Alexander Isak endured a bittersweet evening as the Liverpool striker scored before limping off injured in a chaotic 2-1 win over nine-man Tottenham on Saturday.
Isak put Liverpool ahead in the second half in north London after Tottenham’s Xavi Simons was sent off before the interval for a nasty lunge on Virgil van Dijk.
It was only Isak’s third goal in 16 games in all competitions since his British record £125 million ($166 million) move from Newcastle on transfer deadline day.
Yet in keeping with Isak’s troubled start to life with the Premier League champions, the 26-year-old was unable to fully enjoy his goal as he was forced to come off after being injured by Micky van de Ven’s failed attempt to stop him scoring.
Hugo Ekitike’s fifth goal in his last four appearances put Liverpool in command before Richarlison’s reply set up a tense finale that came to a head with Tottenham defender Romero’s dismissal in stoppage time.
Arne Slot’s side are up to fifth place in the Premier League after extending their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions, further distancing them from the miserable run of nine defeats in 12 that plunged them into crisis.
While Liverpool steadied the ship with a third successive win, Isak’s injury could not have come at a worse time following Mohamed Salah’s departure for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Slot claimed on Friday that Liverpool had “moved on” from the Salah controversy after his explosive interview two weeks ago in which he said he had been thrown under the bus by the club and no longer had a relationship with the Reds boss.
He was dropped from the squad for a Champions League game at Inter Milan but returned as a substitute in last week’s victory over Brighton.
The 33-year-old is now on international duty with Egypt for several weeks, making Isak’s injury an especially painful blow if he is ruled out for a prolonged period.
Isak impact
Slot will spend Christmas sweating on Isak’s fitness and Tottenham manager Thomas Frank’s festive period will be even more fraught.
Last weekend’s limp 3-0 loss at Nottingham Forest sparked debate over the Dane’s future in his rocky first season in charge.
Tottenham are languishing in 13th place after winning just one of their last eight league games.
Ange Postecoglou was sacked despite winning the Europa League last season to end Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought and Frank is in danger of suffering the same fate as the Australian if results don’t improve soon.
Simons left Tottenham with a mountain to climb in the 33rd minute when he raked his studs down Van Dijk’s calf with an ugly challenge from behind.
Initially booked for the foul, Simons was shown the red card after a VAR review.
Slot sent on Isak for the injured Conor Bradley at half-time and it took the Sweden striker just 11 minutes to make an impact as Liverpool broke the deadlock with a goal £300 million in the making.
All three of Liverpool’s costly close-season signings combined as Ekitike picked out Florian Wirtz and he slipped a perfectly weighted pass to Isak, who timed his run to drill a clinical finish past Guglielmo Vicario from 10 yards.
Ekitike doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 66th minute.
Jeremie Frimpong’s deflected cross looped into the six-yard box, where Ekitike out-jumped Romero to thump his header into the top corner.
Richarlison reduced the deficit with a close-range blast after Reds captain Van Dijk miscued a clearance in the 83rd minute.
But, with the visitors wobbling, Romero’s second booking for kicking Ibrahima Konate let Liverpool off the hook.
