This one will really take some time for Ryan Mason and his Tottenham side to get over. Trailing 3-0 after 15 minutes at Liverpool on Sunday before mounting an incredible fightback to level things up at 3-3 in the third minute of stoppage time, one minute later Diogo Jota broke Tottenham hearts.
Things are never straightforward in the world of Tottenham Hotspur, with Sunday's incredible encounter very much proof of that. It showcased the very best and the very worst of the Lilywhites.
A crucial match in the race for European football, the game looked set to follow in the footsteps of Tottenham's 6-1 defeat at Newcastle United seven days earlier. Trailing 5-0 after 21 minutes at St James' Park, fans were left fearing the worst as Liverpool raced into a three-goal lead with only 15 minutes on the clock.
READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Liverpool: Son and Skipp shine, Richarlison scores and Lucas error
Tottenham's defending in the north east was shambolic, and this was very much the same as they gifted their opponents three early goals. Conceding after a minute at Newcastle, this time three minutes were on the clock when Curtis Jones was left in acres of space on the edge of the six-yard box to volley the Merseyside club into the lead.
It was no wonder Ben Davies threw his arms up in rage and shouted to his teammates to the right of him given how simple it was for the hosts. Initially losing the ball in a tackle against Dejan Kulusevski before he edged into the area without the Swede tracking him, Jones was all on his own at the back post to find the net as Pedro Porro was unaware of the danger over his shoulder and was instead attracted to Luis Diaz who Cristian Romero was marking.
Two minutes later and Spurs found themselves two goals down after Diaz marked his first start after a serious injury with a well-taken finish at the near post. Cody Gakpo ran off Eric Dier with ease before pulling the ball back for his teammate, who nipped in ahead of Romero at the front post to finish expertly.
The TV camera soon panned to Daniel Levy sitting in the directors' box at Anfield and the chairman looked stony-faced and seriously unimpressed with what was unfolding before his eyes. Chants for him to exit the club soon emerged from the away end, with cries of "we want our money back" also heard as the team shipped a third goal 10 minutes later.
Mohamed Salah was the goalscorer from the penalty spot after Romero had hacked down Gakpo just inside the box. It was completely reckless from the World Cup winner, with his rash play not helping his teammates at all at times this season, and he gave referee Paul Tierney no option but to point to the spot.
Now three goals behind, Mason admitted in his post-match press conference that there was "a bit of fear" in him given what happened at Newcastle a week earlier.
"Obviously in that moment I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a bit of fear. Because to concede three goals in 15 minutes is not a normal situation," he said. "We have to understand that the Premier League is relentless. It's relentless for 95 minutes. It always has been and it always will be.
"If you're not ready for a five or 10-minute spell, then the game can get away from you. We've seen that in the last couple of away games. To go 3-0 down away from home, it makes it near on impossible to win a game, so it's hard to understand why. We addressed it and we're fully aware of it but it's something we need to be better at, that's for sure."
Already looking down and out and on the verge of repeating what happened at Newcastle, Tottenham found a way back into the contest inside the final 10 minutes of the first half as they opened up the Liverpool backline with ease.
Almost scoring through Son Heung-min only for Virgil van Dijk to clear his effort off the line, Harry Kane gave Tottenham a glimmer of hope as he volleyed beyond Alisson when the Reds' backline was all at sea. While Ivan Perisic will get plenty of credit for the goal after his neat turn to bamboozle Van Dijk before putting the ball on a plate for his teammate, Oliver Skipp, who was one of Tottenham's standout players on the day, had a major role to play in the move as he sliced the Liverpool defence in half with a sublime pass to set the Croat free.
Sending a message to Liverpool that they weren't out of the contest just yet, alarm bells were seriously ringing at Anfield moments later when Kulusevski was put through but could only shoot straight at Alisson. Electing to shoot rather than squaring to Kane, it would have been 3-2 had the Swede opted to pick his fellow attacker out for a simple finish.
Sensing a way back into the game after finishing the first half strongly, Spurs found some more holes in the Liverpool backline and hit the post within a matter of minutes through Son and then Romero. The two then combined with 13 minutes left as the defender played his teammate in with a stunning pass and the South Korean made no mistake to set up a tense finale.
Spurs increased the pressure on their opponents to new levels and another goal looked increasingly likely to happen. Mason was incensed that his team had not received a penalty after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had gone down following a shove from Trent Alexander-Arnold and he waved his arms in frustration that the referee did not point to the spot, before Richarlison was later denied a penalty.
The decision then not to send off Jota for a high boot on Skipp did not sit well with the acting head coach and he seemingly pointed at the main stand when speaking to the fourth official to signal that the Anfield factor had worked against his team in terms of their penalty claims and Jota staying on the pitch. He was furious following the decisions and demanded an explanation for Jota not seeing a red when speaking in his post-match press conference.
"I would like an explanation and a reason why it wasn’t," he outlined. "I can understand referees and officials on the pitch missing it, even though my feeling was an instant red card because when your foot is studs showing and you're five and a half feet off the ground and make contact with a player's head and draw blood, and there is a gash, I think it ticks all the boxes.
"Probably more so an experienced referee in the VAR room, you want him to help the official on the pitch in that moment. Listen, it's decided the game because that player on the pitch shouldn’t have been on there at the end and decided the game. I'm pretty sure most football people's opinions will probably feel the same."
When pressed on how much of a factor Anfield was in the decision, he added: "I feel like those questions are not for me. I felt like we didn’t get that decision, it was a big decision, a crucial decision and one you can’t really miss. I find it hard and impossible to really understand why.
"Of course we're just so disappointed because we came here today and created so many chances. On another day we win it with ease in the way we played today but the Premier League's relentless, you have to be ready every single game to fight and we helped Liverpool today."
Electing against starting Richarlison on his return to Merseyside despite a lively showing in midweek against Manchester United, the Brazilian was introduced in place of the injured Skipp with six minutes to go. The summer signing received a hostile reception when he stepped on to the field due to his Everton connections but he would silence the home faithful moments later.
Linking well with his teammates and holding the ball up when it came his way, Richarlison was in the right place at the right time three minutes into stoppage time to head Son's inswinging free-kick into the ground and over Alisson. It sparked wild scenes in the away end, with Richarlison throwing his shirt away and running into the stand to celebrate with the fans.
Waiting so long for his first Premier League goal for the club, it perhaps wasn't a surprise it came at Anfield given the four seasons he spent with Everton across Stanley Park. Once again showcasing their spirit and battling qualities to draw level for the second time in four days, all their hard work was undone by a careless pass from substitute Lucas Moura that Jota took full advantage of.
In a game they had no right to get anything out of going on how the first 15 minutes of the contest panned out, Spurs, in all honesty, should have claimed all three points on Merseyside after creating chance after chance. Having seven shots on target compared to Liverpool's four, goalkeeper Fraser Forster did not have a single save to make in the 90 minutes and instead had to pick the ball out of his net four times with the Reds scoring each of their four shots on target.
The Tottenham players were crestfallen come the full-time whistle after their fightback, with Kane needing to pick Lucas up off his haunches and put an arm around him following his error. Lucas looked disconsolate following his role in Liverpool's winner and raised his hand apologetically towards the travelling faithful.
Son was another who looked completely devastated by the final result. Following a really difficult campaign, the 30-year-old has looked more like his old self in the past two games and so much sharper in and around the box.
Notching four goals in his last five matches, Son, on another day, would have had a hat-trick to his name if it wasn't for Van Dijk's wonderful clearance and his low effort that had Alisson beaten but came back off the post. He was the last Tottenham player to exit the pitch as he spent a good amount of time applauding the away faithful after many of the players had already made their exits. His face just said it all following the cruel defeat.
Showing plenty of fight and spirit in the past two games but only getting one point from a possible six, Tottenham now find themselves one place and two points behind Liverpool in the table after that killer blow at Anfield. As the Reds can extend their lead by a further three points as they have one game in hand, Spurs may find themselves in a fight with Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion, who have three games in hand, for one Europa League place and one Europa League Conference spot in their final four league fixtures.
Mason and Tottenham can take positives from their fightback but, ultimately, this one stings and will take a while to forget about as they really could have departed Merseyside with three points in the bag following a mad encounter at Anfield.
Guaranteed to be a few more twists and turns in their final four games as it is Tottenham Hotspur after all, Mason and all connected with the club would no doubt love the team to do things the easy way for once as they chase a European spot in what remains of the 2022/23 campaign.
READ NEXT:
Every word Ryan Mason said on defeat, Jota not receiving red card and gifting Liverpool goals
Tottenham player ratings vs Liverpool: Son and Skipp shine, Richarlison scores and Lucas error
Gary Neville names two players at fault for 'shambles' Tottenham performance against Liverpool
Gary Neville explains why Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp should have been sent off vs Tottenham
Harry Kane opens up on Daniel Levy's meeting with Tottenham player committee and Man Utd chants
