Liverpool have two players sent off after losing to Tottenham

Down two men, Liverpool still held on well until Joel Matip scored an own goal in injury time, causing them to lose 1-2 to Tottenham in round seven of the Premier League.

The highlight of the round saw some controversial moments. First, referee Simon Hopper showed Curtis Jones a straight red card after a VAR review. Liverpool fans may have thought it was a heavy-handed decision, but if you look closely, you can see that Jones had stamped on Yves Bissouma's ankle. In the previous round, Chelsea defender Malo Gusto was also shown a straight red card for a similar action.

Diogo Jota received a red card from referee Simon Hopper. Photo: Reuters

The red card turned the game around. Liverpool played better at the start of the match and could have opened the scoring if they had taken advantage of their chances. The most unfortunate situation for the visitors was when Cody Gakpo and Andy Robertson fired two consecutive shots, but both failed to beat goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. Jones himself had a good chance in the 19th minute, but after adjusting the ball, his shot hit Pape Matar Sarr.

The controversy continued in the 34th minute, when Luis Diaz's shot into the Tottenham net was ruled out for offside. From the TV camera angle, it appeared that the Colombian striker was still standing above Cristian Romero when Mohamed Salah passed the ball. VAR did not draw a line when replaying the incident, leaving many viewers puzzled.

Two minutes later, the trio of James Maddison, Richarlison and Son Heung-min combined to open the scoring for Tottenham. Richarlison was arranged by coach Ange Postecoglou to play on the left wing in this match, leaving the center forward position for Son. It can be seen that the decision was correct when the speed and sensitivity of a striker helped Richarlison move to receive a pass from Maddison before crossing for Son to score.

Son Heung-min scored six goals in the first seven rounds of the Premier League. Photo: Reuters

However, this was a match where Liverpool played well with a man down, similar to the 2-1 win over Newcastle in round three. In the fourth minute of injury time in the first half, from a cross by Dominik Szoboszlai, Virgil van Dijk headed the ball across for Gakpo to turn and finish into the Tottenham net. In fact, if Diaz had been better able to reach Salah's pass, the visitors would have taken the lead at half-time.

Tottenham's numerical advantage saw the game come under Tottenham's control in the second half. However, finding a way past Alisson Becker for a second time was no easy task as the Brazilian showed why he has been awarded the Premier League Golden Glove for two seasons. Alisson's brilliant saves saved Liverpool from two tricky shots from Maddison and Son early in the second half.

In the 59th minute, Son put the ball into Liverpool's net for the second time from Richarlison's cross. But this time, the Brazilian striker was offside when moving to receive a pass from Maddison. 10 minutes later, Liverpool lost another man. Second-half striker Diogo Jota received two yellow cards in just two minutes. Outside the pitch, Klopp was angry and thought referee Hopper was too heavy-handed.

Matip holds his head after an own goal in extra time. Photo: Reuters

Despite being down two players, Liverpool defended solidly for the remaining 20 minutes of the second half. However, with only seconds remaining in the injury time, Matip's disastrous mistake saw Klopp's men leave London empty-handed. The Cameroonian centre-back blocked Pedro Porro's cross but sent the ball into his own net rather unceremoniously.

This was Liverpool's first defeat in the Premier League this season. With Man City losing to Wolves, the league has only two unbeaten teams: Tottenham and Arsenal. Liverpool will host Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League group stage next week before visiting Brighton. Meanwhile, Tottenham's next match will be at newly promoted Luton Town.

Quang Huy

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