The flashpoint of the first half came when Curtis Jones made a challenge on Yves Bissouma, and went over the top of the ball to make contact with the midfielder's ankle. While he was initially shown a yellow card, VAR intervened and the decision was upgraded to a red, leaving Liverpool with 10 men.
The Reds attempted to rally and thought they had the lead when Luis Diaz scored a superb goal, but it was ruled out for offside, and mere minutes later, Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Spurs, as he finished a delightful Richarlison cut-back.
Liverpool equalised on the stroke of half-time, as Cody Gakpo span brilliantly in the area and finished powerfully after Virgil van Dijk knocked down a delicious delivery from Dominik Szoboszlai, although he appeared to hurt himself in the process and was substituted at the interval.
In the second half, amazingly, Liverpool were reduced to nine men, as substitute Diogo Jota was sent off for two yellow cards.
Alisson Becker had to be at his brilliant best throughout the second half to keep Spurs at bay, saving from both Son and James Maddison in brilliant fashion, but he was beaten by a late Joel Matip own goal after a Pedro Porro cross, leaving all of the good work undone.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium...