Gary Neville baffled as Liverpool almost commit 'unforgivable' act vs Tottenham

Liverpool managed to escape with three points against Tottenham despite facing nine men, and Gary Neville claimed that it would have been "unforgivable" if they conceded

Gary Neville was bitterly disappointed with how Liverpool finished the game on Saturday(Image: 2025 James Gill - Danehouse)

Former Manchester United star Gary Neville was stunned by Tottenham's late pressure against Liverpool on Saturday, calling it "unforgivable" as the hosts were playing with nine men.

Liverpool held on to secure a 2-1 victory in North London following goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, after Richarlison pulled one back with seven minutes remaining. Tottenham played with 10 men for 60 minutes after Xavi Simons was sent off in the first half for a dangerous challenge on Virgil van Dijk.

Isak and Ekitike handed Liverpool a comfortable lead in the second half, but Tottenham threatened to equalize in the final minutes, despite being reduced to nine men. Cristian Romero was sent off in additional time, leaving Neville astonished that Liverpool still looked vulnerable.

Romero was shown a second yellow card in injury time, but Tottenham continued to create chances and push for an unlikely equalizer. Liverpool had looked dominant throughout the second half, but lost composure when Richardlison breached the defense.

Although Liverpool managed to secure a third-straight win, Neville was unimpressed. "Liverpool have been appalling in the last few minutes," he said live on Sky Sports.

"It would be unforgivable for them to concede one now."

Although Liverpool managed to keep Tottenham at bay, it was a frantic finale in London.

Richarlison's late goal led to a frantic finish at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium(Image: 2025 Getty Images)

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot didn't appear to be concerned with the ending and was happy with the vast majority of the performance. "The difficult thing is, football is you always remember the last few minutes the most, and they were the worst minutes of our total game," he said.

"If I calm down a little bit, there’s a lot to like. I’ve stood here many times and liked the performance, and we didn’t get the three points."

Slot was also asked why Liverpool appeared to struggle when facing 10 men toward the end of the game, and then nine once Romero had been sent off. "We didn’t keep the ball when we had the ball — kicked it away, threw it away," Slot said.

Hugo Ekitike's header ended up being the winning goal for Liverpool(Image: 2025 Marc Atkins)

"It became very hectic and chaotic in the end. The moments when we had, instead of keeping it and playing from foot to foot, we lost it every single time after two seconds."

Although it wasn't a comfortable victory, Liverpool appears to have overcome its struggles and is unbeaten since November 26. Despite concerns over their ability to defend this season, Liverpool has won the past three games and has conceded only one goal.

"We had good control over the game," Slot concluded. "Both teams didn’t create that much. Another time, a win.

"Six times unbeaten — four wins, two draws. That comes a bit closer to what we expect from us. We are definitely not perfect, but both of our Nos. 9 scored."