Saturday’s game against Tottenham looked a stern test in Liverpool’s pursuit of the Premier League title ahead of kick-off. With Man City leading by a point and refusing to let that slender lead drop, the onus was on Liverpool to keep winning and match City stride for stride while also hoping their rivals would slip up.
But despite their dominant performance against Tottenham on Saturday, the Reds had to settle for a 1-1 draw which could be too costly of a slip up for them in the title race.
After a 0-0 stalemate at halftime, it was Antonio Conte’s men who took the lead early in the second half as Son Heung-min finished off a close-range chance and silenced the Anfield crowd who were expecting improvements in their attack after the poor half.
The South Korean international was a thorn in Liverpool’s defence as he repeatedly found himself in one v one situations against Konate and Van Dijk. His pace and quick feet too ensured that Spurs created clear cut chances but owing to poor finishing from his teammates, the lead remained only 1-0 till the 75th minute as a deflected Luis Diaz strike pulled Liverpool level.
While Liverpool dropping two invaluable points has surely been the talk of the town, Son still grabbed the headlines for his performance and for the post-match moment shared with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Following the full-time whistle, the German manager was on the prowl on the pitch to embrace his players as has been the tradition since his arrival in 2015. Fans spotted Klopp hugging Son as he would a player of his own.
Not able to share the video for copyright reasons but def seems to be a moment at full-time where Klopp goes up to Son hugs him and says something like “here is special” trying to indicate to the player that he should join.
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) May 7, 2022
In the footage now circulating on Twitter, fans (read: lip readers) have pointed out how Klopp approached Son and scribbled through his hair before saying, “here (Anfield) is special” to the South Korean.
The moment has fans second-guessing whether Klopp was indeed trying to tempt Son to switch to the Merseyside Reds.
After all, it has been no secret that the ex-Dortmund coach has been an admirer of the Spurs man as Liverpool fans have called back to other instances when Klopp showed his love for the player following the end of Liverpool-Tottenham fixtures in the past.
After Saturday night’s goal which perhaps could decide the title in Man City’s favour, Kopites have still found love for Son thanks to Klopp.
While many Red supporters would be delighted to add the South Korean to their attacking line-up, Son signing a new four-year deal with the north London side just last year is definitely not ideal.
