By Phil McNulty , Chief football writer at Anfield.
Richarlison’s last-gasp equaliser earned Tottenham Hotspur a deserved draw at Liverpool as under-pressure interim coach Igor Tudor earned his first point.
Despite delivering their best performance under the Croatian, Spurs looked set to slump to a seventh-successive loss in all competitions – their fifth under the Croatian – after Dominik Szoboszlai’s 18th minute free-kick put Liverpool ahead.
Richarlison had been a constant menace, forcing Liverpool keeper Alisson into several saves, before he finally pounced on Randal Kolo Muani’s pass to score in the 90th minute.
It was a bitter blow to Liverpool, who looked to be moving back into the top four, but a huge lift for Spurs as they showed real resilience to finally stop the rot, especially after the midweek Champions League fiasco at Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah to the bench, giving 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha his first Premier League start, and how he justified that act of faith.
Spurs, with 13 players missing through either injury or suspension, started brightly but were undermined by another goalkeeping error.
Vicario, starting instead of Antonin Kinsky following his nightmare in the heavy loss in Spain, got his positioning all wrong for Szoboszlai’s free-kick, failing to keep it out despite getting a strong hand on the effort.
And Liverpool came close to doubling the lead before half-time, Vicario this time doing well to turn Cody Gakpo’s shot on to the post.
But Richarlison led the Spurs line with great heart, heading narrowly wide and forcing two important saves from Alisson either side of the interval before finally striking in front of a stunned Kop.