Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Tottenham: Fatal Flaw Delivers Dramatic Gut Punch

A sting in the tail ensured supporters left Anfield with boos ringing in their ears.

Tottenham’s goal was not Andy Robertson’s best moment. | Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images

Liverpool were stung by yet another late goal as Richarlison secured a 1–1 draw for Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday afternoon with a 90th-minute equalizer.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s free kick (and the slack wrists of Guglielmo Vicario) gave the hosts a first-half lead which they scarcely looked like extending despite the ramshackle nature of their opposition.

Tottenham eventually accepted the invitation to come onto Liverpool, scrambling their way to a precious point in a quest against relegation which looks a little less bleak. The outlook for the defending Premier League champions, by contrast, was cast in a different shade after a desperately disappointing (and familiar) day.

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The Problem That Won’t Go Away

James Bond’s mantra goes: “Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action.” Liverpool proved to be their own enemy as they conceded in the 90th minute for the eighth time this season,

On all eight occasions, the goal has directly changed the scoreline. Richarlison’s scuffed effort into the bottom corner was the third equalizer Liverpool have shipped in the dying embers of a contest, while they already boast the record for most stoppage-time winners conceded in a single Premier League season.

These goals have cost Liverpool a combined 27 points. They are only 21 adrift of league leaders Arsenal, with a game in hand. Last term, Slot’s side only dropped four points after the 90th minute, routinely soft-pedalling through the closing stages of matches after easing into a two-goal lead.

The Dutch boss has put this dramatic negative shift down to injuries and a congested schedule, yet the fact that Liverpool were even in a position to concede an equalizer against this meek iteration of Tottenham is a damning indictment.

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Liverpool Player Ratings vs. Tottenham (4-2-3-1)

Virgil van Dijk’s ever-presence continued. | Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Alisson—8.0: Back from a brief injury layoff, Alisson showed no signs of any rust with a number of supple saves. Can scarcely be blamed for Richarlison’s equalizer.

RB: Dominik Szoboszlai—8.1: Removing Szoboszlai from midfield is never ideal but you’d have to shackle the Hungarian in the dressing room to ensure he has no impact on proceedings.

CB: Joe Gomez—6.5: Brought in for the ailing Ibrahima Konaté, Gomez didn’t offer the type of assurance which his teammate has so often lacked as well.

CB: Virgil van Dijk—7.4: Repeatedly ruffled by Richarlison’s spirited wriggling, Liverpool’s skipper didn’t protect his keeper all that well.

LB: Andy Robertson—5.8: Delivered a truly pathetic attempt at clearing the aimless long ball which led to the gut punch of Richarlison’s goal.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch—7.4: Despite having the numerical advantage over Tottenham’s two-man midfield for the duration of the contest,

CM: Alexis Mac Allister—6.6: The World Cup winner’s energy levels notably waned as the match wore on.

AM: Florian Wirtz—7.0: There seemed to be an unusual and unwanted heaviness to Wirtz’s touches, especially in the final third.

RW: Jeremie Frimpong—6.9: What he brought in enthusiasm he emphatically lacked in any tangible end product.

ST: Cody Gakpo—6.6: Lining up in an unfavored center-forward position, Gakpo looked more comfortable when he was allowed to return to the left.

LW: Rio Ngumoha—7.5: The 17-year-old has the feet of a street scamp, skipping around the yellow shirts with a sense of infectious ingenuity. Ngumoha span Pedro Porro around like a children’s roundabout, ferreting to the byline, cutting infield and slipping opponents into the box with dizzying variability.

SUB: Mohamed Salah (64’ for Frimpong)—6.5: Showed some spark after coming off the bench.

SUB: Curtis Jones (64’ for Ngumoha)—6.1: Didn’t make much of an impact at all in midfield—a real concern when you consider depth.

SUB: Hugo Ekitiké (64’ for Wirtz)—6.7: Had a last-gasp effort blocked when the Frenchman should perhaps have squared for Salah instead.

SUB: Trey Nyoni (83’ for Gakpo)—N/A

SUB: Federico Chiesa (90’ for Mac Allister)—N/A

Subs not used: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Calvin Ramsay, Ibrahima Konaté, Milos Kerkez.

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Player of the Match: Richarlison (Tottenham)

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What These Ratings Tell Us

Rio Ngumoha made his first Premier League start on Sunday. | Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images

• The lack of standout performers from Liverpool reflects the difficulty the Reds had closing out this supposedly straightforward fixture. For all of Tottenham’s obvious struggles, this is still the club’s longest winless sequence in the top flight since 1935, the defending Premier League champions are hardly firing on all cylinders themselves.
• Szoboszlai Liverpool’s standout once again. “We rely on him so much,” Salah admitted earlier this season. He wasn’t wrong.
• When Ngumoha’s number came up in the 64th minute, the Anfield crowd rose to salute their new hero rather than acknowledge the familiar figure Salah coming off the bench. Despite the bitter taste of the late equalizer, it was still an afternoon for the teenager to enjoy.

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The Numbers That Explain Liverpool’s Collapse

• If you can’t go through, around or under a low block, going over it can work. Szoboszlai belted in his fourth Premier League free kick of the season to break the deadlock. No Liverpool player in the competition’s history has ever boasted more in a single campaign.
• Ngumoha completed all seven of the dribbles he attempted during his impressive showing. For comparison, Salah has completed five dribbles since the first weekend of November.
• Tottenham rattled off seven shots on target compared to Liverpool’s four. The Reds tried and ultimately failed to sit on a slender lead, only really threatening as a collective in the final seconds of stoppage time.

Statistic	Liverpool	Tottenham
Possession	63%	37%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.67	1.18
Total Shots	17	13
Shots on Target	4	7
Big Chances	0	2
Passing Accuracy	84%	73%
Fouls Committed	8	13
Corners	3	4

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