With Mo Salah having departed for the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool once again faced the prospect of being without their star man.
A defensive-minded setup from Arne Solt stifled the early stages of this game, with a few blocked Spurs efforts and a tame Virgil van Dijk header accounting for the only notable openings.
It took Spurs 25 minutes to manufacture a clear sighting of goal, but the wasteful Randal Kolo Muani could only head straight at Alisson after Djed Spence had kept Pedro Porro’s deep delivery alive.
The pendulum swung firmly in Liverpool’s favour on the half-hour mark when Xavi Simons raked his studs down the back of Van Dijk’s leg. Referee John Brooks only punished the challenge with a yellow card on the field, but after being recommended to check the pitchside monitor, he overruled his initial decision and showed Simons a red card.
With a man advantage, Arne Slot withdrew Conor Bradley at the break and introduced Alexander Isak to try and bolster his side’s attack. His decision paid dividends within 15 minutes of the restart, as Isak was slipped through on goal by Florian Wirtz and he made no mistake in arrowing an effort into the far corner.
Isak limped off as a consequence of the aftermath of a challenge that led to the goal, and Liverpool’s misery was almost compounded shortly after the hour mark when Randal Kolo Muani’s deflected up and over a stranded Alisson but bounced away to safety off the bar.
They were unlucky with the woodwork at one end and even unluckier at the other end moments later, as Hugo Ekitike climbed highest inside the area to head home Jeremie Frimpong’s delivery, with his effort kissing the post on the way in.
Introducing the likes of Joao Palhinha hinted at damage limitation for Thomas Frank, but it was his men who set up a grandstand finish when Richarlison pounced on a loose ball inside the area to halve arrears.
The Brazilian had a chance to level the scores but saw an effort blocked by Ibrahima Konate at the last second. Liverpool had to survive a nervy nine minutes of added time, but their task was made a little simpler when Romero was dismissed in stoppage time following an altercation with Konate, and with a two-man advantage, they were untroubled in seeing out a victory which moved them firmly back into contention for the European spots.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)