Both Liverpool and Tottenham were undefeated in the seventh match of the Premier League season, a match that was controversially marked by some of the worst refereeing in recent years. 26 minutes in, Curtis Jones was given a one-shot red card as a result of VAR after being caught flat-footed by the ball.
With Liverpool down to 10 men, Luis Diaz put Liverpool ahead with a superb shot from Mohamed Salah’s combination. It looked like it was going to happen, but the assistant referee raised the offside flag. The goal was cancelled without a second look, even though VAR was supposed to draw a line and confirm whether it was offside or not.
Liverpool scored immediately after the goal, despite the fact that the defender’s foot was still on the ground, and the goal was clearly onside. Nevertheless, Cody Gakpo equalized with a persistent goal despite a right knee injury.
In the second half, Tottenham continued to push forward with one extra man, and Diogo Jota, who came on midway through the half, was shown a second red card for a reckless tackle despite receiving a yellow card, forcing the team to play with nine men for the remaining 30 minutes of the game.
The all the forwards were replaced, and although the team continued to defend the goal with five backs and three midfielders, the winning point was scratched away in the last minute by an own goal by Joel Matip. Although he was tired and his reactions seemed to be delayed, Matip had played well up to that point, and there was no one to blame.
Japan midfielder Wataru Endo, who came on midway through the game to help shut down James Maddison, the key to their attack, praised the entire team for fighting through with two men short and said he was proud of the former Schalke defender as well.
“At the end, a very tough game but there were 50-50 decisions in the game and yeah, it’s very difficult to play with nine players. But I wanted to get one point so I am very disappointed about it.”
“I am just so proud of this team. I am just disappointed. We have to learn from this result and of course we showed our spirit, even though we faced difficult decisions we fought until the end.”
“That’s Liverpool and always we have to try to win the game. We can learn from this game but we just keep going.”
“Actually, he (Joel Matip) played an amazing game today so no-one can say something to him. I am so proud of what he did today and I am so proud of what my teammates did today.”
Liverpoolfc.com