Liverpool vs Tottenham LIVE: Result and reaction from Premier League clash as Jota scores late winner

Here come the players.

The teams head out onto the pitch at Anfield with fifth place in the Premier League table at stake. Whoever finishes fifth will claim a place in the Europa League next season.

There’s still a chance that one of these sides could make it into the top four but wins for both Newcastle and Manchester United earlier today make that unlikely.

Kick off is up next.

Mo Salah has been involved in 11 goals in his last eight home games in all competitions (eight goals, three assists), scoring at least once in each of his last six.

Since Salah joined Liverpool in 2017, no other player has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than his seven. He also netted both goals in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Spurs in the reverse fixture this season.

Will Liverpool defeat Tottenham at Anfield this afternoon and edge closer to a guaranteed spot in Europe next season?

Since a 0-0 draw at Tottenham in October 2015, Liverpool have scored in 14 successive Premier League clashes between the sides.

A total of 175 goals have been scored in Premier League meetings between Liverpool and Tottenham, with only the Reds’ fixtures with Arsenal (184) producing more.

Ryan Mason is confident Son Heung-min will be key in Tottenham’s efforts to finish a poor season strongly.

Son scored his 13th goal of the campaign in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United and it was the fourth home fixture in a row where he had found the net.

It has been a difficult campaign for the South Korean, who has been open about his struggles in front of goal and a lack of confidence, but Spurs’ acting head coach talked up the 30-year-old and his desire to never hide in the tough moments this term.

“I have no clue what happened at Tottenham but I see Harry Kane, I see Heung-min Son, I see Kulusevski, I see Perisic, Richarlison, Hojbjerg and so on and on and on,” explained Jurgen Klopp when asked if Spurs’ recent defeat to Newcastle would play into today’s match,

“They played exceptional football during their careers and we realise this year we had some problems in moments and maybe some other teams thought it was a great moment to meet Liverpool. Maybe it was, I don’t know, but if I would have been in the other camp I would never have imagined Liverpool would show up weak.

“I cannot think about Tottenham in any other way than I expect them to be really strong. You give them one ball, it could be the wrong one and they go. Harry Kane can score from pretty much everywhere. In a really difficult game last night, the big chance he prepared for Son, it was exceptional. That you have not a great game but then still this quality, that is the real threat.

“They have real quality and we have to make sure they cannot show it. It’s always the same. In the best Tottenham moments or the lesser-good Tottenham moments, I respect a lot the quality of their team.”

Ryan Mason admits that Liverpool are a strong team to play against but hopes his Spurs side can ‘impose themselves’ on the game this afternoon.

“It’s Anfield, it’s in their stadium and they’re a strong team so we’ll have to be ready to play an intense game and impose our style on it.” He said,

“It’s a game of football at the end of the day so we have to be ready to fight, work for each other and take care of the things on the pitch. Honestly, I think this game is always big, just because of the history of the two football clubs.

“You understand we’ve got five games left until the end of the season, the game on Sunday is not going to determine the outcome at the end of the season but of course we understand Tottenham and Liverpool at any stage of the season in any circumstances is going to be a big game for the players and fans as well.”

Liverpool have lost just one of the last 28 Anfield league meetings with Tottenham and are unbeaten in the last 11, winning seven and drawing four.

The Reds are unbeaten in 10 league meetings with Spurs (seven wins and three draws) and if they avoid defeat they will set a new club record of 11 in a row without losing.

Seven of their last nine league wins against Spurs have been decided by a one-goal margin.

Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason believes Harry Kane’s greatness will only be celebrated when he retires.

Kane helped Spurs respond after last weekend’s humiliation at Newcastle with a superb second-half display to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United on Thursday.

Stand-in captain Kane was at his talismanic best, dropping deep and creating chance after chance before Son Heung-min levelled from his cross to salvage a point after Tottenham had trailed by two goals at half-time.

Jurgen Klopp has ways of spending his time and browsing social media does not tend to be one of them. He objects to kneejerk reactions, to over-the-top opinions, to verdicts on his players that he does not share. Klopp has been accused of being too loyal to some; certainly in a world where impatience reigns.

As he discovered the other day. “Somebody showed me after the West Ham game a thing on Instagram when people find out our line-up and what they write about it and not a lot of them wanted Curtis [Jones] on the pitch, not a lot of them wanted Cody [Gakpo] on the pitch and when they saw Joel Matip was playing they say: ‘How can they do that?’ And they watch the other game.”

In which case, they would have missed Gakpo and Matip scoring in a 2-1 victory at the London Stadium, Liverpool‘s third successive win. Klopp has found a formula for now and it includes Jones. The Liverpudlian had endured a frustrating spell when inhibited by injury. Now he has made five consecutive starts, his longest run of the season. Many others had given up on Jones, but not Klopp.