Liverpool 3-1 Spurs: Moments that shaped the win – thank you VAR

Harry Kane’s injury

Tottenham’s star striker, Harry Kane, has been in fine form this season and is rightly considered the best in his position in the league. He is key to Spurs’ forward play, as well as defending from the front, which Jose Mourinho raves about frequently.

In tonight’s game, though, Harry Kane suffered an injury after Thiago’s slightly mistimed tackle halfway through the first half. In the face of the discomfort and pain, Kane was evidently in, he decided to stay on the field.

Ultimately, this was a deciding factor in Liverpool taking the lead just before the second half. Jordan Henderson, who was allowed the room to venture forward, played a beautiful dinked ball to Sadio Mane, which created the goal. Had Kane been in zero discomforts, he would have pressed Henderson and denied him the time on the ball he was gifted.

The striker did not return to the field in the second half, and this restricted Spurs’ attacking threat on the counter. It also left them devoid of the league’s finest finisher.