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OFFICIAL REVIEW: WHY VAR UPGRADED XAVI SIMONS' YELLOW TO A GAME-CHANGING RED CARD
Liverpool takes advantage of red cards for Simons and Romero to beat Spurs. Ekitike and Isak provide the second-half fire.
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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.
BRUNO SALTOR OFFICIALLY JOINS TOTTENHAM AS ASSISTANT COACH FOR THE NORTH LONDON DERBY
Tottenham appoints Bruno Saltor! Discover the new coaching team under Igor Tudor and the departures following Thomas Frank's exit.
Tottenham Hotspur just shook up their coaching staff, bringing in Bruno Saltor, a guy who’s worked with Chelsea and West Ham in the past.
Saltor’s stepping in alongside interim boss Igor Tudor until the season wraps up. Spurs let go of Thomas Frank earlier this month, and, like Manchester United, they’ve decided to go with a temporary setup for now and figure out the bigger picture in the summer.
Tudor, who’s managed clubs like Marseille, Lazio, and Juventus, is set to take charge for the first time this weekend in the North London derby against Arsenal. Saltor will be in the dugout for his first Spurs match, too.
If you’ve followed Saltor’s career, you might know he’s often worked with Graham Potter. That’s how he ended up at both Chelsea and West Ham. When Potter left Chelsea in 2023, Saltor took over as interim head coach. His one match in charge ended in a 0-0 draw with Liverpool. Frank Lampard replaced him soon after, and Saltor stayed on as part of the coaching staff until Mauricio Pochettino arrived, at which point he moved on. He later reunited with Potter at West Ham but left when Potter did in September.
Tottenham’s official statement confirmed the news: “Following the arrival of Igor Tudor as Head Coach until the end of the season, we can now confirm the appointment of three additional coaches to our Men’s First Team coaching staff. We welcome Bruno Saltor as Igor's assistant coach." Born in El Masnou, Spain, Saltor started his playing career in his home country before joining Brighton in 2012. He made 235 appearances there over seven years, then moved into coaching with the Seagulls after retiring in 2019. Since then, he’s picked up experience at Chelsea and West Ham.
Along with Saltor’s appointment, Spurs also announced some departures. Justin Cochrane, John Heitinga, and Chris Haslam are all leaving the coaching staff after Frank’s exit. The club thanked them for their efforts and wished them well.
GLASNER OUT? CRYSTAL PALACE CONSIDERING IMMEDIATE EXIT FOR BOSS AFTER DISMAL EUROPEAN DRAW
Oliver Glasner’s exit is imminent! Discover why Robbie Keane has emerged as the favorite to lead Crystal Palace out of crisis.
Oliver Glasner was supposed to stick around at Crystal Palace until the end of the season. That was the plan, anyway. But after another rough run of results, his exit could come a lot sooner.
Thursday night in Bosnia should’ve been nothing special, just a routine first leg against a team Palace should handle easily, with the real test back at Selhurst Park next week. Instead, a 1-1 draw against Zrinjski Mostar turned into another mess in a season that’s gotten uglier by the week for Glasner and Palace.
The travelling fans didn’t hide how they felt.
Palace have only managed one win in their last 15 games. That’s not a blip; it’s a full-on collapse, and it looks like Glasner’s time might be up even faster than everyone thought.
People at the top of the club have started openly asking if letting Glasner finish out his contract is actually hurting more than helping. He said back in January that he’d leave when his deal was up in the summer, but with results falling off a cliff and morale at rock bottom, those discussions have picked up speed.
Word is, Palace have already started looking for Glasner’s replacement, planning for a summer hire. But now, it looks like they might bring in his successor right away.
One name has shot straight to the top of the list: Robbie Keane.
TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook says Palace are considering Keane as a short-term fix if Glasner goes before the season ends. Keane’s reputation has soared lately. He won the Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Tel Aviv, then took the Hungarian league title in his first season at Ferencváros.
His win rate at Maccabi was over 73 per cent. He’s also done time as an assistant coach at Leeds and Middlesbrough. People who’ve played for him, like Ireland’s Callum O’Dowda, rave about him. O’Dowda said, “As soon as he opens his mouth, you want to listen. It’s phenomenal, really. On the coaching side,e he has been good.”
For now, Keane is still in charge at Ferencvaros, who are still in the Europa League, so prying him away won’t be simple.
Palace sit 13th in the Premier League, eight points clear of the relegation zone, but that gap feels less safe with every week they fail to win.
Tottenham even considered Keane as an interim manager before they went with Igor Tudor.
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