Alexander Isak came off the bench to score for Liverpool but then went off injured as Arne Slot’s side beat nine-man Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Isak broke the deadlock in the 56th minute but was injured in the act of scoring, before Hugo Ekitike doubled Liverpool’s lead 10 minutes later.
Richarlison came off the bench to pull a goal back for Spurs but the visitors held on to inflict further pain on Thomas Frank, whose side had Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero sent off and have now won just one of their past eight league games.
After a cagey start, Simons was sent off for a foul on Virgil van Dijk in the 33rd minute following a VAR review.
Referee John Brooks was sent to the pitchside monitor and ruled it was “serious foul play” after Simons raked his studs down the calf of Van Dijk – his captain for the Netherlands.
With the game there for the taking, Slot sent Isak on at half-time after Conor Bradley suffered a knock – and the £125m British record signing finished coolly past Guglielmo Vicario after being fed by Florian Wirtz for his first Premier League assist.
However, as Isak got his shot away he was floored by Micky van de Ven and was unable to celebrate his goal.
The Sweden forward looked in serious pain and he was replaced by Jeremie Frimpong just 15 minutes after coming on.
Spurs came close to equalising when Randal Kolo Muani’s deflected effort hit the bar, but Liverpool doubled their advantage in the 66th minute.
Frimpong’s deflected cross was met by France forward Ekitike, who headed in his fifth goal in his past three league games.
Spurs were furious that the goal was allowed to stand, claiming Ekitike had fouled Romero – with the Tottenham captain subsequently booked for his protests.
Frank introduced Richarlison for Kolo Muani in the 80th minute and three minutes later, the Brazil attacker was on hand to finish past Alisson in a crowded penalty box after Liverpool failed to clear their lines.
The visitors looked nervy as 10-man Tottenham hunted for an equaliser late on, but the hosts had another player sent off when Romero was given a second yellow card in injury time for lashing out at Ibrahima Konate after Spurs won a free-kick.
Liverpool managed to hold on for a victory which moves them up to fifth in the league – and they are now unbeaten in their past six after a run of nine defeats in 12.
