It was a day of bad news for Liverpool, who were denied victory by an egregious error. On top of the yellow card fine, he could face further discipline for his social media comments.
Liverpool lost 1-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in the seventh round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 1:30 a.m. ET today. Without a point, Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end after seven games.
The hosts deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Son started up front, followed by Heung-min, Maddison, Kuluczewski, Bissouma, Saar, Udogie, van der Vaart, Romero, and Foro. The goalkeeping gloves were worn by Vicario.
The away team, Liverpool, lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. Dias, Gakpo, Salah, Jones, McAllister, Sobosler, Robertson, Van Dijk, Matip, and Gomes. Alisson was in goal.
In the middle of a tightly contested first half, bad news for Liverpool came in the 24th minute when Jones tackled Bissouma and drove his foot into Bissouma’s leg. The referee pointed to the yellow card, but after a video assistant referee (VAR) review, the decision was overturned and he was sent off.
With the numerical advantage, Tottenham took the lead. In the 36th minute, Son Heung-min scored the first goal of the game to make it 1-0. Liverpool didn’t stand still. In first-half stoppage time, Gakpo received the ball in the box and calmly controlled the ball before firing a turning shot to split the Tottenham goal. The score remained 1-1 at the break.
Bad luck struck for Liverpool in the 23rd minute when Jota was sent off after accumulating a yellow card for a tussle with Bissouma. He came on as a substitute at the start of the second half, but had already picked up one yellow card. With two yellow cards in 23 minutes, Jota had to leave the field.
Liverpool were down to nine men. With two men down, Tottenham began to play a more one-sided game. Liverpool went all out in defense and focused on defending their goal, but they lost 1-2 in the fifth minute of stoppage time when an own goal hit the foot of Matip.
It was a game that went badly for Liverpool. There were some questionable calls from the referee. In the 34th minute, Luis Dias rattled the net with a quick shot from a Mohamed Salah pass, but the assistant referee’s flag went up. The assistant referee called for offside, but without a VAR review, the play went ahead. Replays showed Christian Romero’s foot and Diaz’s body on the same line as Diaz started toward the box.
As the controversy grew, the Professional Game Management Organization of England (PGMOL) eventually overturned the call. The PGMOL said: “Diaz’s goal was disallowed due to the referee’s decision. This was a clear error. The VAR could have disallowed the goal but failed to intervene appropriately. We will closely examine the circumstances that led to the call,” said an official statement.
Things got heated throughout the match. There were 10 cautions for both teams on the day. For Liverpool, McAllister, Salah, Jota, Robertson, and Van Dijk received yellow cards. Jones was shown a red card, while Jota was sent off for two yellow cards.
This resulted in a fine for Liverpool. “Liverpool were fined by the English Football Association (FA) after receiving seven cautions in their defeat to Tottenham,” The Sun reported today. A team is liable for disciplinary action if it receives more than six cautions in a match.”
Liverpool could face further disciplinary action. “McAllister could also face punishment from the FA for writing ’12 players’ on social media,” the 토토 outlet added. McAllister took to social media after the game to congratulate Romero, saying, “It was a great win. Tottenham have a great team spirit” and posted a photo of him celebrating with fans, with the comment, “It’s normal if you’re playing with 12 men”. McAllister has since deleted his post. In many ways, it was a bruising game for Liverpool.