Aside from Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, Igor Tudor could only call upon error-prone keeper, Antonin Kinsky, reserve keeper Brandon Austin and 19-year-olds Callum Olusesi, James Rowswell and James Wilson.
Spurs' incredible injury list
A ridiculous injury list had contributed in part to Spurs' recent downfall, and for all of Tudor's apparent faults, he could hardly be said to be wrong when he'd suggested in interviews that he'd never known a situation like it in his career.
Incredibly, all of James Maddison, Mo Kudus, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Cristian Romero, Joao Palhinha, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Conor Gallagher and Yves Bissouma were unavailable.
It was therefore no surprise that Liverpool had retained possession for 72% of the time during the opening quarter hour of the game, and once Dominic Szoboszlai had slammed home a trademark free-kick on 18 minutes, the signs were ominous for the North Londoners.
The Reds had only lost one game when taking the lead in 2025/26, drawing two more and winning 13, and Tottenham had failed to win any of their last 30 matches when conceding first in the Premier League.
Visitors fighting fires for long periods
Only Burnley (32) has conceded more than Spurs' 27 first-half goals this season, indicating a real problem with getting a foothold in games during the opening exchanges.
The onslaught continued with Cody Gakpo, Rio Ngumoha and Ryan Gravenberch all having efforts at goal, though to the visitors' credit, they held firm and blocked or diverted any attempts before the break.
Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin were fighting fires for long periods, but the 17 clearances between them were one reason why the hosts were finding it more difficult than expected to break through.
Mathys Tel had begun to cause problems for Liverpool's defence, too, and his three crosses in the first half were more than any other player on the pitch, whilst Richarlison's two efforts in the final five minutes of the half hinted at what was to come later in the match.
Richarlison and Sarr to the fore
The Brazilian's nine touches in the Reds' box and four shots on target from five attempted complemented a brilliant performance that also saw him win nine of his 19 one-on-one duels.
With Pape Matar Sarr dictating proceedings from midfield, where his 83% pass completion was only bettered by Djed Spence (85.7%) - who had made less than half of Sarr's total of 39 completed passes - Tottenham weren't being rolled over as expected, given the horrendous run they'd been on under Tudor.
Indeed, the Lilywhites came out for the second half with the bit between their teeth, with Simons particularly prominent as an attacking force.
Three of his four one-on-ones were successful, as were two of his three dribbles, with two efforts at goal within two minutes of his introduction for Souza seeing the decibel levels rise in the away end.
Slot turns to Salah and Ekitike
In response to their evident inability to dominate their visitors, Arne Slot sent both Mo Salah and Hugo Ekitike on just after the hour mark, and within 10 minutes, the Egyptian King had fired off two efforts, with the Frenchman also missing the target with his left-footed shot.
Still, Tottenham took the game to Liverpool, and when Spence fired in a shot on target, it needed Alisson to make a fifth save of the game to keep his side ahead.
The Reds' defence couldn't lay a finger on their opponents, with only Virgil van Dijk completing 100% of his tackles - and he'd made just two by the end of proceedings.
Liverpool's desperation was obvious, with shots rushed and balls going astray, particularly from Salah, who only completed 57.1% of his passes - the worst of any player on the pitch from either side apart from Spurs keeper, Guglielmo Vicario.
Silence at Anfield
Sure enough, the hosts' wastefulness came back to haunt them in the final minute of normal time, as Richarlison pounced on a ball from Kolo Muani to sweep it past Alisson and silence the vast majority of supporters at Anfield.
A sixth goal in 16 appearances against the Reds for the Brazilian was also his ninth of the season.
With 15 goals conceded in the last 15 minutes of the second half of games this season, that's a record that Slot and his team can't be proud of either.
Despite the visitors earning a well-deserved point, it was a 12th Premier League game without a win, their longest such run in the competition's history.
With a real relegation six-pointer to come against Nottingham Forest in their next fixture, the manner of Spurs' performance will have at least shown that they are capable of getting themselves out of the mire.
Liverpool, meanwhile, could well face the relative ignominy of the Conference League if they can't get their own act together.
