Tottenham vs Liverpool: Two red cards, last-minute own goal and Maddison magic condemn Reds to defeat

Tottenham vs Liverpool: Two red cards, last-minute own goal and Maddison magic condemn Reds to defeat

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 19:44 - 30.09.2023

Liverpool had two men sent off and despite a valiant effort, were unable to survive the Tottenham onslaught, losing 2-1 in the end.

Joel Matip was the villain, scoring an own-goal in the last minute to condemn Liverpool to defeat against Spurs.

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How it happened

Liverpool started brightly and created a superb opening almost immediately, but Cody Gakpo and Andy Robertson had their efforts repelled by Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The evening suddenly turned sour for Liverpool as Curtis Jones picked up a yellow card for a nasty challenge on Yves Bissouma, the yellow was then upgraded to a red card after referee Simon Hooper consulted the pitchside monitor.

The home side finally took the lead and it was well deserved too.  James Maddison played an inch-perfect ball for Richarlison to latch onto and the Brazilian unselfishly squared the ball for Heung-min Son to tap home.

Liverpool continued to probe in the face of adversity and found a surprise equaliser before the break, when Virgil van Dijk kept a free-kick alive at the far post and his knockdown was smashed home by Gakpo.

Despite their admirable defending following Diogo Jota's sending-off, the Reds' efforts were undone by Matip, who put the ball through his own goal in the final moments. 

A sweet victory and a new dawn for Spurs, who remain unbeaten after 7 games.