Liverpool triumph over nine-man Tottenham yet Isak departs injured following uncommon strike

Alexander Isak experienced a mixed night as the Liverpool forward netted before exiting hurt in a turbulent 2-1 victory against nine-man Tottenham on Saturday.

Isak gave Liverpool the lead during the second period in north London following Tottenham's Xavi Simons receiving his marching orders prior to the break for a rough tackle on Virgil van Dijk.

This marked merely Isak's third strike in 16 outings across all tournaments since his UK record £125 million ($166 million) transfer from Newcastle on transfer deadline day.

However in line with Isak's challenging beginning at the Premier League title holders, the 26-year-old could not completely savour his effort as he had to leave the pitch after Micky van de Ven's unsuccessful bid to thwart him resulted in an injury.

Hugo Ekitike's fifth goal across his previous four outings extended Liverpool's dominance before Richarlison's response created a nail-biting conclusion that peaked with Tottenham defender Romero's ejection in added time.

Arne Slot's team have climbed to fifth in the Premier League after stretching their unbeaten sequence to six matches in various competitions, pulling them further from the dismal spell of nine losses in 12 that sank them into turmoil.

Although Liverpool have stabilised with a third straight success, Isak's setback could scarcely have arrived at a more inconvenient moment after Mohamed Salah's exit for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Slot stated on Friday that Liverpool had "progressed" beyond the Salah issue following his charged discussion two weeks prior where he claimed the club had scapegoated him and he no longer shared a bond with the Liverpool manager.

He sat out the lineup for a Champions League fixture at Inter Milan but came back as a replacement in last week's success against Brighton.

The 33-year-old now heads to international commitments with Egypt for multiple weeks, rendering Isak's injury a particularly harsh setback should he miss extended time.

Isak's influence

Slot will pass Christmas anxious over Isak's condition while Tottenham coach Thomas Frank's holiday stretch will prove even more tense.

The previous weekend's feeble 3-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest ignited discussions regarding the Dane's prospects in his uneven opening campaign as head coach.

Tottenham sit in 13th position after securing only one victory in their most recent eight league encounters.

Ange Postecoglou was dismissed despite clinching the Europa League last term to halt Tottenham's 17-year wait for silverware and Frank risks a similar outcome to the Australian unless performances enhance quickly.

Simons abandoned Tottenham facing a steep uphill battle in the 33rd minute when he scraped his studs along Van Dijk's calf with a crude rearward challenge.

At first cautioned for the offence, Simons earned the red following a VAR examination.

Slot introduced Isak in place of the hurt Conor Bradley at the interval and the Swedish forward required only 11 minutes to contribute as Liverpool shattered the stalemate with a goal involving £300 million worth of acquisition.

All three of Liverpool's expensive summer acquisitions linked up as Ekitike located Florian Wirtz who delivered an ideally timed pass to Isak, who synchronised his movement to smash a precise effort beyond Guglielmo Vicario from 10 yards.

Ekitike increased Liverpool's advantage in the 66th minute.

Jeremie Frimpong's wayward delivery curled into the six-yard area, where Ekitike leaped higher than Romero to power his header into the upper corner.

Richarlison narrowed the gap with a near-post shot after Reds skipper Van Dijk fluffed a clearance in the 83rd minute.

Nevertheless with the away side faltering, Romero's second yellow for striking Ibrahima Konate spared Liverpool further peril.