Defending champions Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1 and moved up to fifth place in the Premier League.
Published December 20, 2025
Alexander Isak endured a bittersweet night, limping off injured after the Liverpool striker scored a goal in a chaotic 2-1 win against Tottenham nine-a-side.
Isak put Liverpool ahead in the second half after Tottenham’s Xavi Simmons was sent off for a nasty lunge on Virgil van Dijk before the start of the game in north London on Saturday.
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It was Isak’s third goal in 16 competitive games since joining from Newcastle for a British record £125 million on transfer deadline day.
However, similar to Isak’s difficult start to life at the Premier League champions, the 26-year-old was unable to fully enjoy his time in goal and was forced off injured after failing to prevent Micky van de Ven from scoring.
Hugo Ekitike’s fifth goal in his last four appearances put Liverpool in the lead, and Richarlison’s reply set up a tense finale, which culminated in stoppage time when Tottenham defender Romero was sent off.
Arne Slott’s side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to six games, moving them into fifth place in the Premier League and further distancing themselves from a dismal run of nine defeats in 12 games that put them in crisis.
While Liverpool steadied the ship with three consecutive wins, Isak’s injury could not have come at a worse time, following Mohamed Salah’s departure for the African Cup of Nations.
Slott claimed on Friday that Liverpool had “moved on” from the Salah controversy after an explosive interview two weeks ago in which he said he was thrown under the bus by the club and no longer had a relationship with the Reds manager.
He was left out of the squad for the Champions League game against Inter Milan, but returned as a substitute against Brighton last week.
The 33-year-old is currently on multi-week international duty with Egypt, so Isak’s injury would be particularly damaging if he were to be sidelined for an extended period of time.
Slott will spend Christmas working on Isak’s fitness, and Tottenham manager Thomas Frank will have an even busier Christmas period.
Last weekend’s weak 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest sparked debate over the Dane’s future after a turbulent first season in charge.
Tottenham have won just one of their last eight league games and are languishing in 13th place.
Ange Postecoglou was sacked despite ending Tottenham’s 17-year title drought by winning the Europa League last season, and Frank risks following the same fate as the Australian unless his results improve soon.
Simmons left Tottenham with a mountain to climb in the 33rd minute when he studded Van Dijk in the calf with an ugly challenge from behind.
Simmons was initially booked for the foul, but after a VAR review, he was shown a red card.
Slott brought on Isak for the injured Conor Bradley at half-time and it took just 11 minutes for the Swedish striker to make an impact, with Liverpool breaking the deadlock with a £300 million goal.
Ekitike brought in Florian Wirtz, combining all three of Liverpool’s expensive transfers to bring in Florian Wirtz, who played a perfectly weighted pass to Isak, who timed his run to set Guglielmo Vicario home from 10 yards out.
Ekitike extended Liverpool’s lead to two points in the 66th minute.
Jeremy Frimpong’s deflected cross looped into the six-yard box and Ekitike leapt past Romero to head a shot into the top corner.
Richarlison reduced the gap in the 83rd minute with a close-range shot after Reds captain Van Dijk missed a clearance.
However, with the visitors reeling, Romero’s second shot, off Ibrahima Konate, saved Liverpool.
