Final, 3-2 Liverpool: The game is over. Liverpool wins and closes in on Tottenham in the Premier League standings.
Liverpool continued its mastery of Tottenham with a thrilling win at Anfield. Tottenham came from behind twice to tie the score, but Balotelli’s late goal gave the Reds a lead they would hold through the final whistle. Liverpool remains in seventh place but now is just three points out of third place and one behind sixth-placed Tottenham.
[tweet https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/565267239780483072 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/565270127256813571Â align=’center’%5D
That’s all for now, and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.
90th minute +2, 3-2 Liverpool: Kane is cautioned for grabbing Sakho.
The Tottenham striker accused Sakho of time-wasting and tries to lift him off the turf.
90th minute, 3-2 Liverpool: There will be a minimum of four minutes of added time in the second half.
88th minute, 3-2 Liverpool: Paulinho is cautioned for a foul on Lallana.
84th minute, 3-2 Liverpool: Tottenham makes its final substitution, replacing Dembele with Soldado.
83rd minute, 3-2 Liverpool: Balotelli finally scores a league goal for Liverpool, and the Reds have taken a late lead.
[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/565265244122259459Â align=’center’%5D
Lallana crossed into the penalty area, and Balotelli steered it home from close range.
[tweet https://twitter.com/FanSidedGIF/status/565265640953761794Â align=’center’%5D
[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/565264836247166977 align=’center’]
80th minute, 2-2: Tottenham makes another substitution. Chadli enters. Eriksen exits.
80th minute, 2-2: Kane shoots wide of Liverpool’s goal.
79th minute, 2-2: Liverpool makes its final substitution, replacing Markovic with Lallana.
73rd minute, 2-2: Liverpool makes another substitution. Balotelli enters. Sturridge exits.
73rd minute, 2-2: Walker is cautioned for a foul on Can.
70th minute, 2-2: Moreno runs onto Coutinho’s pass and shoots on goal, but Lloris saves it at the near post.
69th minute, 2-2: Tottenham makes its first substitution, replacing Mason with Paulinho.
67th minute, 2-2: Liverpool is making a substitution. Lovren enters. Gerrard exits.
63rd minute, 2-2: Dembele is cautioned for tripping Gerrard.
61st minute, 2-2: Dembele scores, and the game is tied once again.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/565259985345847296Â align=’center’%5D
The goal came from a free kick. Mignolet saved Eriksen’s delivery, but the ball fell to Kane. The Tottenham striker’s follow-up effort went to Dembele, who chested it in.
[tweet https://twitter.com/FOXFOOTBALL/status/565260529233846272Â align=’center’%5D
60th minute, 2-1 Liverpool: Gerrard is cautioned for a foul on Kane.
55th minute, 2-1 Liverpool: Lamela hits a sliding shot on goal, but Mignolet denies him with a great diving save.
53rd minute, 2-1 Liverpool: Gerrard dispatches the penalty kick, and the Reds are back in front.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/565257083944464385 align=’center’]
52nd minute, 1-1: It’s a penalty for Liverpool. Rose brought down Sturridge inside the Tottenham penalty area.
[tweet https://twitter.com/FanSidedGIF/status/565258454303277061 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/565257115980529667 align=’center’]
46th minute, 1-1: The second half is underway at Anfield.
Halftime, 1-1: That’s the end of the first half. The score is tied at one.
The teams shared the ball and the goals in the first half with Markovic and Kane putting their names on the score sheet. The game was as even and competitive as the score itself. Spurs had slightly more possession, as Liverpool elected to create its most dangerous moments on the counter-attack. Sturridge had a few good chances to score in his first start since August. Lloris and his post prevented Sturridge from dancing at Anfield.
The result still hangs in the balance, and the game is bound to produce more flash-points. Both teams have been positive in the attack and passed the ball decently. Four players are on yellow cards, which only will add to the tension in the second half.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/565251177299058689Â align=’center’%5D
[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/565250891792785411Â align=’center’%5D
45th minute +2, 1-1: Ibe’s cross deflects off a defender straight to Sturridge, who back-heels a shot on goal. His improvised effort beat Lloris but hit the post.
[tweet https://twitter.com/KICKTV/status/565251559161102337Â align=’center’%5D
45th minute +1, 1-1: Sakho is cautioned for dragging down Dembele near the sideline.
45th minute, 1-1: There will be a minimum of two minutes of added time in the first half.
40th minute, 1-1: The referee cautions Skrtel for a tackle from behind on Kane.
38th minute, 1-1: Ibe cuts inside, surges forward and shoots from 20 yards out, but the well-positioned Lloris saves it.
36th minute, 1-1: The game has been stuck in the midfield as it reaches the closing stages of the first half.
28th minute, 1-1: Eriksen is cautioned for fouling Ibe.
26th minute, 1-1: Kane scores, and the game is tied.
[tweet https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/565246880612093952Â align=’center’%5D
Tottenham had a decent spell of possession in Liverpool’s half. Lamela passed to Kane at the top of Liverpool’s penalty area. Sakho slipped, giving Kane the time and space he needed to beat Mignolet with a low shot.
It’s Kane’s 23rd goal in all competitions this season and his 13th in league play.
[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/565246278649802752 align=’center’]
It’s the first goal Liverpool has conceded in 415 minutes.
24th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The referee cautions Mason for a rash challenge on Markovic on the sideline.
Liverpool has enjoyed most of the possession — without creating any scoring chances — since Markovic scored.
18th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Bentaleb tries to redirect Dembele’s pass on goal with a back-heel flick. Bentaleb’s effort goes narrowly wide of Mignolet’s goal.
15th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Markovic scores on the counter-attack, and the Reds have the lead.
[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/565243608442621953Â align=’center’%5D
Mignolet started the play by booting the ball upfield to Sturridge. The ball bobbled off of Sturridge straight to the on-rushing Markovic, who dribbled into Tottenham’s penalty area and shot with his left foot. Lloris should have saved it, but the ball bounced over his out-stretched hand into the goal.
The goal is Markovic’s second in the Premier League and third in all competitions this season.
14th minute, 0-0: Mason shoots on goal from 25 yards out, but it goes straight to Mignolet.
13th minute, 0-0: Lloris makes a fine reflex save on Sturridge after Ibe’s dangerous cross bounced to the Liverpool striker.
10th minute, 0-0: Gerrard misses the top corner with a free kick from a dangerous position following Rose’s foul on Ibe.
[tweet https://twitter.com/MostarLFC/status/565253725565251587Â align=’center’%5D
Ninth minute, 0-0: Mason passes straight to Sturridge, who breaks forward only to hit a tame shot on goal. Lloris saves it easily.
Sixth minute, 0-0:Â There’s action at both ends. Sturridge leads a counter-attack to an uneventful conclusion when his pass bounces off Coutinho’s shin. Seconds later, Rose slices a long-range shot well wide of Mignolet’s goal.
Fourth minute, 0-0: The teams have shared possession in the opening minutes, as caution seems to be the prevailing sentiment among the 20 out-field players.
Kickoff: The Premier League game between Liverpool and Tottenham is underway at Anfield.
Pregame: Sturridge is back in Liverpool’s starting 11 for the first time since Aug. 31 when the Reds beat Tottenham 3-0 at White Hart Lane.
Sturridge starts as the lone striker and now has a chance to score his first league goal against Tottenham.
[tweet https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/565226001870098432 align=’center’]
Ibe, 19, retains his place in the starting lineup following his impressive performance Saturday against Everton.
Gerrard drops deeper into midfielder as a result of Lucas’ injury.
Markovic returns to the starting lineup. A back problem has limited the Serbian’s involvement in recent games. He was an unused substitute in Saturday’s Merseyside derby and was substituted in the second half of the two previous games.
Tottenham fields the same starting lineup it used in Saturday’s win over Arsenal. Bentaleb and Mason will look to provide protection and control as deep-lying midfielders. Lamela, Eriksen and Dembele will be Kane’s primary support in the attack.
2:30 p.m.: Here are the lineups:
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Emre Can (23), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Mamadou Sakho (17), center back
Alberto Moreno (18), midfielder
Lazar Markovic (50), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Steven Gerrard (8), midfielder
Jordon Ibe (33), midfielder
Philippe Coutinho (10), midfielder
Daniel Sturridge (15), striker
Substitutes
Danny Ward (52), goalkeeper
Dejan Lovren (6), defender
Glen Johnson (2), defender
Joe Allen (24), midfielder
Adam Lallana (20), midfielder
Rickie Lambert (9), striker
Mario Balotelli (45), striker
[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/565223899248750595 align=’center’]
Tottenham
Hugo Lloris (1), goalkeeper
Danny Rose (3), left back
Eric Dier (15), center back
Jan Vertonghen (5), center back
Kyle Walker (2), right back
Nabil Bentaleb (42), midfielder
Ryan Mason (38), midfielder
Moussa Dembele (19), midfielder
Erik Lamela (11), midfielder
Christian Eriksen (23), midfielder
Harry Kane (18), striker
Substitutes
Michel Vorm (13), goalkeeper
Ben Davies (33), defender
Federico Fazio (21), defender
Nacer Chadli (22), midfielder
Paulinho (8), midfielder
Andros Townsend (17), midfielder
Roberto Soldado (9), striker
12:30 p.m. ET: The race for a top-four finish in the Premier League reaches a critical point Tuesday when Liverpool hosts Tottenham at Anfield.
Tottenham and Liverpool currently are the fifth- and seventh-placed teams in the standings, respectively, and both have ambitions of playing in next season’s UEFA Champions League. One team can advance its own hopes while denting the others’ with a win.
Liverpool takes on Tottenham amid an eight-game unbeaten run. An improved defense has been key to Liverpool’s recent success, having earned four straight shutouts in league play.
However, the Reds will be short-handed against Tottenham with midfield shield Lucas Leiva and dynamic attacker Raheem Sterling both missing out due to injury. Daniel Sturridge could make his long-awaited return to the starting lineup in a game which pits his team against that of Harry Kane, England’s hottest striker at the moment.
Kane has fired Tottenham up the standings with 12 league goals this season, including two in the famous win over Arsenal on Saturday. The 21-year-old will lead Tottenham’s explosive attack and high-intensity defense into Anfield, as the London club looks to avoid a fifth-straight defeat against the Reds.
Liverpool-Tottenham kicks off at 3 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from Anfield.
[tweet https://twitter.com/LFC/status/565231228371361792 align=’center’]
Thumbnail photo via LiverpoolFC.com
