Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham: Player ratings as Reds suffer major blow in quadruple hunt

Tottenham put a huge dent in Liverpool’s hopes of an unprecedented quadruple by limiting Jurgen Klopp’s Reds to a 1-1 draw at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday night.

The point still sends Liverpool top of the table on goal difference ahead of Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola’s side now have a game in hand and could open up a three-point lead on Sunday when they face Newcastle.

Son Heung-min opened the scoring early in the second half, before Luis Diaz eventually pulled one back with a deflected effort in the final 15 minutes.

Both teams really tried to attack the game with high intensity straight from the opening kick-off. Liverpool were relentless in their ferocious pressing, dominating the ball and really making Spurs work for absolutely everything.

There were no goals in the first half, yet it was an entertaining game and each side had chances.

Jordan Henderson’s perfectly timed tackle denied Harry Kane the opportunity to fire Spurs into the lead, while Hugo Lloris needed to be sharp at the other end to claw away a wayward header from Ryan Sessegnon before Mohamed Salah nudged it in.

Liverpool hit the woodwork as Virgil van Dijk’s header clipped the crossbar after he had too easily evaded marker Emerson Royal at a corner.

In a final flurry of end to end action before the half-time whistle, Lloris parried away a fierce effort when Diaz cut in from the left. On the immediate counter, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sent a low effort from distance onto the post and wide, with Alisson scrambling to reach it.

As fate would have it, the Spurs breakthrough came as soon as Liverpool’s press was less than perfect. It came all the way from Lloris, whose long ball forward wasn’t dealt with. Liverpool were all over the place defensively and Kane played in Ryan Sessegnon, who squared it for a Son tap-in.

As the second half progressed, the Spurs back-line were doing everything to protect the lead – Cristian Romero and Ben Davies were blocking anything that came their way. It looked like it would need a moment of genius or a stroke of luck to get Liverpool back level and it was the latter.

Diaz cut in from the left, jinked past a couple of defenders to position himself for a shot, which Rodrigo Bentancur could only get a toe on, sending the ball past the wrongfooted Lloris.

Despite conceding the equaliser, Spurs continued to frustrate Liverpool – as the Reds pushed and pushed, there was even potential for the visitors to snatch a shock winner when Hojbjerg tried to find Kane instead of going for goal himself. But 1-1 was how it finished.

1. Liverpool (4-3-3)

GK: Alisson - 6/10 - Didn't have that much to do.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6/10 - Didn't challenge a bouncing ball in the immediate build up to Spurs breaking the deadlock.

CB: Ibrahima Konate - 7/10 - Passed well and gave up very little in the air.

CB: Virgil van Dijk - 6/10 - Clipped the bar with a first half header.

LB: Andrew Robertson - 5/10 - Made his presence felt early and saw a lot of the ball. But was way too deep when Spurs got their breakthrough. Didn't last much longer than that. Quite probably exhausted.

CM: Jordan Henderson - 6/10 - Made a crucial last ditch tackle on Kane that stopped Spurs taking an early lead.

CM: Fabinho - 7/10 - Dictated things from the middle of the pitch. Spurs did better when they bypassed his territory completely.

CM: Thiago - 6/10 - Aside from his usual quality, played with a real bite. Not as effective in the second half.

RF: Mohamed Salah - 7/10 - Involved in plenty of his team's play but didn't have the same game-changing impact as Diaz.

ST: Sadio Mane - 6/10 - Worked really hard to ensured no Spurs defender had any time on the ball.

LF: Luis Diaz - 8/10 - Posed a huge threat drifting in off the left and was rewarded for that with a stroke of luck with his goal.

SUB: Diogo Jota (64' for Henderson) - 5/10

SUB: Kostas Tsimikas (64' for Robertson) - 6/10

SUB: Naby Keita (88' for Fabinho) - N/A

2. Tottenham (3-4-3)

GK: Hugo Lloris - 8/10 - Two important first half saves kept Spurs in it and was a calming presence late on.

CB: Cristian Romero - 8/10 - Repelled so much danger with timely clearances, blocks and headers.

CB: Eric Dier - 7/10 - A top effort. Played with most of the game in front of him without a proper 'number nine' to mark.

CB: Ben Davies - 8/10 - Made an excellent block from Salah, one of many throughout, only moments before Liverpool equalised.

RWB: Emerson Royal - 7/10 - Had his work cut out trying to contend with Diaz and Robertson attacking down his side. Handled himself well.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur - 6/10 - Couldn't get enough on Diaz's shot to stop it from heading goalward.

CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7/10 - Struck the base of the post just before half-time. Worked hard to limit Liverpool as best he could.

LWB: Ryan Sessegnon - 6/10 - Risked an own goal in the first half and had his goalkeeper to thank. Got a composed assist in the second.

RF: Dejan Kulusevski - 6/10 - A good counter attack option.

ST: Harry Kane - 7/10 - Looked like he didn't want to pass it in the moments before Son's goal but made the chance with the pre-assist.

LF: Son Heung-min - 8/10 - Right place, right time for a tap-in. Always looking to test and stretch Liverpool.

SUB: Davinson Sanchez (78' for Sessegnon) - 7/10

SUB: Harry Winks (85' for Kulusevski) - N/A

SUB: Steven Bergwijn (90+1' for Son) - N/A

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