Milos Kerkez of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 20, 2025 in London, England.placeholder image
Milos Kerkez of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 20, 2025 in London, England. | Getty Images
Milos Kerkez was keen to praise two of his Liverpool teammates following their win over Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool defender Milos Kerkez hailed the impact of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as the Reds hung on for three points against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.
The Reds went 2-0 up via goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike against 10-man Spurs. However, the hosts hit back through Richarlison late in the game and then put the away side under pressure as they pushed for an equaliser.
Tottenham went down to nine men after Cristian Romero was shown a second yellow card for kicking out at Konate, which played into Liverpool’s hands as Spurs were unable to find the late equaliser.
Late on, Van Dijk and Konate had to stand strong at the back to keep out the Tottenham onslaught. Konate had four clearances and three headed clearances during the game while Van Dijk made six clearances with six headed clearances.
Milos Kerkez hails Van Dijk and Konate impact
It was their ability to deal with the late high balls which impressed Kerkez as he reflected on a hard-earned three points.
“I think, until then, we played quite well. We had a lot of chances to score more but it was maybe a bit of an unlucky goal [to concede] and from then it was really tough 10 minutes even with to red cards.
“Virg and Ibra headed the balls away. Brilliant. And Ali had a couple of saves to help us get three points.”
He continued: “They brought everybody into the box and it was really tough. The second and third balls, we should clear it better and go higher [up the pitch]. It is what it is but it is another three points.
“Liverpool need to win games and we have to keep going.”
Liverpool now unbeaten in six
It was far from a convincing performance from Arne Slot’s side but the Reds are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions with four wins and two draws. They have beaten Brighton and Spurs in their last two Premier League games.
They did drop points in draws with Leeds United and Sunderland. The nature of the performance will not please Slot as the Reds looked to be struggling against nine men, but he will enjoy learning from a win compared to a loss.
"I thought it would mean it would be easier, but in reality it wasn't,” said Slot afterwards.
"I thought against nine we would be able to keep them away from goal but it looked like were down to nine and they had 11."
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