Defeats in football are often described as agonising. But agony, to be really convincing, must be extended, unrelieved and built towards a decisive peak. Ideally, agony should look a bit like this.
There was a rare kind of pain here for Liverpool and for Jürgen Klopp, who, as Spurs scored their winning goal, was standing on the touchline ready to send on Darwin Núñez, but ended up just clutching hold of his arm, pummelling it vaguely, then shoving him back towards the bench. Define a bad day on the road. Let’s see. Start with two red cards, one of them a little harsh and interventionist, an example of yet more unnecessary Big Refereeing Energy.
