Spurs answer Tudor's call with show of fight in the face of crisis

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Richarlison strikes in injury time as Spurs take point from Liverpool

Chief football writer at AnfieldPublished5 hours ago556 CommentsIgor Tudor delivered a message of defiance amid Tottenham Hotspur's deepening crisis when he told his players before their visit to Liverpool: "You can stay and cry or you can fight".

The smart money was on more tears after four straight losses under the Croatian saw an alarming drop towards relegation, along with a loss at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 first leg that was nothing short of a fiasco.

Tudor came under heavy criticism, not just for replacing Antonin Kinsky after only 17 minutes following two mistakes in the 5-2 defeat, but for blanking the young keeper as he walked off.

And yet here, against all odds and without 13 players because of suspension and injuries, Spurs stood and fought every inch of the way at Anfield to earn a fully deserved point with a performance that may yet prove to be of wider significance as they fight against the drop into the Championship.

Will it be enough to buy Tudor more time? We shall see.

The sense is he is not out of the woods yet, but at least Tudor can have the satisfaction of demonstrating he can get a reaction, at least once, from Spurs players who had previously looked down and out.

At the heart of it all was Richarlison, every touch jeered by Liverpool fans because of his previous Everton connections, but a constant menace as he gave Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez a torrid time.

Richarlison had already forced several saves from Brazil team-mate Alisson before finally striking gold in the 90th minute, after Randal Kolo Muani had shrugged off Van Dijk's feeble challenge and Andrew Robertson faltered.

He turned away after silencing the taunts, cupping his ear to The Kop, who were stunned into silence after his sixth Premier League goal versus Liverpool.

It was his fifth at Anfield. Only Andrew Cole, with eight, has more away goals against Liverpool in the competition.

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How going direct changed the game for Spurs

Tudor, who has had nothing to celebrate since succeeding sacked Thomas Frank, pumped his fists in delight towards the travelling Spurs fans, who celebrated wildly as their team finally got the reward they merited.

Minutes later, the jeering that Liverpool's fans had reserved for Richarlison was turned on their own team in fury as a win that would have taken head coach Arne Slot's team into the Premier League's top four was cast aside.

Spurs even threatened a winner in the closing moments, but this was a dream still out of reach for Tudor.

The performance was in the sharpest of contrasts to what has been seen under Tudor so far – gritty, resilient, threatening.

In short, Spurs' players did not cry. They fought. And earned what might be a priceless point.

Tudor told Match Of The Day: "There was a lot of hard work, the will to do right things and be a team. We can say it was deserved. I am happy, happy for the players. It is never easy to come to Anfield.

"There was progress in terms of mentality and will to stay and suffer. That for sure is progress. I cannot speak about progress because we know what happened in the last two games. This was a game where we came here with 12 players. This is something big for our fans, for the players. This is really something big."

On his goal celebration he said: "It's nice. All the games are important because there are not too many until the end. Every point counts. We need to get players back and choose the right players."

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Spurs happy to earn 'very good point' at Liverpool - Tudor

Spurs had shown this new-found spirit even before they suffered the blow of Dominik Szoboszlai's 18th minute free-kick, a decent strike but one that a poorly-positioned Guglielmo Vicario, back in goal for the unfortunate Kinsky, should have kept out.

In Vicario's defence, he later made a magnificent save when he turned Cody Gakpo's shot on to the post. That moment kept Spurs in the game when a second Liverpool goal might have killed them off.

Richarlison, the pantomime villain, had the last word as he, above all, answered Tudor's call to fight.

He still retains hero status at Everton for his brilliant performances and efforts when they just about retained their Premier League status in 2021-22.

Spurs will need him to do the same now as he showed here just how vital he could prove to be in tandem with the tireless Dominic Solanke.

Richarlison's goal took him to 100 goal contributions (73 goals, 27 assists) in the Premier League. Roberto Firmino (132) and Gabriel Jesus (118) are the only other Brazilians to reach that milestone.

As for Liverpool, there was little comfort in this result as they missed the chance to move back into the Premier League's top four, feeling the full anger of their fans at the finale.

The one shaft of light was a superb performance from 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, selected ahead of Mohamed Salah. He received a standing ovation when he was substituted after 64 minutes, unlike the Egyptian, who simply could not do anything right when he came on.

As for Spurs, it remains to be seen if this excellent display is to be an exception rather than the rule - but for the first time in a long time there was light at the end of what has been the darkest of tunnels.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario should have saved Dominik Szoboszlai's free-kick but redeemed himself later with a superb save from Cody Gakpo

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