Spurs held 1-1 at Liverpool, drops points in title pursuit
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) Tottenham dropped two points in its pursuit of English Premier League leader Leicester by drawing at Liverpool 1-1, with England forward Harry Kane becoming a Spurs record-breaker in scoring the equalizer on Saturday.
Kane swiveled before burying a low shot into the far corner in the 63rd minute to earn Spurs a point at Anfield, canceling out Philippe Coutinho's goal for Liverpool in the 51st.
By scoring for the fourth straight league game, Kane reached 22 league goals for the season - more than any other Tottenham player has managed in a single Premier League.
''For me, he is one of the best strikers in the world,'' Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. ''He showed again that I am not wrong.''
With games running out this season, Pochettino saw it as two points lost rather than one gained as Leicester was handed another boost in its bid to become arguably the most unlikely title winner in English soccer history.
Leicester can move seven points clear of second-place Tottenham with six games left by beating Southampton at home on Sunday.
''We need to believe,'' Pochettino said. ''In football, all can happen. It was difficult to come here and try and win the three points.''
History showed this was the case, with Tottenham having won just one of its previous 21 league trips to Anfield. But none of those Spurs teams were genuine title-chasers like the current crop.
If it wasn't for Hugo Lloris, Liverpool would have been two or three goals clear by halftime as the goalkeeper saved from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana (twice). Sturridge had the most clear-cut opportunity when he was played clear through by Coutinho, only to shoot straight at Lloris.
Liverpool needed only one chance early in the second half to take the lead, though, as Coutinho exchanged passes with Sturridge before opening his body and sidefooting into the bottom corner.
Coutinho was arguably the man of the match, with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp describing him as a ''genius.''
The goal sparked Spurs into action and, after a sustained period of pressure, Christian Eriksen chased a lost cause and dinked the ball back into the box, where Kane beat marker Dejan Lovren with a swivel of his body and fired a low shot that curled inside the far post.
Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli twice miscontrolled with the goal in sight in a tense last 15 minutes, while Mousa Dembele had a low shot tipped aside.
Given the situation, this will go down as a missed opportunity for Spurs - despite this being arguably their toughest remaining fixture. Third-place Arsenal is four points behind Spurs with a game in hand.
