Tottenham held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
The pressure was growing on Tottenham Hotspur going into last weekend’s game against Liverpool as the gap between survival competitors continued to fade.
But Igor Tudor & Co. put in an excellent performance, being compact on the defence and bold in the attacking side of things. That was enough to earn the visitors a draw at L4.
But that dramatic point at Anfield Stadium could have been more as fresh images emerge from the second-half incident.
The incident involved the eventual goal scorer Richarlison, who was causing problems for the Merseysiders’ defence all game.
Hackett gives his verdict on Van Dijk incident at L4
It was the 54th minute when Vicario put in a long ball forward. That ball was met by Richarlison, who went through on goal and managed to test Alisson Becker with a shot.
But when you look at the replays, Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk was grabbing Richy’s shirt as the Brazilian was trying to shoot. That was enough to take away his balance inside the penalty area.
The former Everton man was quick to appeal for a spot kick, but referee Chris Kavanagh was waving the play on.
And former referee chief Keith Hackett believes that the decision to do so was incorrect. He insists that it was a clear holding offence which should have shown the former Southampton defender a red card and a penalty awarded to Tottenham.
Speaking in an exclusive interview after the game with Tottenham News, he said:
“These two photographs highlight that a penalty kick and red card should have been the outcome here.
“Clear holding offence and the denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity.”
If that whistle had gone Tottenham’s way, the hosts would have been down to ten men with still more than half an hour of play still left.
Author Opinion
Despite that pen decision not going Tottenham’s way, Tudor & Co. still managed to get something out of the game as Richarlison (who was on his toes all game and constantly troubling Liverpool with his runs and scrappy battles) finally got his reward in the 90th minute as he scored what was a well-deserved equaliser for the visitors. That goal from Richy levelled the score after Dominik Szoboszlai had scored from a free kick after an ‘awful’ Tottenham star made a mistake to give Liverpool the lead.
This draw against the Reds was the first time that Tudors did not manage to end up on the losing side since he took charge of the proceedings at Hotspur Way.
Tottenham fans would feel that they could have won this one, especially after that missed decision to send Van Dijk off.