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Three things Jurgen Klopp got right and wrong as nine-man Liverpool heartbroken at Spurs
Liverpool were reduced to nine men during their game at Tottenham following red cards for Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota, forcing some drastic changes from Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool saw red twice to give Jurgen Klopp a tactical headache but heartbreak at Tottenham.
Only a 96th-minute own goal prevented Liverpool from getting anything out of Saturday night thriller under the lights.
Curtis Jones was the first to see red after VAR ruled his tackle on Yves Bissouma to be on the high side. And problems soon followed when Son Heung-min put the hosts 1-0 up.
But there was still spirit in Liverpool, as Cody Gakpo levelled before the break - though injured himself in doing so.
Diogo Jota was picked as his replacement, but ultimately saw red himself following two quick yellow cards in the second half.
But Liverpool were brilliant from there onwards and if it wasn't for a calamity own goal from Joel Matip in the dying seconds, they would have held out for victory.
A first-half red card is never an easy thing for any manager to deal with, as ultimately you have to sacrifice a position on the pitch.
For Klopp, he opted to switch to an old-fashioned flat midfielder three, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle, with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz either side.
It meant the Reds were playing without a holding midfielder as such, and were largely relying on Mac Allister to dictate the play and become the shield to the centre-halves on his own, with Szoboszlai still keeping an attacking emphasis.
Opting for the two in midfield, rather than sacrificing a winger, ultimately let Spurs' classy trio of James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr dominate the middle of the park - but it kept Liverpool's creative sparks all on the pitch, potentially creating a situation akin to the game at Newcastle last month.
Liverpool might have been down to 10-men, but they certainly did not look it at this point and rallied to an equaliser.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but perhaps the decision to substitute Diogo Jota on for Curtis Jones - as opposed to Darwin Nunez - is not one that he will look back on with much fondness.
As Liverpool looked to firm things up with 10-men, Jota should have brought a sense of discipline to the Reds' midfield.
But the highly-charged forward only made things worse for Liverpool when he picked up two needless bookings in quick succession, to send the Reds down to nine-men. Both yellow cards clearly could have been avoided.
It's not often that you have to work out how to play with nine men, and it's certainly not something that Klopp will have been working on in the week leading up to the game at Spurs.
But his four quick changes after Jota's red card showed that he was prepared to try something a little different. And it was bordering on genius.
Off came Mo Salah, Joe Gomez, Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister - on came Wataru Endo, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The shape became a three at the back, with everyone else plugging in centrally. Szobolszlai appeared to be the most advanced player, but he was given a bit of a hiding to nothing given his defensive responsibilities to boot.
But no strikers was certainly the right way to go. Liverpool were compact, solid and hard to break down. And with Alexander-Arnold on one side and Andy Robertson on the other, Liverpool had the ability to keep bringing the ball back out of danger.
It had worked a treat until Matip's devastating last-minute own goal.
Daily Star Sunday
Liverpool were reduced to nine men during their game at Tottenham following red cards for Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota, forcing some drastic changes from Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool saw red twice to give Jurgen Klopp a tactical headache but heartbreak at Tottenham.
Only a 96th-minute own goal prevented Liverpool from getting anything out of Saturday night thriller under the lights.
Curtis Jones was the first to see red after VAR ruled his tackle on Yves Bissouma to be on the high side. And problems soon followed when Son Heung-min put the hosts 1-0 up.
But there was still spirit in Liverpool, as Cody Gakpo levelled before the break - though injured himself in doing so.
Diogo Jota was picked as his replacement, but ultimately saw red himself following two quick yellow cards in the second half.
But Liverpool were brilliant from there onwards and if it wasn't for a calamity own goal from Joel Matip in the dying seconds, they would have held out for victory.
A first-half red card is never an easy thing for any manager to deal with, as ultimately you have to sacrifice a position on the pitch.
For Klopp, he opted to switch to an old-fashioned flat midfielder three, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle, with Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz either side.
It meant the Reds were playing without a holding midfielder as such, and were largely relying on Mac Allister to dictate the play and become the shield to the centre-halves on his own, with Szoboszlai still keeping an attacking emphasis.
Opting for the two in midfield, rather than sacrificing a winger, ultimately let Spurs' classy trio of James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr dominate the middle of the park - but it kept Liverpool's creative sparks all on the pitch, potentially creating a situation akin to the game at Newcastle last month.
Liverpool might have been down to 10-men, but they certainly did not look it at this point and rallied to an equaliser.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but perhaps the decision to substitute Diogo Jota on for Curtis Jones - as opposed to Darwin Nunez - is not one that he will look back on with much fondness.
As Liverpool looked to firm things up with 10-men, Jota should have brought a sense of discipline to the Reds' midfield.
But the highly-charged forward only made things worse for Liverpool when he picked up two needless bookings in quick succession, to send the Reds down to nine-men. Both yellow cards clearly could have been avoided.
It's not often that you have to work out how to play with nine men, and it's certainly not something that Klopp will have been working on in the week leading up to the game at Spurs.
But his four quick changes after Jota's red card showed that he was prepared to try something a little different. And it was bordering on genius.
Off came Mo Salah, Joe Gomez, Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister - on came Wataru Endo, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The shape became a three at the back, with everyone else plugging in centrally. Szobolszlai appeared to be the most advanced player, but he was given a bit of a hiding to nothing given his defensive responsibilities to boot.
But no strikers was certainly the right way to go. Liverpool were compact, solid and hard to break down. And with Alexander-Arnold on one side and Andy Robertson on the other, Liverpool had the ability to keep bringing the ball back out of danger.
It had worked a treat until Matip's devastating last-minute own goal.
Daily Star Sunday