Liverpool left it until the 94th minute to snatch all three points away from Tottenham Hotspur in what was one of the games of the season in this Premier League campaign.
Liverpool start was electric, with goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah putting the home side 3-0 up inside the opening 15 minutes.
Tottenham worked their way back into the game, and goals from Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and a first of the season for former Everton star Richarlison levelled the tie, before Diogo Jota scored the winner only a minute later, to send Anfield into raptures.
Here is the VAVEL player ratings for the contest:
LIVERPOOL
Alisson 7/10
Despite conceding two, Liverpool have their goalkeeper to thank once again this season for points on the board. A number of crucial saves, mainly against Kulusevski and Porro spared the Merseyside outfits blushes.
Trent Alexander-Arnold 7/10
Started the game like a house on fire, fantastic assist for Jones’ opener, and played the pass into Gakpo which led to the penalty. But when Liverpool downed tools, he couldn’t get into the game and Liverpools attack struggled.
Ibrahima Konate 5/10
An uncharacteristically rash performance from the French man. Had a couple of good defensive moments, such as his fantastic tackle on Skipp, but his overeagerness to close down Son and Kane high up often hurt Liverpool more than it helped.
Virgil Van Dijk 4/10
Good range of passing from the Dutch international, but defensively was a shambles, at fault for both goals, with Perisic putting him in the floor for the first goal, and playing Heung Min Son onside for the second Spurs goal. A game where they needed Van Dijk’s typical calm and assured nature, they got a performance that inspired fear throughout the squad.
Andrew Robertson 3/10
A contender for one of the worst performances of the Scotsman’s Liverpool career, really inconsistent in the final third and the player targeted by Spurs on the majority of attacks. Really needs to figure himself out in this centre back role otherwise his long term future at the club might not be secure with a major transfer window looming.
Fabinho 6/10
A pretty average Fabinho performance, didn’t do too much wrong but didn’t light the world alight, overshadowed by the players around him in midfield.
Harvey Elliott 5/10
First 15 minutes, really enjoyed the positions he was taking up and the interplay he had with both Salah and Alexander-Arnold. After the first 15 minutes the game passed him by.
Curtis Jones 7/10
A first goal for Liverpool since Brentford away last season and another really solid performance from the scouser, who seems to be one of the players really benefitting from the new system. His ball retention and dribbling capabilities are shining in this Liverpool team this season considering they’ve lacked a player of that profile all season.
Mohamed Salah 7/10
Finally broke his penalty hoodoo in the Premier League this season with a well taken penalty down the middle, and was the most dangerous Liverpool attacker in the second half. The Egyptian was wasteful at points in the second half and cost the reds a couple of solid counter attacks.
Cody Gakpo 7/10
Really shining in this false nine role in the Liverpool side, created Luis Diaz’s goal and won the penalty which Salah duly converted. His hold-up play and link-up play is fantastic, and with each passing game he’s looking more and more like the heir to Roberto Firmino’s throne.
Luis Diaz 6/10
The Colombian got his first goal for the reds since September and it was a really fantastic finish. Beyond the goal though, Diaz didn’t really have the impact he would’ve hoped to have had, mainly due to the drop in performance from the side as a whole. The sixty minutes in the tank will only be helpful for Liverpool in the run in.
SUBSTITUTES
Jordan Henderson 5/10
A player who’s really starting to look out of his depth at moments in this Liverpool side, but had a pretty positive performance today in comparison to some of his other showings in previous weeks.
Diogo Jota 7/10
A fifth goal in three games for the “lad from Portugal” and he won’t have had many better feeling goals in his Liverpool career than this one. His application and work rate when he came on was fantastic as usual with Liverpools number 20, who will give Jurgen Klopp another pleasant selection headache ahead of their clash against Fulham on Wednesday. He was very lucky to avoid a red card for his high boot on Skipp though.
Darwin Nunez 5/10
Really struggled as the lone striker, with the role he’s asked to do almost going against his natural instincts as a player. With each passing game, it looks more and more obvious that the Uruguayan should be deployed on the left rather than through the centre.
James Milner 5/10
Was brought on to shore up the side, and didn’t really have the desired impact, but still had moments of quality on the ball in his 10 minute cameo.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Fraser Forster 2/10
Four goals conceded, zero saves recorded, a performance to forget for the Englishman. His distribution was poor as well, which capped off a torrid afternoon for Spurs’ number 20.
Pedro Porro 4/10
Was like a fish out of water during the first 15 minutes, and was caught massively out of position for Liverpool’s opener. Had some good attacking moments in the second half, but they cannot make up for another poor defensive display.
Cristian Romero 5/10
Romero proved a number of critics right today with that rash tackle on Gakpo resulting in the penalty for Liverpool. Hit the post in the second half, and assisted Son’s goal, but was caught napping for Jota’s winner.
Eric Dier 5/10
A very anonymous performance from Dier, didn’t make any glaring mistakes, didn’t do anything positive, but when you concede 4 in that manner, it’s very difficult to get a positive rating .
Ben Davies 5/10
Everything said about Eric Dier carries over with the Welshman, who got a bloodied nose for his troubles facing up against Salah.
Ivan Perisic 6/10
Assisted the Spurs opener, and offered a constant attacking threat for the North London outfit, but his defensive frailties were showcased in the first 45 minutes, which will give Ryan Mason a dilemma to solve.
Pierre-Emile Hojberg 5/10
Solid defensive display from the Tottenham number 5, with his seven duels won out of ten a solid base for Spurs, but his attacking deficiencies were glaringly obvious today, especially in a midfield that lacked an attacking midfielder.
Oliver Skipp 5/10
Fortunate to avoid a red card for his tackle on Diaz in the first half, was on the receiving end of what could’ve been a red card challenge from eventual game winner Jota, beyond those moments, a similar performance to Hojberg. The midfield duo today really highlighted the lack of attacking quality in the Spurs midfield, which is something that will have to be addressed in the upcoming transfer window.
Dejan Kulusevski 5/10
Missed a massive chance in the first half to make it 3-2, and really struggled to make an impact on the game as a whole, which has often been the story of the Swede’s season.
Heung-Min Son 7/10
Scored Tottenham’s second, assisted Tottenham’s third, hit the woodwork twice and had a lot of success up against Konate today, Spurs will just be disappointed that he’s found his form in April and not August.
Harry Kane, 7/10
Had a lot of joy against a struggling Liverpool defence, and took his goal very well on the volley. Showcased his fantastic passing range again today, but wasn’t in the box enough, which hurts Spurs so much.
SUBSTITUES
Pape Sarr 5/10
Pretty anonymous performance from the Senegalese midfielder, who struggled to have the impact Ryan Mason would’ve wanted after his substitution.
Richarlison 6/10
Scored his first Premier League goal of the season and celebrated accordingly, only for it to mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Had a lot of energy and work rate during his substitute cameo, and should probably be given the nod ahead of Kulusevski in their future games.
Lucas Moura 2/10
Was on the pitch for six minutes and his only contribution was assisting Diogo Jota for his winning goal for Liverpool and undoing all of Spurs hard work.
Arnaut Danjuma N/A
Didn’t touch the ball, can’t be rated. Probably regretting not moving to Everton at this point.