The Reds suffered stoppage-time heartbreak to lose 2-1 at Tottenham after some questionable decisions by the officials.
Liverpool arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having never lost at Spurs' still relatively-new home. In fact, they were the only Premier League side that not yet tasted defeat at the impressive arena. And as Saturday's match entered the 96th minute, Jurgen Klopp must have thought that his team were about to maintain that record, despite everything that had been thrown at them over the course of the evening.
Down to nine men and having had a goal controversially ruled out for offside – in a decision the PGMOL has since admitted was incorrect – the Reds looked relatively comfortable in defending the 1-1 draw that their backs-to-the-wall performance had deserved. It wasn't the win that would have taken them top of the Premier League following Manchester City's defeat earlier in the day, but a solid point against a fellow unbeaten side with a numerical disadvantage cannot be sniffed at.
And then it happened. Pedro Porro got to the byline down the Spurs right, and his powerful low cross flew into the top corner via Joel Matip's shin on the edge of the six-yard box. The centre-back looked barely consolable when he realised what had happened while Klopp watched on in disbelief as everywhere around him exploded in noise.
Though the result and the suspensions that will have to be served by Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota are damaging for Liverpool, the performance certainly wasn't. As they did at Newcastle earlier in the season, they performed superbly despite being down at least one man, with Cody Gakpo having equalised Son Heung-min's opener late in the first half.
But a first defeat of the season now drops them to fourth in the table below their hosts and Arsenal as they prepare to visit Brighton ahead of the international break. The Amex Stadium has not been a happy hunting ground of late for the Reds, and having lost in such an agonising matter at a place where they have had success before, it will be interesting to see how they lift themselves back up in eight days' time.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…
Getty ImagesLOSER: Joel Matip
The way Matip's body crumpled following the realisation of what his diversion of Porro's cross into his own net meant, not even the ground opening up and swallowing him would have eased the pain. He was clearly broken by his moment of bad luck, and Klopp will have work to do to lift the defender's mood.
Matip was so unfortunate, especially as he had played a key role in Liverpool's rearguard following both red cards. He has been a figure of fun at times while others questioned whether he needed to be moved on during the summer, but it is clear that Klopp still trusts him and rightly so.
That is not going to change because of one last-minute own goal, even if this will take some getting over for Matip.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Ange Postecoglu
Despite his side's superb start to the season, Ange Postecoglu likely would have taken a draw ahead of kick-off here given the way Liverpool have been playing of late. However, had you told him his side would be playing against nine men for the final 20 minutes, and 10 men for 40 minutes before then, the Australian would undoubtedly have demanded a win.
Despite their advantage, though, his side struggled to break a stubborn Liverpool down. The visitors were indebted to Alisson Becker on a couple of occasions, but given the attacking talent in the Spurs line-up, they will feel they should have won far more comfortably.
As it was, they needed Liverpool to put the ball in the net for them to claim all three points, but Postecoglu will not care one bit. After games against Arsenal and Liverpool in the space of a week, his team remain unbeaten and sit second in the table, just a point off leaders Man City. Who needs Harry Kane?!
Getty ImagesLOSER: Liverpool's trust in officials
There are those in the Liverpool fanbase who believe the narrative that officials and those within the footballing establishment have it in for their club. Despite their remarkable success over years, there are plenty who feel they get the wrong end of decisions more often than not. This was the ground, remember, where Jurgen Klopp's ongoing feud with Paul Tierney began in December 2021.
Certainly the performance of referee Simon Hooper, VAR Darren England and the team of officials in north London this time around will not have helped matters when it comes to pouring water on such conspiracy theories.
Jones' red could have gone either way, but what followed was particularly galling for those of a Liverpool persuasion. First came Luis Diaz's disallowed goal, with the Colombia forward flagged for offside before the decision was confirmed by VAR. Replays, however, seemed to suggest that Cristian Romero was playing Diaz on, and the speed at which the decision was made suggested that total care may not have been taken back at Stockley Park. The PGMOL's statement that followed at full-time that admitted an error had been made will have repercussions for weeks to come.
Jota's red, meanwhile, will also cause some level of outrage, especially as his first yellow card absolutely should not have been given as a foul, never mind led to a booking for the Portugal international. There was minimal contact for the foul that led to his second yellow as well, though it was still a reckless challenge.
Regardless, if Howard Webb and the PGMOL wanted to avoid more scrutiny from angry Liverpool fans, the team of officials on show here really could have performed better.
GettyWINNER: Alisson Becker
Despite his side's late heartbreak, Alisson can once again walk away with his head held high after another performance that proved he remains the Premier League's best goalkeeper and a true difference-maker between the sticks.
The Brazil international was hailed following Liverpool's win at Newcastle with 10 men after making a number of superb saves to deny the Magpies, and he was up to his old tricks in north London just a few weeks later.
His best saves came early in the second half, when he first did brilliantly to get across his goal and tip James Maddison's curling effort wide of the post, before moments later tipping a vicious volley from Son over the bar.
That his side couldn't hold out was not on Alisson at all, and he will continue to keep winning Liverpool points through the season if he keeps this up.
