REDS BLOW
Liverpool 1 Spurs 1: Diaz strike not enough as Reds drop points to hand Man City huge Premier League title boost
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TOP of the league but no longer on top of the world.
Was this the night Liverpool’s Quadruple dream died?
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A point, gained thanks to Luis Diaz’s deflected equaliser, was enough to take Jurgen Klopp’s men ahead of Manchester City on goal difference.
But the Premier League title looks like it is staying at the Etihad, barring a repeat over City’s final four games of the kind of choke they had in Madrid.
Diaz will have learned when he left the field that former club Porto had secured him one title winner's medal.
It will be a massive surprise if he claims a second.
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In the 58th game of what will be a 63-match season, the Reds ran out of luck and inspiration against a resolute Spurs side.
For all their possession, for all their energy, especially in the first half, Liverpool simply could not create the chances or score the goals they needed to beat a resolute Tottenham team.
If they are to add to the Carabao Cup already secured, they will have to win one or both of their knockout showpieces, starting with next Saturday’s FA Cup Final against Chelsea.
The Reds’ Premier League destiny is now out of their hands.
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And the same is true of Tottenham and their quest to qualify for the Champions League, despite an impressive performance.
If they had held on to the lead given to them by Son’s well-worked goal, they would have gone into Thursday’s North London derby with control of their top-four ambitions, regardless of Arsenal’s result against Leeds on Sunday.
Now both Antonio Conte’s side and the Reds are left hoping that their closest rivals will slip up. And we all know which of City and the Gunners are likely to do so.
Both managers picked their strongest possible starting XIs for this crucial game and there was a real crackle in the air.
It is absolutely right to be upset about the inconvenience for London-based fans of kicking off at 7.45pm on a Saturday night.
But there was no denying that the scheduling made it feel like a knockout tie in European competition.
Liverpool’s midweek progress to a third Champions League final in five years seemed to have turned everything up to 11 at Anfield.
Not only were the songs just a few decibels louder.
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The home side’s press in the opening stages was somehow more intense than ever, remarkable in itself but all the more so in the 58th match of what will now be a 63-game season.
Sadio Mane had a couple of sights of goal in the opening minutes as the pattern of the first half was set.
Liverpool attacked in wave after wave, retaining or regaining the ball like a rugby team keeping it alive through multiple phases of play. Spurs did their best to stand firm, defending in a 5-4-1 and kicking for territory when they could.
It took 15 minutes for Spurs to have any calm possession, and even then it didn’t last long, with the home side enjoying 90 per cent of the ball for a spell.
Yet when the visitors did manage to break out, there were hints of danger.
Jordan Henderson made an excellent challenge on Harry Kane in between two occasions on which Trent Alexander-Arnold showed the haters he can actually defend rather well, thank you very much.
For all their domination, Klopp’s men did not create a really good chance from open play. The closest they came in that regard was when Ryan Sessegnon’s wayward header would have fallen for Mo Salah if Hugo Lloris had not intervened.
Virgil van Dijk did have two opportunities to underline Liverpool’s status as the set-piece kings. But he sent one header wide from an Andy Robertston corner, and another against the bar from an Alexander-Arnold delivery.
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The main action of the opening 45 minutes ended with dangerous long-range efforts at both ends. Lloris kept out Luis Diaz’s shot well, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg beat Alisson but not the Brazilian’s right-hand post with his.
The biggest 45 minutes of Liverpool’s season since Tuesday beckoned.
They started it camped once again in their opponents’ half but were still unable to fashion a clear opportunity.
And then Tottenham hit them with a sucker punch.
Lloris’ fine long clearance found Emerson Royal, whose pass was allowed to drop to Kane well with a long clearance.
The England captain made his first significant contribution of the game by finding Ryan Sessegnon, who squared for Son to supply the routine finish.
With a precious lead to defend, Tottenham’s defending hit new heights.
Somehow they continued to deny the Premier League’s top scorers a clear-cut opening.
When Liverpool took aim from range, Ben Davies in particular put his body on the line, blocking fierce efforts from Diaz and Salah.
But such steadfastness did not earn Tottenham much good fortune. The equaliser came when Diaz’s shot took a heavy deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur and completely wrongfooted Lloris.
Having failed to become only the second team to stop Liverpool scoring in the league, Spurs now had to avoid becoming part of another statistic.
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The Reds had scored a competition-leading 20 goals after the 75-minute mark.
But try as they might they could not find one, even with five minutes of added time.
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