiful cross to the far post. Salah ran off Emerson Royal and strained his neck muscles to force a header through the left hand of Vicario.
Vicario should have done better, seeing it again. His weight was on the wrong foot, his right, which is why Salah managed to sneak the ball past him at the near post. Even so, it was a well worked goal.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham (Salah 16)
Welcome back!
15 min Spurs keep the ball for 30 seconds or more until Johnson flashes a terrific ball right across the face of goal. Clive Allen would have gobbled that up.
14 min Salah slaps a shot against the near post, though he was well offside.
13 min “Looking forward to another regulation handsome win/untidy draw/shock home defeat for the Scousers today,” says Jeremy Boyce. “But who could blame them for any of those, given that the entire city, red and blue, will be mourning one of their mutual greats, I’m talking Bernard ‘Yosser Hughes’ Hill, a man who single-handedly made the Scouse accent and attitude a thing of beauty. I was always impressed by his mate Shake ‘Ands’; watch out for the post-match shakes.”
I’ve been trying to find the clip of him with Graeme Souness but I really need to start watching the game properly.
12 min At the other end Johnson clips a dangerous cross towards Kulusevski that is well cleared by Robertson. This game is really open, and lots of fun.
9 min: Double chance for Liverpool! The game has come alive. Sarr loses the ball in a dangerous area to Elliott, who plays in Salah. His shot from a tight angle is kicked away by Vicario, then Elliott’s follow-up is cleared off the line by Romero.
8 min: Salah hits the bar! It was a cross with the outside of the boot that swerved over Vicario and hit the face of the crossbar. Moments later, Salah looked set to score from Gakpo’s header when Van de Ven stuck out a leg to clear.
6 min Spurs have made a smooth start, passing the ball around with their usual verve and optimism. Early days and all that but they look good.
4 min “On the subject of Salah and Klopp, Alan Shearer wrote a pretty good column for The Athletic about the similarities between Salah’s benching last week and when he was sat down by Sir Bobby Robson at Villa in 2004,” says Joe Pearson. “I wouldn’t normally point your readers elsewhere, but the column is really quite insightful.”
Point away; we’re all grown-ups here, eh? EH?
3 min Alexander-Arnold fouls Son on the left wing, almost in line with the edge of the area. Porro’s free-kick is headed away and Bissouma launches a shot into orbit.
2 min Spurs are in the wide-awake club, with Porro winning an early corner after a long passing move. He takes it, Van Dijk heads clear.
1 min Spurs kick off from left to right as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Liverpool (probable 4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Endo, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz.
Substitutes: Gomez, Konate, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Jones, Gravenberch, Bajcetic, Kelleher, Bradley.
Tottenham Hotspur (possible 4-3-3) Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Emerson; Sarr, Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson.
Substitutes: Skipp, Hojbjerg, Dragusin, Richarlison, Maddison, Gil, Lo Celso, Austin, Moore.
Referee Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Jarell Quansah on Liverpool’s season
The dressing room is full of winners and people who want to win – we won [the League Cup] this year as well and from there we are in a different place to others
Ange Postecoglou chats to Sky Sports
This is the most challenging part of the season for us. You’ve gotta be up for it, because in 12 months’ time maybe there’ll be a different challenge and we’ll need to be up for that. The players understand that it’s not easy to do what we’re trying to do, but they need to be up for it.
It’s a massive test today. But what a great opportunity for us to go out and try and play some football.
[On the switch to three in midfield] We’ll need some legs today. Look it’s a short turnaround and we’ve got a couple of guys who are a little bit sore. I’m sure there’ll be some intensity and energy early in the game, and we wanted to make sure we get the balance right.
I try to step back every now and then and have a look at the broader picture. This group of players have done awfully well this year. Sometimes I think I’m too hard on them, but I do that for a reason.
“Why are Spurs so bad at buying players for £40-60m that aren’t worth half that?” wonders Andrew Hurley.
I was going to make a levy joke, but those pesky proper nouns and their need for capitalisation mean it’ll never work.
“In-form Chelsea?” sniffs Phil Grey. “Don’t you mean inconsistent Chelsea, Rob? They’ve won one away game in 2024, very recently got thumped by Arsenal and failed to beat Burnley and Sheffield United. They’ve only crept up the table because Man United, Wolves, Brighton and Fulham have suffered dips in form while Chelsea have remained their usual inconsistent selves.”
Well, they’re in the top four of the form table, which in some cultures constitutes being in form.
Jurgen Klopp chats to Sky Sports
[Can you enjoy the last few games now the pressure is off?] Yeah, I can. It’s more difficult for the boys – we can just stand here and think, ‘What are we playing for really?’ I know you need a reason or a spark to give your all. We’ve tried to do that. We’ve had a good week – we trained intensely, how we should, and prepared the boys.
Tottenham are a tricky opponent with a specific way of playing. You cannot just play against them – “let’s have a look” – or they will go through you and cause you massive problems.
I’m in a good mood, this is my penultimate home game and I’m looking forward to it.
[On Mo Salah’s return] He had a really good training week. That’s what we all want and what he wants, so there was absolutely no doubt he would start today.
Full time: Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa
It’s always a triumph when an MBM preamble is out of date before the match has kicked off. Spurs might be back in the Champions League race after Aston Villa lost 1-0 at Brighton. It means Spurs are seven points behind Villa with two games in hand. One of them is against Manchester City, so they probably need to win today to have a realistic chance of finishing fourth.
No mas
Premier League latest
In-form Chelsea are battering West Ham in their 2pm game. The match between Brighton and Aston Villa is goalless. But it might not be for long: a penalty has just been awarded. Clickity click click click.
Spurs won the return fixture 2-1 back in September, though that game will always be remembered for the goal that wasn’t.
Team news: Salah starts, Richarlison dropped
Mo Salah replaces Ryan Gravenberch, the only change from Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Ham. That means Harvey Elliott will move back into midfield.
Ange Postecoglou also makes one change: Rodrigo Bentancur comes in for Richarlison, which probably means Son Heung-min will play up front.
Preamble
Misery loves company, so it’s only right that Liverpool and Tottenham should meet today. After seven months of optimism, even euphoria at times, their seasons have turned to dust. Liverpool are out of the title race after dropping 10 points in the last five games; Spurs are out of the Champions League race after haemorrhaging 11 points in the same period. If they’re not careful they could miss out on the Europa League as well.
Liverpool will be keen to put on a show in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game at Anfield. Stricly speaking they need a win to stay in the title race, though reality has already bitten on that score. In the grand scheme, finishing third and winning a trophy – especially in such a feelgood manner – represents a good season for a team who were in transition even before Klopp announced his departure.
Spurs have had a fine season too: they’ve rediscovered their identity, found a long-term manager and doubled down on the tactical tweak du jour. Like Liverpool, they’ve been badly hit by injuries. And like Liverpool, they probably aren’t in the mood to celebrate the 2023-24 season just yet.
Kick off 4.30pm.
