Spurs answer Tudor's call with show of fight in the face of crisis

Igor Tudor delivered a message of defiance amid Tottenham Hotspur's deepening crisis when he told his players before their visit to Liverpool: "You can stay and cry or you can fight".

“Igor Tudor delivered a message of defiance amid Tottenham Hotspur's deepening crisis when he told his players before their visit to Liverpool: "You can stay and cry or you can fight"”

BBC

The smart money was on more tears after four straight losses under the Croatian saw an alarming drop towards relegation, along with a loss at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 first leg that was nothing short of a fiasco.

BBC

Tudor came under heavy criticism, not just for replacing Antonin Kinsky after only 17 minutes following two mistakes in the 5-2 defeat, but for blanking the young keeper as he walked off.

And yet here, against all odds and without 13 players because of suspension and injuries, Spurs stood and fought every inch of the way at Anfield to earn a fully deserved point with a performance that may yet prove to be of wider significance as they fight against the drop into the Championship.

Will it be enough to buy Tudor more time? We shall see.

The sense is he is not out of the woods yet, but at least Tudor can have the satisfaction of demonstrating he can get a reaction, at least once, from Spurs players who had previously looked down and out.

BBC

At the heart of it all was Richarlison, every touch jeered by Liverpool fans because of his previous Everton connections, but a constant menace as he gave Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez a torrid time.

Richarlison had already forced several saves from Brazil team-mate Alisson before finally striking gold in the 90th minute, after Randal Kolo Muani had shrugged off Van Dijk's feeble challenge and Andrew Robertson faltered.

He turned away after silencing the taunts, cupping his ear to The Kop, who were stunned into silence after his sixth Premier League goal versus Liverpool.

It was his fifth at Anfield. Only Andrew Cole, with eight, has more away goals against Liverpool in the competition.

Tudor, who has had nothing to celebrate since succeeding sacked Thomas Frank, pumped his fists in delight towards the travelling Spurs fans, who celebrated wildly as their team finally got the reward they merited.

Minutes later, the jeering that Liverpool's fans had reserved for Richarlison was turned on their own team in fury as a win that would have taken head coach Arne Slot's team into the Premier League's top four was cast aside.

“Igor Tudor delivered a message of defiance amid Tottenham Hotspur's deepening crisis when he told his players before their visit to Liverpool: "You can stay and cry or you can fight"”

BBC

Spurs even threatened a winner in the closing moments, but this was a dream still out of reach for Tudor.

The performance was in the sharpest of contrasts to what has been seen under Tudor so far – gritty, resilient, threatening.

In short, Spurs' players did not cry. They fought. And earned what might be a priceless point.