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Key events
15 min Spurs hold the ball for 30 seconds or more until Johnson fires a great ball straight into the face of the goal. Clive Allen would eat it.
14 min Salah fired at the near post despite being well ambushed.
13 min “Looking forward to another nice regulation win/bad draw/shocking home defeat for the Scousers today,” says Jeremy Boyce. “But who could blame them for any of that, given that the whole town, red and blue, will be mourning one of their common greats, I’m talking about Bernard ‘Yosser Hughes’ Hill, a man who made Scouse himself accent and attitude something beautiful. I’ve always been impressed by his friend Shake ‘Ands’; watch out for the post-match wobble.’
I’ve been trying to find a clip of him with Graham Souness but I really need to start watching the game properly.
12 min At the other end, Johnson delivered a dangerous cross to Kulusevski, which was well cleared by Robertson. This game is really open and a lot of fun.
9 min: Double chance for Liverpool! The game came to life. Sarr loses the ball in a dangerous area to Elliott who plays in Salah. His shot from a tight angle was cleared by Vicario, then Elliott’s follow-up shot was cleared off the line by Romero.
8 min: Salah hits the post! It was a cross with the outside of the boot that swung over Vicario and hit the face of the post. Moments later, Salah looked set to score from Gakpo’s header when Van de Ven stuck out a leg to clear.
6 min Spurs started smoothly, passing the ball around with their usual enthusiasm and optimism. Early days and all, but they’re looking 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 brought on by Sir Bobby Robson at Villa in 2004,” says Joe Pearson. “Normally I wouldn’t direct your readers elsewhere, but the column is really quite insightful.”
Point away; we’re all adults here, huh? 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 wide and Bissouma fires into orbit.
2 min Spurs are a fully awake club as Poro wins an early corner after a long pass. He takes it, Van Dijk clears the head.
1 minute Spurs start from left to right as we watch.
Reminder to teams
Liverpool (likely 4-3-3) Alison; Alexander-Arnold, Quansach, van Dyck, Robertson; Elliott, Endo, Mc Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz.
Subs: Gomes, Konate, Soboslai, Nunes, Jones, Gravenberch, Bajcetic, Kelleher, Bradley.
Tottenham Hotspur (Possible 4-3-3) Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Emerson; Sarre, Bentancourt, Bissouma; Kulusewski, Son, Johnson.
Subs: Skip, Hoiberg, Draguzin, Richarlison, Madison, Gill, Lo Celso, Austin, Moore.
Referee Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Jarrell Quanza on Liverpool’s season
The dressing room is full of winners and people who want to win – we won [the League Cup] this year also from there we are in a different place than others
Ange Postecoglou talks to Sky Sports
This is the most challenging part of the season for us. You have to be ready for that because in 12 months maybe there will be a different challenge and we will have to be ready for that. The players understand that it’s not easy to do what we’re trying to do, but they have to deal with it.
Today is a big test. But what a great opportunity for us to go out and try to play some football.
[On the switch to three in midfield] We’re going to need legs today. Look, it’s a short turnaround and we’ve got a couple of guys that are a little bit hurt. I’m sure there will be some intensity and energy early in the game and we wanted to make sure we had the right balance.
Every now and then I try to step back and look at the bigger picture. This group of players have performed very well this year. Sometimes I think I’m too hard on them, but I do it for a reason.
“Why Spurs are so bad at buying players for £40-60m that aren’t worth half that?” wonders Andrew Hurley.
I was going to make a charge joke, but those pesky first names and their need for capital letters mean it will never work.
“Chelsea fit?” Phil Gray sniffed. “Don’t you mean fickle Chelsea, Rob? They won one away game in 2024, were most recently beaten by Arsenal and failed to beat Burnley and Sheffield United. They only moved up the table because Manchester United, Wolves, Brighton and Fulham all suffered dips in form, while Chelsea remained their usual erratic side.”
Well, they’re in the top four on the form chart, which in some cultures means being in shape.
Jurgen Klopp talks to Sky Sports
[Can you enjoy the last few games now the pressure is off?] Yes I can. It’s harder for the boys – we can just sit here and think, ‘What are we really playing for?’ I know you need a reason or a spark to give it your all. We tried to do that. We had a good week – we trained hard as we should and prepared the boys.
Tottenham is a difficult opponent with a specific way of playing. You can’t just play against them – “let’s see” – or they will go through you and cause you huge problems.
I’m in a good mood, it’s my penultimate home game and I’m looking forward to it.
[On Mo Salah’s return] He had a really good training week. It’s what we all want and what he wants, so there was absolutely no doubt that it would start today.
Final: Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa
It’s always a triumph when the MBM preamble is out of date before the match has even started. Spurs can return to the Champions League race after Aston Villa lost 1-0 at Brighton. That means Spurs are seven points behind Villa with two games in hand. One of those is against Manchester City, so they probably need to win today to have a realistic chance of finishing fourth.
There is no mass
The latest Premier League
In-form Chelsea take on West Ham in their 2pm match. 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 second leg 2-1 in Septemberalthough this game will always be remembered for the goal that wasn’t.
Team news: Salah starts, Richarlison out
Mo Salah replaces Ryan Gravenbirch, the only change from Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with West Ham. That means Harvey Elliott will return to midfield.
Ange Postecoglou also makes one change: Rodrigo Bentancourt comes on for Richarlison, which likely means Son Heung-min will play up front.
Preamble
Misery loves company, so it’s only right Liverpool and Tottenham are due to meet today. After seven months of optimism, even euphoria at times, their seasons turned to dust. Liverpool are out of the title race after dropping 10 points in their last five games; Spurs have dropped out of the Champions League race after dropping 11 points in the same period. If they are not careful, they may miss out on the Europa League.
Liverpool will be keen to put on a show in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game at Anfield. Strictly speaking, they need a win to stay in the title race, although reality has already bitten that result. In the grand scheme of things, finishing third and winning a trophy – especially in such good fashion – represents a fine season for a team that was in transition even before Klopp announced his departure.
Spurs also had a good season: they reinvented their identity, found a long-term manager and doubled down on the tactical change of time. Like Liverpool, they have been hit hard by injuries. And like Liverpool, they’re probably in no mood to celebrate the 2023-24 season just yet.
Start 4:30 p.m.
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