Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was fined £25,000 and handed a suspended two-match ban by the Football Association for his celebration against former club Arsenal on this day in 2009.

Adebayor was punished after he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of visiting Gunners supporters after he scored in the 80th minute of a Premier League match.

The then 25-year-old had already served a three-match suspension for violent conduct in a separate incident during the 4-2 victory at Eastlands on September 12.

https://x.com/ManCity/status/1701543676080783846?s=20

The Togo international appeared at Wembley and admitted a charge of improper conduct at a FA regulatory commission hearing.

Adebayor’s acceptance of his behaviour was taken into account, but also the conduct of Arsenal supporters, who were also criticised for their personal abuse of Adebayor following his departure from the club the previous summer transfer window in a £25million deal.

“In reaching its decision the commission took into account his admission of the charge, public apology and the extremely provocative nature of the abuse he received,” read a statement from the FA.

“However, the commission also stated that players have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a proper manner and that such celebrations are unacceptable and have the potential to cause a serious public order incident.”

Adebayor went on to play for Real Madrid before switching to Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham in August 2012 following a loan spell.

His Premier League career continued with Crystal Palace before stints in Turkey at Basaksehir and Kayserispor, and he finished playing at Paraguayan Primera Division outfit Olimpia Asuncion.

For just the fourth time in franchise history the Miami Marlins will play in the postseason.

The Marlins punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Jazz Chisholm hit his 19th homer and Josh Bell drove in three runs as the Marlins secured their first trip to the playoffs since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

It's the club's first time making the playoffs after a full season since the 2003 team won the franchise's second World Series. The postseason berth completes an improbable turnaround after Miami went 69-93 last season.

The Marlins have won 18 of their last 27 games to vault past the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants and into the playoffs. They have also taken a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League's second wild card. 

In their postseason clinching-win, Chisholm, Jorge Soler and Jon Berti each scored twice, while Tanner Scott struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 12th save as the final of eight pitchers used by Miami.

Rangers beat Mariners to return to playoffs for first time since 2016

The Texas Rangers are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers plated four runs in the third inning en route to their 90th victory of the season - a 22-win improvement from 2022.

One more win over the Mariners in Sunday's regular-season finale and Texas will claim the AL West title and the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. The Rangers, who are scheduled to start 12-game winner Dane Dunning in the finale, can also wrap up the division should the Houston Astros lose to the Diamondbacks.

Jonah Heim had a two-run single and finished with three RBIs to lead the Texas offence, while Andrew Heaney threw 4 1/3 shutout innings in a spot start.

The Mariners were eliminated from the postseason with the wins by the Rangers and Astros. Their loss also allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to secure a wild-card berth

Luis Castillo struggled mightily, yielding four runs and throwing 86 pitches before being pulled after just 2 2/3 innings - tied for the second-shortest start of his career.

Verlander helps Astros beat Diamondbacks, yet both teams clinch postseason spots

The Houston Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0, but both teams got the desired result.

The Astros clinched a playoff berth with the victory and the Diamondbacks secured a wild-card spot with the Cincinnati Reds' 15-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

While Arizona is battling with Miami for the NL's second wild card, Houston can win the AL West with a victory over the Diamondbacks in Sunday's finale, coupled with a Rangers loss to the Mariners.

Justin Verlander struck out five and allowed two hits over five innings and Jose Abreu put the Astros ahead with a run-scoring double in the fourth inning.

Merrill Kelly threw seven innings of one-run ball for Arizona, which is just two years removed from a 110-loss season and is in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Europe need just four points from the final day’s 12 singles matches to complete their revenge mission in Rome and regain the Ryder Cup.

Luke Donald’s side will also have plenty of extra motivation after the second day’s play ended with angry scenes on the 18th green which later continued outside the clubhouse at Marco Simone.

Rory McIlroy was annoyed that Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava initially refused to move from his eyeline as he waved his cap over his head in celebration of Cantlay’s birdie on the last.

McIlroy and team-mate Matt Fitzpatrick still had birdie putts of their own to halve the hole and the match, but neither was able to convert.

“I talked to Rory,” Donald said. “He politely asked Joe to move aside. He was in his line of vision. He stood there and didn’t move for a while and continued to wave the hat, so I think Rory was upset about that.

“The Ryder Cup is always passionate. We’ve seen that many times over the past. I will address all 12 of my guys. I’ll give them the right messaging and they will be ready to play.”

Donald unsurprisingly sent out his strongest players early in the singles, with Jon Rahm first out against Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland taking on Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose drawn against Cantlay in match three.

McIlroy, who had gone out first in the last three Ryder Cups, was fourth in the line-up against Sam Burns.

Shot of the day

Statistic of the day

Top statistician Justin Ray outlines the size of the task facing the American side.

Quote of the day

Jon Rahm responds to being accused of acting like a child by Brooks Koepka after taking a swipe at a board on the 17th hole on Friday.

Tee times

(Europe names first, all times BST)

1035 Jon Rahm v Scottie Scheffler
1047 Viktor Hovland v Collin Morikawa
1059 Justin Rose v Patrick Cantlay
1111 Rory McIlroy v Sam Burns
1123 Matt Fitzpatrick v Max Homa
1135 Tyrrell Hatton v Brian Harman
1147 Ludvig Aberg v Brooks Koepka
1159 Sepp Straka v Justin Thomas
1211 Nicolai Hojgaard v Xander Schauffele
1223 Shane Lowry v Jordan Spieth
1235 Tommy Fleetwood v Rickie Fowler
1247 Robert MacIntyre v Wyndham Clark

Weather forecast

Sunday will feature sunny skies with a few afternoon clouds building up over the mountains along with temperatures near 30 degrees centigrade (86F) by early afternoon. No rain is expected with light winds up to 10mph.

The Las Vegas Raiders have ruled Jimmy Garoppolo out for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers because of a concussion.

Who gets the start at quarterback is still uncertain less than 24 hours before kickoff.

Garoppolo practised on a limited basis Thursday and Friday but has not cleared the league's concussion protocol and Las Vegas announced Saturday night that he would not play.

The Raiders did not say who would start between veteran Brian Hoyer or rookie Aidan O'Connell.

Garoppolo played every snap in last Sunday's 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was evaluated for a concussion afterward.

The concussion is the latest setback for the 31-year-old Garoppolo, who has struggled to stay healthy over the past several seasons.

Las Vegas signed Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5 million contract in March, including $34 million guaranteed, but the 10-year veteran is off to a shaky start with his new team. He has thrown for 709 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions for the 1-2 Raiders.

Hoyer is a 15-year veteran and is 16-24 in 40 career starts. In 77 career games, the 37-year-old has thrown for 10,668 yards with 53 TDs and 35 interceptions.

The Raiders also said starting cornerback Nate Hobbs won't play because of an injured ankle, while running back Brandon Bolden is expected to play despite not travelling with the team to Los Angeles because of a personal reason.

Gregor Townsend praised Scotland for bouncing back emphatically from their South Africa defeat to score 19 tries in back-to-back victories over Tonga and Romania and set up a World Cup Pool B shootout with Ireland for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Scots have been playing must-win rugby since losing their opener to the Boks, and after beating Tonga 45-17 last weekend, they pulled off another bonus-point win by defeating Romania 84-0 in Lille on Saturday.

The past two results mean Townsend’s team now have a chance to qualify for the last eight if they defeat Ireland in Paris next Saturday night either with a bonus point or by denying Andy Farrell’s side a losing bonus.

“I’m really pleased with the way they’ve bounced back,” said the head coach. “A lot of hard work has gone in at training. We had a two-week break between South Africa and Tonga and we had three very tough, physical sessions in the heat.

“The players trained really well this week as well so they’re putting in the hard yards that is required to then play at a level where you can score the amount of tries we’ve scored in the last two games, where we’ve been able to set up this shootout game with Ireland.

“The credit goes to the players for how they’ve worked in training and in the matches against Tonga and Romania. Both games were very physical and you’ve got to win that physical battle, which we did.”

Darcy Graham climbed from sixth on Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list to joint-second by touching down four times in the 12-try romp against Romania. The Edinburgh wing leapfrogged Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Paterson and is now level with Ian Smith and Tony Stanger on 24, just three shy of record-holder Stuart Hogg.

“I think he’s someone who will create opportunities to score tries because of his willingness to get on the ball,” said Townsend. “He called a lot of the balls because he got back off the ground to be in position.

“He saw space and he also is a great finisher. His footwork for the fourth try was incredible. He had a couple of assists as well, so he certainly plays for the team.

“In the last two games, Darcy’s really gone for it and we’ve seen that in training. Sometimes it’s tough when you’re a winger and you’ve not had the game time he would have liked after he picked up that little niggle over the summer but he’s now flying and that’s brilliant to see.”

Graham was one of only a few first-choice players to start against Romania as Townsend made 13 changes with Ireland in mind. The head coach was pleased with the way his back-ups performed against the eastern European minnows.

“I thought the way the players applied themselves, to be given that opportunity you could see they wanted to go and grab it,” he said.

“It has been a tough time for a lot of these players, to not play. Some of them have not played since our first World Cup warm-up game against Italy.

“That was a deliberate policy to keep a 23 and 15 working as much as possible together as we built up to our South Africa game, and then when you have a two-week break, then another week versus Tonga, it is a long time to wait to play at a World Cup.

“But they grabbed their opportunity tonight and whether that means they play next week will be decided in selection.

“I’m really pleased with the level of competition, the depth we have and the individual performances tonight that means whoever goes out next week we can be confident of their ability to get the job done.”

Manchester fighter Jordan Thompson fell short in his world title bid after being outclassed and stopped inside four rounds by Jai Opetaia, who retained his IBF cruiserweight title at Wembley Arena.

Thompson, standing at 6ft 7in, boasted a five-inch height advantage over Opetaia but was unable to keep his relentless opponent at bay as the Australian southpaw landed punishing shots at will.

Making the first defence of the title he won by outpointing Mairis Briedis in July last year, Opetaia made a big statement to the rest of the 200lbs division – albeit against a more inexperienced foe.

Thompson had won all 15 of his previous professional encounters but this was a pronounced step up in competition and he demonstrated only glimpses of belonging at world title level.

Thompson was put down in the third by a three-punch combination and although the 30-year-old gamely rose back to his feet and saw out the rest of the round, his corner threatened to pull him out.

But Opetaia conclusively ended matters just 20 seconds into the fourth, as a ramrod left was followed by another combination, which left Thompson sagging to his knees as the contest was waved off.

Opetaia (23-0, 18KOs) is now targeting a unification showdown against WBO belt holder and Thompson’s fellow Briton Chris Billam-Smith, who was ringside on Saturday night.

Opetaia said on DAZN: “I’ve been saying at all press conferences, I come to earn respect, not to disrespect. Chris Billam-Smith, I’d love to make that happen. I want that WBO around my waist.”

Jude Bellingham continued his fairytale start to life at Real Madrid with another starring role in a 3-0 victory at LaLiga surprise packages Girona.

Bellingham’s superb assist allowed Joselu to open the scoring and, after Aurelien Tchouameni had made it 2-0, the England midfielder wrapped things up with his seventh goal for the Spanish giants.

Real’s victory, soured by Nacho Fernandez’s red card, was their seventh in eight league matches and saw them return to the top of the table while Girona fell to third after their first defeat of the campaign.

Athletic Bilbao remain in fourth despite crumpling to a chastening 3-0 loss at Real Sociedad.

Robin Le Normand opened the scoring while second-half strikes from Takefusa Kubo and Mikel Oyarzabal sealed a commanding victory for a Sociedad side that moved them up to sixth.

Radamel Falcao struck from the spot in the 12th minute of stoppage time as Rayo Vallecano claimed a 2-2 draw against Mallorca while Alex Baena saw red as Villarreal were held to a 0-0 draw at Getafe.

Serie A leaders Inter Milan returned to winning ways after Lautaro Martinez came off the bench to score four times in a 4-0 win at Salernitana.

The Nerazzurri, who slipped to a first loss of the campaign at home to Sassuolo in midweek, initially struggled to break down Salernitana but Martinez’s 55th-minute introduction changed the picture.

He scored in the 62nd, 77th, 85th – from the spot – and 89th minutes as Inter quickly moved back above city rivals AC Milan, who earlier turned on the second-half style to record an impressive 2-0 win over Lazio.

Christian Pulisic and Noah Okafor were on target to finally end stubborn Lazio resistance at the San Siro, but Rafael Leao was the star attraction as he set up both goals.

Defending champions Napoli emphatically ended Lecce’s 100 per cent home record in the league with a 4-0 victory at the Stadio Via del Mare.

Goals from Leo Ostigard and substitutes Victor Osimhen and Gianluca Gaetano had the visitors in control before Matteo Politano converted a penalty in added time.

Paris St Germain were thwarted by their former academy goalkeeper Mory Diaw as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Ligue 1 basement side Clermont.

Luis Enrique’s side would have gone top with victory at Stade Gabriel Montpied, but could not find a way past an inspired Diaw, who began his career in PSG’s youth set-up.

Monaco are the early frontrunners in the French top-flight but they twice had to come from a goal behind to see defeat Marseille 3-2.

Iliman Ndiaye and Samuel Gigot put Marseille ahead but Maghnes Akliouche and Folarin Balogun equalised inside a frantic first 24 minutes. Akliouche had the final say eight minutes into the second half.

Harry Kane was on target as Bayern Munich came from two goals down draw 2-2 at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Leipzig struck early through Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba but Kane and Leroy Sane replied in the second half to earn the reigning champions a point.

But the draw saw Thomas Tuchel’s men end the day in third, two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Leverkusen recorded a 3-0 win at rock-bottom Mainz, courtesy of Sepp van den Berg’s own goal, plus second-half strikes from Alex Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann.

Deniz Undav bagged a second-half brace as second-placed Stuttgart defeated Cologne 2-0 while there were also wins for Heidenheim, Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach.

The Las Vegas Raiders released Chandler Jones on Saturday, less than 48 hours after the defensive end’s arrest.

The club confirmed the move with a post on social media.

Jones, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has been away from the team since before this season after a flurry of social media posts criticising the team’s leadership. He was placed on the non-football injury/illness list on Sept. 20.

Jones was in the second season of a three-year, $51million contract.

Jones’ arrest was the latest in a series of concerning developments that led to the Raiders cutting ties with the veteran sack artist.

Jones said on social media Monday that he had been hospitalised and taken to a behavioural health facility “against my will.”

The 33-year-old continued his concerning and bizarre social media activity throughout the week, including multiple live videos.

In one video, Jones spoke about a variety of topics for about 25 minutes before breaking down in tears while discussing the death of former teammate Aaron Hernandez.

Jones has since deleted those posts and said that his account had been hacked.

Early Friday morning, Vegas-area police arrested Jones on accusations of violating a domestic violence temporary restraining order. He was detained at the Clark County Detention Center before paying his $15,000 bail.

There has been a wave of growing concern about Jones’ mental health, given his erratic behaviour.

After Jones’ arrest, the Raiders posted a statement on social media saying they are “hopeful that Chandler Jones receives the care that he needs. He, his family, and all those involved are in our thoughts. As this is now a legal matter, we will not be providing further comment.”

Jones has 112 career sacks over 11 seasons with the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Raiders.

Lautaro Martinez scored four times after coming off the bench as Inter Milan returned to winning ways and the top of Serie A with a 4-0 victory at struggling Salernitana.

Inter, who slipped to a first loss of the campaign at home to Sassuolo in midweek, initially struggled to break down a Salernitana side that had not managed to win any of their previous six matches.

Martinez’s entrance in the 55th minute proved key and he broke the deadlock just after the hour, although Inter were grateful that Mateusz Legowski saw an equaliser chalked off for offside.

Martinez struck again and then completed a 23-minute hat-trick from the penalty spot before the Argentinian took his tally for the season to eight goals as Inter went back above city rivals Milan, who beat Lazio on Saturday.

Marcus Thuram had an early sight at goal but Salernitana keeper Guillermo Ochoa made a comfortable save while Alexis Sanchez and Denzel Dumfries were unable to direct their efforts on target.

Salernitana steadily grew into the encounter and Boulaye Dia tested Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who then had to get down low to keep out Grigoris Kastanos’ strike from distance.

The hosts ended the half on top and Inter’s listlessness in the final third after the interval prompted Simone Inzaghi to introduce Martinez, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Kristjan Asllani also brought on.

Martinez needed just seven minutes to make his presence felt as a low ball into his path from Thuram required a delicate chip to beat the advancing Ochoa and put Inter ahead.

They were almost immediately pegged back as Agustin Martegani’s perfectly-weighted through ball saw Lęgowski dash in to score what he thought was his first Serie A goal, only to be ruled offside on replay.

Inter got a gift as they doubled their lead as Ochoa’s throw caught Domagoj Bradaric unaware and the Croatian was dispossessed by Dumfries before the ball was worked to Nicolo Barella, whose cut back allowed Martinez to slam home in the 77th minute.

Salernitana’s plight worsened as Thuram turned away from Matteo Lovato before being hauled down in the area, allowing Martinez to step up and complete his hat-trick in the 89th minute.

Martinez was still not finished and completed a miserable second half for Salernitana with another first-time finish after being teed up by Carlos Augusto.

Darcy Graham climbed from sixth to joint-second on Scotland’s all-time try-scorer list with four touchdowns in a resounding 84-0 victory over Romania which sets up a mouth-watering World Cup shootout with Ireland next weekend.

The Scots ran in six tries in each half in Lille to inflict another demoralising defeat on their opponents, who were similarly outclassed by both Ireland and South Africa in their first two matches in Pool B.

Graham, who started the evening on 20 international tries, wreaked the most damage on the eastern European minnows as his first-half hat-trick and another after the break took him ahead of both Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Paterson and up to 24.

The prolific Edinburgh wing is now level with Tony Stanger and Ian Smith, and just three shy of record-holder and fellow Hawick native Stuart Hogg, who recently ended his career on 27.

The Scots were so confident of getting the result they required at Stade Pierre Mauroy that they made 13 changes from the side that started against Tonga the previous Sunday, preserving most of their A-listers for the Ireland match in Paris which they must win with a bonus point or by denying their opponents one in order to reach the quarter-finals.

There was no danger of the decision to field so many fringe men back-firing from the moment Hamish Watson got the Scots off and running with the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The experienced Edinburgh flanker – who has lost the number seven jersey to the burgeoning Rory Darge this year – marked his return to the starting line-up by bounding over on the right after Cam Redpath offloaded into his path as he was thwarted on his own charge towards the line.

Ali Price – like Watson, another 2021 British and Irish Lions squad member who has become a peripheral player for the national team this year – got the second in the 17th minute after being played in by Graham.

It was Graham’s turn to get on the scoresheet just four minutes later when he touched down following a brilliant individual run, bringing him level with his Edinburgh team-mate Van der Merwe, one of those given the night off.

Romania – already bang up against it – completely imploded in the closing 10 minutes of the first half when they had three players sin-binned and conceded a further three tries.

Hooker Robert Irimescu was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Ben Healy and just a couple of minutes later they were reduced to 13, when back-rower Florian Rosu was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul.

Scotland took full advantage as Graham scored his second of the evening to move ahead of Van der Merwe and level with Paterson.

Matt Fagerson bulldozed his way over for the fifth, but only after Ollie Smith had been the victim of a nasty high tackle in the build-up from Marius Simionescu, who became the third Romanian to be sin-binned before the break.

There was still time before the interval for Graham to complete his hat-trick as the Edinburgh wing moved ahead of Paterson and into fourth place on his own. All six first-half tries were converted by Healy as the Scots went in 42-0 to the good at half-time.

The scores kept coming after the break, with Chris Harris, Smith, Healy, Johnny Matthews – shortly after coming on for his debut – and Darge all touching down.

Graham then raced over for his fourth of the night as the Scots ran up their second-highest win at a World Cup, finishing just five points shy of the 89-0 victory they enjoyed against Ivory Coast in 1995.

Danny Care insists England view it as a “privilege” to attempt to lift spirits after Jersey Reds’ financial collapse by delivering a successful Rugby World Cup.

A dramatic Thursday began with the news that Jersey face liquidation unless emergency funding can be secured and ended with England qualifying for the quarter-finals on the strength of Japan’s victory over Samoa.

The club that clinched last season’s Championship title are set to follow Wasps, Worcester and London Irish into administration, each of them victims of the financial crisis gripping the domestic landscape.

Care believes Steve Borthwick’s men can play their role in giving the English game a much-needed shot in the arm by progressing deep into the World Cup.

“It’s incredibly sad news – again. I can’t imagine how those guys are feeling. Alex Mitchell’s brother plays for Jersey and a couple of the lads have got good friends there,” Care said.

“In a similar vein, I looked at the Premiership launch picture the other day and it just looked so sparse and bare. The 10-team thing kind of hit home then.

“When you hear that a team that did so well in the Championship last season is no longer, it’s quite sobering. Our thoughts are with all their fans and all the players and staff involved there.

“As the national team we have a massive role to play. We’re the lucky 33 who are out here on the biggest stage trying to represent everyone.

“Is that more pressure on us? I don’t see it as that, I see it as a privilege that we can try and put smiles on a few people’s faces.

“If we can put some smiles on their faces by doing well at this World Cup and giving some hope because there’s a massive responsibility whenever you wear this rose.

“We’d like to win the whole thing, that’s why we’re here. The Jersey guys will be in our thoughts.”

England have refused to celebrate their passage into the quarter-finals as Pool D winners with a match to spare knowing they must first negotiate Samoa in Lille on Saturday.

By routing Argentina, Japan and Chile they have built momentum – albeit in the least competitive of the World Cup groups – that will sweep them into a knockout appointment most likely against Fiji on October 15.

It represents a startling mood swing from last month when three defeats in four Tests left expectations on the floor.

“The mood back homes seems to be that people are pleasantly surprised that we’re actually doing all right!” Care said.

“Before the tournament people were saying a lot of stuff about the team. When you don’t play well do you deserve the negative stuff? I don’t know, but you get it when you wear this shirt.

“The feeling we’re feeling is massive support and optimism and a belief that maybe there is something in this England team. We believe it as players.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the pressure being put on officials after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited vowed to investigate the decision to rule out a Luis Diaz goal in the Reds’ dramatic 2-1 loss at Tottenham.

Diaz looked to have put Liverpool ahead in the 34th minute when he raced on to Mohamed Salah’s through ball and rifled into the bottom corner of the net, but the offside flag was immediately raised.

A VAR check by Darren England in Stockley Park occurred, with screens inside the stadium informing supporters, but play was able to quickly resume with the effort remaining offside.

Referees’ body PGMOL has since acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred and that VAR “failed to intervene” to prevent the error.

Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error.

“Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Klopp reflected when informed of the PGMOL statement.

“We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier.

“I don’t know why the people…are they that much under pressure? Today the decision was made really quick I would say for that goal. It changed the momentum of the game, so that’s how it is.”

After a breathless start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute when Curtis Jones was sent off following a VAR review.

Jones caught Yves Bissouma with a high, studs-up tackle on his shin that initially earned him a yellow card but referee Simon Hooper upgraded the decision to a red card after he used the pitchside monitor to review the incident.

Diaz found the net six minutes later, but after it was ruled out Tottenham went ahead when captain Son Heung-min tapped home from Richarlison’s centre in the 36th minute.

Cody Gakpo levelled for Liverpool on the verge of half-time but Klopp’s problems mounted when Diogo Jota was dismissed midway through the second half following two fouls on Destiny Udogie in quick succession.

It meant Liverpool had to play the final 21 minutes in north London with nine men and their stubborn resistance was finally broken when Porro’s dangerous cross was diverted past Alisson by Matip.

Klopp added: “I told the boys after the game I am super proud and especially with 10 men they were really good. They did everything that is necessary and on top of that we were courageous.

“I don’t think there is anything to say about the offside goal. I knew at half-time.

“In the first moment I thought it was clear offside but then it is right to think they have a better view and at half-time we knew with normal pictures. Easy to see, no offside.

“But I am pretty sure whoever did make that decision did not make it on purpose. It didn’t take extremely long to come to the conclusion, that is a bit strange, but someone else has to clarify that.”

Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, was happy to accept the rub of the green with the Diaz ruled out effort but highlighted that VAR will never be “errorless” after he watched his team’s unbeaten record stretch to seven matches in the Premier League.

He said: “I think I’m on record as saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it since it came in. Not for any other reason than I think that it complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past.

“We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors. You’d have to cop it and some people would cop it better than others but that was part of the game.

“The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right but we all accepted it that it was part of the game because we’re dealing with human beings.

“I think that people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be errorless.

“So much of our game isn’t factual. It’s down to interpretation and they’re still human beings. They’re going to make mistakes the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.

“When you put such a high bar on something it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that’s never going to happen.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited has acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred during Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Liverpool after a Luis Diaz effort in the 34th-minute was incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Spurs claimed a dramatic three points after Joel Matip turned Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time to continue the hosts’ flying start under new boss Ange Postecoglou.

Referee Simon Hooper sent off Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota either side of half-time, but Liverpool were left aggrieved by the first-half decision to rule out a Diaz 34th-minute effort.

Mohamed Salah played Diaz through and the Colombian rifled into the bottom corner, but the offside flag was raised and a quick VAR check by Darren England at Stockley Park deemed the Liverpool attacker was offside.

Still images of the incident appeared to show Cristian Romero play Diaz onside and Spurs took the lead two minutes later when Son Heung-min poked home.

Cody Gakpo did level before half-time, but Matip’s last-gasp own-goal inflicted a first Premier League defeat of the season on Jurgen Klopp’s men.

“PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool,” a PGMOL statement read.

“The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.

“This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.

“PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.”