By Ken Ferris
LONDON (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur left it late to down nine-man Liverpool 2-1 and had an own goal by Joel Matip to thank for their stoppage-time win as the defender turned the ball home to leave Spurs second in the Premier League behind Manchester City on Saturday.
Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool had gamely battled to try to take home a point after Cody Gakpo cancelled out Son Heung-min’s opener with the visitors having Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota sent off in a feisty clash.
Spurs took the lead in the 36th minute through Son, 10 minutes after Jones was sent off for a crunching tackle on midfielder Yves Bissouma, before Gakpo equalised just before halftime with a smart shot on the turn in the box.
The Dutch midfielder was injured in scoring though and did not come out for the second period, with Jota replacing him, but the Portuguese forward was dismissed in the 69th after a second yellow card and Liverpool held out until Matip’s own goal.
Tottenham’s victory puts them in second spot on 17 points along with third-placed Arsenal and both teams are now a point behind Manchester City who lost at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The defeat leaves Liverpool in fourth position on 16 points.
(Reporting by Ken Ferris; Editing by Clare Fallon)
