Fight Club

This was going to be a hot game from the get-go, and it didn’t disappoint.

Spurs picked up the first big batch of yellows in the first half (and should have gotten more after). Liverpool, seemingly out of frustration at the refereeing, matched and even exceeded the hosts in the second. Exceeded due to the Robbo’s careless and clumsy red card, which really wasn’t and never should have been. It was especially aggravating considering Harry Kane earned himself a red in the first half with a vicious ankle breaker on Robbo, only to see a mere yellow himself. He received too much respect from the ref and no on-field VAR review like Robbo got. Had Kane been sent off like he should have, I daresay the game would have ended up quite differently.

The same can be said for the absolutely obvious penalty that Jota should have earned, but didn’t, and also somehow also did not merit a VAR pitch-side review.

So before I proceed, I’d like to award my man-of-the-match to Paul Tierney, whose performance was absolutely superb – at least if you’re a Spurs fan. It cost the Reds a point, but in a game like this, getting out with a draw feels like victory. In reality, Spurs should have won the game with all their missed chances, as they repeatedly exposed the Liverpool back line with excellent counters, only to be denied over and over again by the remarkable Alisson Becker. Yes, Son’s equalizer was Alisson’s fault. But his credit balance in this game was already so high by that time that he could be forgiven.

Heck, Alisson might have grabbed himself an assist with that incredible pass to Tsimikas late in stoppage time.

Kane’s opener was classic Kane. Jota’s equalizer was classic Jota. Robbo’s goal, however, was anything but, as he had to adopt a rather unusual squatting position to redirect that magnificent pass from his counterpart. They both added to their assisting Tallies today, making them as an attacking duo even more ridiculous, and Jota is already in double digit goals for the season – his best performance ever – before we even hit the halfway point.

And in truth, we did have a proper football game in between all the hacking and slashing.

There are a lot of good things to be cheered about. The merseryside machine is ticking well. It seems that were it not for a COVID-19 concern hitting some key members of the squad before the game, Liverpool would have easily walked off with all three points. Tyler Morton was handed his first premier league start as a result and did well in the hour he was allotted, so he will surely not complain. Neither will we.

Perhaps most importantly, even after this one, which had danger written all over it, the Reds are still one game away from City at the top. The next few weeks should be interesting.