Liverpool kept their momentum going and put even more pressure on Thomas Frank with a win against nine-man Tottenham. Xavi Simons getting a red card in the first half really helped Liverpool, and they took advantage to stay unbeaten for the last six games, even if the end was a bit crazy.

Simons got sent off for stepping on Virgil van Dijk's calf in the 33rd minute of a pretty awful first half. Randal Kolo Muani blew the best chance, weakly heading it right at Alisson.

Luckily, things got interesting after halftime when Arne Slot brought on Alexander Isak. A mistake by Cristian Romero let Liverpool in, and Florian Wirtz found Isak, who blasted it in as he got taken out by Micky van de Ven.

Isak got hurt and had to come off, but the goal made the game exciting. Kolo Muani hit the crossbar with a shot that deflected. Minutes later, it was 2-0 when Jeremie Frimpong's cross found Hugo Ekitike, who jumped over Romero and headed it in off the crossbar.

Richarlison came off the bench and scored after Van Dijk missed a kick. But it didn't mean much, as Romero got a second yellow card late in the game. This loss leaves Spurs in 13th place, with only one win in their last eight league games.

1. Simons' Dumb Move

After a boring first half-hour, the crowd finally had something to get excited about—but not in a good way. Simons stepped on Van Dijk's calf. The referee initially gave a yellow card, but then went to the monitor and changed it to a red card.

The Premier League Match Centre said, "After checking with VAR, the ref changed the yellow card to a red for serious foul play." The ref said, “After review, the Tottenham No. 7, with studs, catches the Liverpool player [No. 4] on the calf—it's serious foul play. Red card.”

Gary Neville on Sky Sports said, "Simons wasn't getting there." He digs his studs into Van Dijk's leg. Not smart. Not a good challenge. He's nowhere near the ball. Call it what you want, but it was dumb.

2. Boring and Cautious

The first half wasn't fun to watch. Thomas Frank’s team, already under pressure, played very cautiously, seeming more interested in stopping Liverpool than attacking.

Without Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo, Liverpool had a similar setup, with Arne Slot filling the midfield. Dominik Szoboszlai has been playing in Salah's spot lately, while Wirtz was on the left. This made Liverpool very narrow, and Milos Kerkez and Conor Bradley struggled to push forward from the back.

The stats at halftime revealed how uneventful it was: nine shots that didn't matter much, with the Spurs having 0.44 xG compared to Liverpool's 0.25 xG. Thankfully, the second half had plenty of drama.

3. Kudus Sums Up Spurs

Early in the second half, Spurs had a chance to counterattack. The ball went to Mohammed Kudus, who had space. He turned and passed backwards. The crowd groaned. A few seconds later, he had space again but just stood on the ball. More groans. Kudus then passed it harmlessly out of play while trying to find a teammate making a run. The fans were clearly not happy.

Frank took Kudus off—a £55 million winger who used to be exciting—and put on Brennan Johnson. But his embarrassing few minutes showed what's wrong with the team: no confidence, confused about the plan, and scared to take risks.

4. Liverpool Takes Off

Peter Crouch thought Salah being out might let Slot play Isak and Ekitike together. He was right, but they were only on the field together for less than 10 minutes. Still, it was a glimpse of Liverpool's future.

First, Wirtz slipped Isak in with a great pass. Isak did what he's known for, smashing the shot into the net. But people will be even more excited about Ekitike, especially about how he outmuscled Romero to head in the goal. He’s now got five goals in his last three league games and looks the real deal.

5. Crazy Ending

Spurs looked done for, but then they weren't. Richarlison came off the bench and gave the crowd a boost. He was in the right spot to score after a scramble in the box. Van Dijk missed his kick, giving Richarlison the chance to score. He then pushed Ekitike's neck into the ground while getting the ball out of the net, stirring up trouble.

Romero made things easier for Liverpool by kicking Ibrahima Konate. But Alisson still had to make some saves from Pedro Porro to secure the win, even though they were playing against nine men.