Player Ratings: Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool

His kicking was dodgy but his reflexes were in good working order. Pulled off a superb save to deny Rodriguez.

Never convincing defensively and his crossing was inconsistent but his adventurous raids always added another dimension to Spurs' counter-attacks.

His brilliant week ended on a low when a side injury led to him being withdrawn after 35 minutes. A shame for Spurs as there were further signs of his burgeoning understanding with Gallas.

The stand-in skipper delivered his third excellent performance in a row. Led by example, maintained his concentration and shunted Torres and Ngog down a series of blind alleys.

Solid rather than spectacular, the Frenchman put in another decent shift at left-back and his steadiness dovetails well with Bale's explosiveness.

Looked really lively early on when he ran at Liverpool's defence but, as is his wont, faded as the game wore on. Took advantage of terrible defending by Konchesky to skip on to Crouch's flick-on and side-foot the stoppage-time winner.

Extremely sloppy and ponderous in possession and mis-read the runs of his team-mates on several occasions. The crowd got on his back and his confidence seemed to be affected. Does not seem the same player of 12 months ago.

Yet another brilliant display by the man-of-the-season so far. Was given licence to not just hug the left touchline but come inside and run at the centre-backs as well as the full-back. His let-wing delivery was more reliable than a Jimmy Carr punchline.

Passed a late fitness test on his ankle but, after some neat early touches. limped off after 10 minutes with a hamstring injury.

Preferred to Pavlyuchenko in the starting line-up, he was completely dominant in the air and his touch was more adhesive than usual. A good focal point for his team-mates.

Not at his most assured. His fumble almost presented Defoe with the opener and another spilled catch nearly allowed Bale to volley the equaliser before the Spaniard recovered to push it away. Far more convincing when called upon to make saves than crosses.

Did not allow the threat of Bale to inhibit his own forward runs but got completely skinned by the Welshman on a few occasions.

Had his name on both teams' scoresheets after stabbing home the opener before bundling in an own goal. Sturdy display against one of the most adventurous attacking sides in the League and deserved better than to finish on the losing side.

Fabulous lunging block denied Defoe the opener after half-an-hour and, although his lack of pace was exposed by the speed of Spurs' counter-attacks, his nous and leadership was crucial to a strong display by his team. Appeared to dislocate his wrist late on and was substituted with four minutes left.

His decision-making was patchy but still delivered some pacy crosses from the right flank. Looked more comfortable in a central role when Ngog was subbed.

Bossed the midfield for the first hour with one of his finest performances in a red shirt. Strong in the tackle, tidy in possession and his energy levels never dropped.

Took on Gerrard's playmaking mantle with some aplomb as he showed further signs that he could be an influential figure for Liverpool. Showed his versatility with a brilliant goal-line clearance from Bale's half-volley and a left-footed thunderbolt that arched just ober the bar.

A big threat cutting in from the left. Twice came close to opening the scoring with curling shots before he made a complete mess of a one-on-one with Gomes after being sent through by Torres. Some good link-ups with Torres.

His height and presence helped take some of the burden off Torres although there was little evidence of the pair striking up an understanding and wasted a good headed opportunity. You would think he might have known better after Fabregas' example against Spurs eight days ago but jumped with both arms aloft in the wall to gift the hosts a penalty. Withdrawn after 74 minutes.

His delicate, reverse pass that put Maxi through on goal was one of the passes of the season. But he veered between looking sharp and unconvincing. He twice surged clear of the last defender only to be hauled back by Bassong on both occasions. Dovetailed impressively with Maxi at times.