Liverpool kept alive their feint hopes of qualifying for next seasons Champions League as they saw off in-form Spurs 3-2 at Anfield thanks to a late Steven Gerrard penalty.
The North Londoners had come into the game high in confidence as the scintillating form of Gareth Bale aided them in dispatching of Arsenal in the North London Derby last weekend and then trouncing Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday. Defensive errors were their undoing this afternoon though, as Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool recorded their first win over a top 7 side this season.
For the home side the focus was on Suarez as per usual and it was he who put them into the lead after 21 minutes. Some fabulous interplay from Jose Enrique and January signing Coutinho eventually saw Suarez put through to poke beyond Hugo Lloris before the Frenchman had a chance to set himself.
Momentum is key at this stage of the season and within this game it was Liverpool who had it as Suarez again came close after latching on to a Gerrard pass, this time however Lloris was able to beat it away.
Shortly afterwards Kyle Walker was seemingly lucky not to give away a penalty when he tugged down Coutinho inside the 6 yard box as the midfielder looked to get on the end of a Suarez cross.
Spurs were able to capitalise on that slice of fortune by equalising just before the break. Jan Vertonghen was the top performer against Arsenal last weekend and he continued his good form with a goal for himself by nodding past Brad Jones via a sumptuous Bale delivery.
The visitors began the second half as they ended the first, with Vertonghen scoring yet again after more good work from Bale. Michael Dawson made a nuisance of himself in the penalty area, allowing the ball to drop to his Belgian defensive partner who finished wonderfully well past Jones on the volley.
It could, and probably should, have been 3-1 soon after when a powerful run from Bale resulted in another terrific cross that Gylfi Sigurdsson could only hit the post with under pressure from Glen Johnson.
Liverpool punished the lack of ruthlessness from Sigurdsson by making it 2-2 through Stewart Downing. An awful backpass from Walker forced Lloris to leave his penalty area, but when the keeper made a hash of his clearance it allowed Downing to race in on goal and shoot through the despairing Vertonghen's legs.
Another poor backpass was the key factor in Liverpool's third goal, this time it was Jermain Defoe who inexplicably knocked the ball back into his own box straight into the path of Suarez who won a penalty off of Benoit Assou-Ekotto. Gerrard sent Lloris the wrong way to claim all 3 points for his side.
Andre Villas-Boas was keen to point out the positives of his sides performance after the game, but this result will have given Arsenal hope of catching them with Spurs' collapse at the end of last season still fresh in the memory.
As for Liverpool they move up to 6th in the table, just 2 points behind Arsenal themselves, but have played a game more.
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