Firmino’s Late Goal Routs Tottenham, Liverpool Beats Spurs, 2-1

Liverpool managed to crush Mourinho’s bunker, and to defeat Tottenham in the derby of the English Premier League’s Week 13. The final result at Anfield was 2-1 for the home team, with Roberto Firmino scoring in the 90th minute.

Once again, the quiet Brazilian proved to be indispensable in Liverpool’s attack, as he found a way to Lloris’ net, handing his team a massive victory, the one that could impact the entire season.

Andy Robertson sent a cross from the corner, with Firmino heading the ball into the Spurs’ net, propelling the reigning champions to the top spot in the standings, leaving Tottenham behind. The Reds now have 28 points, while Mourinho’s side has three fewer.

Throughout all 90 minutes, the game had high intensity, with the hosts controlling the ball, and the guests waiting for the counter-attack. Liverpool reached the lead first, through Mohamed Salah in the 26th minute. The Egyptian had a lot of luck when scoring, as his shot hit Toby Alderweireld, with the ball deflecting over Lloris.

Still, Tottenham responded very quickly. One mistake opened a chance for Son to show his skillset, and the South Korean player beat Alisson for 1-1. At the start of the second half, the guest had one superb chance, but Stephen Bergwijn couldn’t score. Harry Kane had one more opportunity shortly after that, yet he, too, didn’t change the result.

One after another, the guests wasted chances in front of the Reds’ net, and that eventually resulted in punishment in the worst possible time. Jose Mourinho couldn’t hide his disappointment following the game.

“So close to winning. We missed chances; we had the game under control. A draw would have been a bad result given our performance, so you can imagine how we feel with the defeat. It’s a very, very unfair result.”

On the other side, Jurgen Klopp disagreed with his colleague, saying that Liverpool absolutely deserved to win, having in mind the overall situation on the pitch and Tottenham’s desire to defend.

“The win was absolutely deserved. They are a top side – a counter-attacking monster – so you have to be really focussed, and because they don’t want the ball too much, you have to play around them and keep them busy.”

Mourinho: "I told Klopp the best team lost. He disagreed. By the way, if I behaved like him on the touchline – it would be very different."

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) December 16, 2020

The two famous coaches had a small argument on the sidelines following the match, with Mourinho suggesting to Klopp that his team shouldn’t have won, and the German responding to that. However, all this is usual in derbies like these. with the tension being high. Plus, the rivalry between the Special and the Normal One is very big, so it is easy to understand such sparks between them.

In other matches of the day, Arsenal disappointed once again, playing 1-1 at home against Southampton. Leeds was superb against Newcastle, beating the Magpies 5-2. Leicester suffered an unpleasant loss at home against Everton, 0-2, missing a chance to join Liverpool in jumping over Tottenham.

Fulham and Brighton had a dull match without goals, and West Ham and Crystal Palace split a point each, playing 1-1.

Liverpool is first in the standings, Tottenham second, while Southampton and Leicester sit third with 24 points, one more than Everton at place No.5. Chelsea is sixth with 22, and West Ham one place lower, 21.

At the bottom is Sheffield United with just one point, West Brom is second to the last with seven. The Baggies sacked their manager Slaven Bilic. Burnley is the first under the red line but has the same number of points as Fulham, 9.