'We have some fresh air' - Tudor finds a flicker of Spurs identity with pivotal point at Anfield

"There is a long way to stay in the Premier League, still many games to play, but we it was important to show what we showed today, regardless of the result."

Sun, 15 Mar, 2026 - 20:23

Simon Mullock

Liverpool 1 Tottenham 1

There were suggestions that Igor Tudor mistook a member of his own staff for Arne Slot before taking his seat on the bench. At least Tottenham's interim coach now knows what a Premier League point looks like.

A last-minute equaliser by Brazilian striker Richarlison rescued Tudor from the ignominy of a fifth successive defeat since he was handed the task of keeping the London club in the top-flight.

Spurs are still knee-deep in the relegation battle, but the point they claimed at Anfield will give weight to the belief on White Hart Lane that the Lilywhites are too good to go down.

With Leeds, Nottingham Forest and West Ham all picking up a point apiece over the weekend, Tudor had to find a response.

But before the game, the Croatian appeared to believe he was offering a handshake to Liverpool manager Slot only to discover the bald figure stood by the mouth of the tunnel was actually Allan Dixon, Tottenham's player liaison officer.

When keeper Guglielmo Vicario marked his return to the starting line-up by allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to beat him with an 18th-minute free-kick that the Italian should have saved, it appeared that the pressure on Spurs to change the manager again was about to be cranked up another notch. Then Richarlison came to the rescue.

Tudor said: "I have coached for 15 years and never have I thought for one second about my future. Not one second. I don't think about my future or my past, just tomorrow and training. I don't waste energy. I just focus on there here and now because you can get away from the fever like that.

"It's nice. We have some fresh air. Some good things happened for the confidence of the players, everyone around the club and especially the fans.

"There is a long way to stay in the Premier League, still many games to play, but we it was important to show what we showed today, regardless of the result.

"Today we showed our mentality. It's simple things, like winning second balls and showing fight. It's a good start. It wasn't easy and we now need to show ourselves in the the next two games."

Those two games, both at home, are against Atletico Madrid and Forest. The first will see Spurs try to overcome a 5-2 first-leg deficit to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. The second will be the mother of all six-pointers.

The result was as damaging for Liverpool as it was uplifting for the visitors. Arne Slot's team were moving up to fourth place in the table before the late drama and the Dutchman called on his players to take their frustration out on Galatasaray on Wednesday night when the Turkish club arrive at Anfield defending a 1-0 Champions League advantage.

Slot said: "It is damaging, of course, but how many times have things like this damaged us? You see a lot of teams out-performing our xG, but not us. We are also struggling to keep clean sheets. That's a bad combination.

"Scoring a second goal damages the momentum of the other team. Spurs created chances, but that meant they were open for counter-attacks. The three, four of five times we did that we didn't score and we became anxious.

"I think it's understandable for the fans to be frustrated. Now it's up to us to bring that frustration into Wednesday and come up with a big performance."

Liverpool failed to build on the advantage they secured when Vicario failed to keep out Szoboszlai's curling free-kick from 25 yards despite getting a full hand on the ball.

Cody Gakpo hit the post soon afterwards, but when Richarlison failed to take two excellent chances on the stroke of half-time, it served notice that Spurs were far from beaten.

Liverpool failed to heed the warning and when substitute Randal Kolo Muani muscled his way past Andy Robertson before squaring a pass for the former Evertonian, his scuffed finish left Alisson stranded.

Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Szoboszlai, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister (Chiesa 90), Frimpong (Salah 64), Wirtz (Jones 64), Ngumoha (Ekitike 64), Gakpo (Nyoni 83). Subs Not Used: Mamardashvili, Konate, Kerkez, Ramsay.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): Vicario ,Porro,Danso,Dragusin, Spence (Olusesi 76),Souza (Simons 56),Gray,Sarr,Tel (Muani 75), Richarlison (Rowswell 90),Solanke. Subs Not Used: Kinsky, Austin, Wilson.

Ref: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).

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