In the 91st minute, Mohamed Salah scored a brilliant goal to make it look like the hosts had decided the result of the game. It was his second goal of the game and the 21st league goal of the season. Jurgen Klopp and John Achterberg were celebrating like they had won the game with this brilliant goal. However, something totally unexpected happened in the 95th minute to change the joy of Liverpool completely.
Harry Kane who had missed the first penalty opportunity came forward to redeem himself by converting the second penalty into a brilliant goal in the 95th minute. That goal saved the match for Tottenham in what was looking a clear defeat after the goal of Salah. Mauricio Pochettino was ecstatic after that goal.
While Klopp was visibly angry with the officials for the two contentious penalties that snatched away their win at their home. Liverpool got the lead early in the first three minutes of the game but Victor Wanyama equalized in the second half. Klopp later expressed his anger this way,
“I have no problem with making mistakes. But it should not be on purpose that you want to make a decision. If you don’t see it, then step aside.”
With this equalizer and the previous victory against Manchester United, Spurs have now moved ever closer with Liverpool, Chelsea and United in the race for the top three spots at the league table. With Liverpool, the difference is now of two points only after 26 games.
The climax of this drama-filled-game happened in the last ten minutes of the game. Two penalties were awarded to Spurs while Salah also scored a goal during this time span. However when the final whistle blew, it was Pochettino who was clearly looking happier than Klopp. In this game at Ainfield, Salah looked the stand-out performer with two goals to his name. He scored the first goal when Eric Dier provided the inadvertent assist that cost him heavy. Clearing the four players of Spurs back, his pass gave the perfect opportunity for Salah to beat Hugo Lloris and find the net.
The second half was more in the favor of Tottenham as they dominated possession and territory. However, the Liverpool goal-keeper Loris Karius denied the Spurs to score any goals. Pochettino’s decision of bringing in Wanyama replacing Dembele proved very effective. When Karius blocked the cross of Eriksen, the ball went towards Wanyama giving him the perfect opportunity to send a thunderbolt for a goal.
The controversy began when Spurs were given a penalty after Kane fell when Karius was trying to stop the ball. Only Kane could not convert the golden opportunity into a goal. In the 91st minute, Salah got his team ahead with a superb goal, after wriggling clear of three Tottenham players. It looked like the hosts had won the game, however soon the celebrations of Liverpool turned into disappointment as the second penalty saw a goal from the Spurs.