Soccer
Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool: Spurs show no rust in thrilling draw with Reds
Tottenham Hotspur returned to the pitch after an unplanned two-week break, showing no ill effects from the layoff as they earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Spurs were sidelined due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the squad, causing the postponement of several matches over the past couple of weeks. However, Sunday's marquee fixture was played as scheduled, and both sides delivered a thrilling display in a match that was highlighted by great goals, controversial officiating, and an overall high level of play.
It was obvious from the opening whistle that the Tottenham players were happy to be back on the pitch, and they showed an eagerness to attack their vaunted visiotrs in kind. Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 13th minute, latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball and slipping it past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson to the delight of the home crowd.
Having taken the lead eary, Spurs continued to press. A close Son Heung-min effort followed Kane's goal by less than two minutes, then Dele Alli had a glorious chance tipped away by Alisson at the half-hour mark. That left an opening for Liverpool to equalize, and they did just that thanks to a bullet header from in close by Diogo Jota at the 35-minute mark.
Undeterred, Tottenham maintained their frantic pace and nearly took the lead 10 minutes into the second half, but once again Alisson was called upon to make a massive save. This time it was against Kane, who was denied at point-blank range by the Reds goalkeeper.
It seemed as though Spurs would be left to rue their missed chances, especially after Andy Robertson put the visitors up with an opportunistic header in the 69th minute. However, the spirit of the home side stayed high, and they were gifted a leveller thanks to a horrible gaffe by the otherwise sterling Alisson that resulted in an easy finish for Son with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Tottenham were handed another lifeline when Robertson was shown a red card in the 77th minute, but they couldn't take advantage of being a man up and instead split the points with the second-place side in the Premier League.
