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Analyse that then?

Where to start.

It was frenetic, breathless, incident-packed, controversial.

At times the football didn't reach the level of say the Man City game but it was enthralling throughout.

Let's be straight. Spurs deserved their draw, even if their method of getting there may not have been the right one.

They had the bulk of the midfield control and Liverpool couldn't find the right balls on the break to make their early advantage from Mo Salah count.

But the truth is the visitors were awarded two highly debatable penalties, albeit Loris Karius saved the first.

First Harry Kane looked offside before he tumbled under Karius' out-stretched hand, then the contact between van Dijk and Lamela looked minimal when the assistant referee awarded a second spot-kick deep in injury time.

It deprived us of a great individual winning goal from Salah, also in injury time, one that will stand the test of time.

A dozen Premier League games left then.

Liverpool will enter them in the top four but with Spurs hot on their heels and a rejuvenated Arsenal hoping to join the party.

They play each other next week and no one will be more interested than Liverpool supporters.

Like this game, the race for the top four is set to go right to the wire.

Liverpool will be taking nothing for granted. If games in the mini-league among the top six will decide those top four spots, Liverpool have now played all their rivals at Anfield yet still face trips to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge among the run-in.

The Egyptian King

Royalty indeed this Egyptian king in our midst.

He took his first goal - number 20 of the Premier League season - like the gift it was as Dier's back pass fell short. Left foot and slotted low into the Kop goal with three minutes not yet on the clock.





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Then a display full of work and desire.

The Spurs midfield could rightly have taken out a harassment order on him so often did he appear to mess up their control, a foot, a leg, anything popping up to try to change the momentum.

He didn't get many other chances so decided to do it all by himself a minute into time added on.

Right side of the area, narrow angle and his path is blocked by Alli.

But he picks up the ball, makes a couple of darts and somehow gets the ball over Hugo Loris and into the net.

It had the air of Messi even or perhaps a Maradona.

We should just call it a Salah though, as he's starting to have his own individual stamp of quality.

It deserved to win any game and how desperately disappointing it didn't win this one?

Still that's 28 for the season and 21 in the Premier League.

If Harry Kane wants that Golden Boot he's going to have to earn it as the Kop seem determined to sing their new hero onto greater heights as he keeps "running down the wing".

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Van Dijk didn't deserve that

He didn't deserve that, Virgil van Dijk.

The flag from the assistant referee in minute 95 was a cruel blow, suggesting Liverpool's £75m man had made contact with Erik Lamela in the box.

It was minor if it was there at all but the history books will only show Harry Kane equalised from the spot and Spurs left with a point.

Until then it had been much more like it. The fact that Kane only really came to prominence with the penalties showed how well the Liverpool centre-backs had done as a pair.





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Van Dijk was sat on the bench when many of Liverpool's players worked out their FA Cup frustrations on Huddersfield in midweek.

Back in the side though here was the Dutchman's chance and he looked keen to take it from the off.

A great block to deny Son was followed by a fine leap to head away the corner which resulted.

He was in the right place at the right time on several occasions and with Spurs winning several set plays near the Reds' box his physical presence was a reassuring sight as those balls were whipped in by Eriksen and Davies.

He was a danger in the other box too, getting on the end of a couple of crosses though without reward.

He already looks a leader in the team - giving Emre Can an encouraging clap when he spread the ball well in the second half.

Jurgen Klopp feels he'll be a proper Liverpool player in about six months time though wasn't keen to support Jamie Carragher's theory that he might need to lose a few pounds too.

Either way, the prospect of a van Dijk much improved on this fine showing is one to savour.

He really didn't deserve that ending.

(Image: (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images))

Lovren enjoys partial redemption

You can't mention van Dijk without a word for his partner.

Dejan Lovren had plenty of reasons to see the arrival at Spurs at Anfield as a chance for redemption.

October 22 at Wembley was a day he would gladly expunge from the record books.

Thirty minutes of bad decisions and errant defending and his number was up, substituted by his manager while Jurgen Klopp still felt that Liverpool still had the chance of winning the game at 2-1 down. It didn't get any better of course with the Reds left licking the wounds of a 40-1 defeat.

Lovren was humiliated and of course public enemy number one among plenty of the supporters.

One extreme idiot even threatened the Croatian's family on social media, something rightly condemned by pretty much everybody else.

Here then were Spurs again, Harry Kane again, Lovren on the team sheet again.

He has responded well to the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, the man many saw as having been bought to replace him.

Joel Matip's up and down performances allowed him the opportunity to partner the man who might become his nemesis.

And for most of the game he was excellent, positionally aware, reading the game and winning his challenges.

One scuffed clearance allowed Alli's ball to reach Kane for the first penalty although the Spurs man looked initially offside.

Overall Lovren showed that it's not just one expensive centre-back from Southampton who could have a future at Anfield.

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Alexander-Arnold won't give up his spot without a fight

He didn't have the greatest outing against West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup, though did anybody in red?

Here the 18-year-old reminded us of what he can bring to the team in years to come.

Twice in the first period, superb passes found their mark with pace and accuracy. James Milner with a shot and Roberto Firmino's head had the chance to turn them into assists but both were narrowly wide.

He wasn't scared to shoot himself either, his effort in front of the Kop almost getting a crucial diversion home from Mo Salah.

The victim of a tough challenge from Ben Davies which went unpunished by Jon Moss, the teenager wasn't going to back away when the next arrived, albeit his stretch was a little uncontrolled and Moss delivered a yellow.

Second half there were a couple of fine link-ups down the right with Mo Salah though the Spurs pressure meant he was constantly trying to get out to block crosses, not always successfully.

The return of Nathaniel Clyne to the Liverpool Champions League squad list means competition for the right-back slot is about to get tougher.

Don't rule out Alexander-Arnold from having his say in that battle though.