Liverpool leapfrogged Everton into sixth place courtesy of a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield this afternoon.
Luis Suarez poked Liverpool ahead in the 20th minute, but his strike was cancelled out by two goals from Jan Vertonghen either side of half time.
Stewart Downing capitalised on a poor Kyle Walker backpass to level the sides before Steven Gerrard slotted a penalty home to secure all three points for the Reds.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at a pulsating 90 minutes of Premier League football.
Match statistics:
Liverpool:
Shots 10
On target 4
Possession 44%
Corners 1
Fouls 9
Tottenham:
Shots 15
On target 9
Possession 56%
Corners 4
Fouls 8
Was the result fair?
A draw would have been the fairest result, but Spurs only have themselves to blame for losing this one. They looked in control when 2-1 up, but a pair of silly backpasses cost them the match. The first half was a pretty even affair, with each side having spells on top, but Tottenham were the better side in the second until Downing's goal.
Liverpool's performance
They started very brightly and deserved to be ahead when they took the lead. They were second best from large periods of the second half, but when they got on the ball they played some nice, fluid football. Rodgers will be happy with the overall performance against a team of Tottenham's quality, particularly the way they kept Gareth Bale so quiet throughout.
Tottenham's performance
But for two careless errors they would be celebrating a hard-fought win right now. They were slow to get going but were on top towards the end of the first half and for much of the second. They will play worse than that and win this season but, on this day, their performance wasn't good enough to hand them all three points.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Luis Suarez: The match was built up as a contest between Suarez and Bale and, in that duel, Suarez came out on top. The Uruguayan was as tricky and difficult to handle as ever and was instrumental in two of Liverpool's three goals. He finished his very well and won the penalty from which Gerrard netted the winner.
Biggest gaffe
Take your pick from either of the backpasses. The first saw Walker inexplicably loop the ball back towards Hugo Lloris from the halfway line with Liverpool players lurking. Lloris was also partially at fault as he completely missed the ball, allowing Downing in to score. The second was just as bad, as Defoe decided to lift the ball back into his own penalty area when it was packed with Liverpool players. Worse still, he played it straight to Luis Suarez, who went on to win the penalty.
Referee performance
Michael Oliver had a very strong game. There were a couple of potential flare-ups, but Oliver settled both parties down without the use of cards. The penalty was an easy decision, although Liverpool perhaps should have had another shortly afterwards when Glen Johnson was brought down by Vertonghen.
What next?
Liverpool: Next up for Liverpool is a trip to face Southampton next Saturday.
Tottenham: Spurs are back in European action as they defend their 3-0 first-leg lead against Inter Milan in the San Siro.
Barney Corkhill
