Spurs sink nine-man Liverpool thanks to last-gasp Matip own goal

LONDON :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 side 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 that was played at an electric pace.

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.

It was Spurs' first win over Liverpool since 2017 and only their second in 21 league games against the Reds but they made hard work of it after Liverpool went down to nine men.

Tottenham are making a habit of winning games in the dying minutes under manager Ange Postecoglou though, having scored twice deep into stoppage time to beat Sheffield United 2-1 in their last home game, and Saturday's affair was no less dramatic.

It started with Liverpool putting the hosts under pressure and Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario having to