Luis Suarez edged the battle of the player of the year contenders as he scored and earned the match-winning penalty to eclipse Gareth Bale and keep Liverpool's slim top-four hopes alive.
The Premier League's leading scorer drew first blood with his 29th of the season - and 22nd in the top flight - and, although his opposite number had a hand in both of Tottenham Hotspur's goals, the Uruguayan international had the last laugh by winning the late spot-kick from which Steven Gerrard scored.
Centre back Jan Vertonghen had scored twice after Suarez had put the home side ahead only for calamitous misjudgements by Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to gift Stewart Downing the equaliser. Suarez showed again just how sharp he is in the penalty area with an instinctive first-half finish and while Bale's danger was restricted to crosses he could not match his rival's threat in the penalty area.
The Welsh international drilled in an early swerving free-kick which Brad Jones, back in the side because of Pepe Reina's calf injury, batted away unconvincingly but then had to cede centre-stage to Suarez. Philippe Coutinho, who impressed last week at Wigan and had already curled a shot over, combined well down left with Jose Enrique, starting the move with a cheeky back heel.
The pair then exchanged passes before Enrique, holding off Walker, slid a perfectly-weighted pass for Suarez to run onto and surprise Lloris at his near post with the outside of his right foot. Bale's response was to plant one left-footed shot into the Kop and then drive an angled right-footed effort wide
Gylfi Sigurdsson, who rejected a summer move to Anfield, missed an even better opportunity from Bale's flick as he shot wide of Jones' right-hand post with only the goalkeeper to beat. Suarez had been receiving particularly close attention from the visitors without much interest from referee Mike Oliver but when Gerrard challenged for a header with Tottenham's flying Welshman the Reds captain was penalised by a free-kick in the centre-circle.
Spurs level before the break
Bale - playing mainly through the middle - went off after treatment which allowed him to rejoin play on the right wing and this contributed, in some part, to the equaliser on the stroke of half-time. The ball was soon worked out to him on that flank and he curled a left-footed cross over the head of Jamie Carragher, on his 500th league appearance, for Vertonghen to get in front of Glen Johnson and head inside far post.
Liverpool may have been aggrieved they did not get a penalty late in the half when Coutinho appeared to be pulled back by Walker as he tried to get on the end of a cross but they had conceded ten minutes of pressure to the visitors. Bale played a part in Tottenham's second just after the break when his free-kick was weakly headed down by Carragher to Vertonghen who fired home.
A trademark driving run by the Bale saw him pick out Sigurdsson in acres of space at the far post but his shot was deflected onto a post by Johnson. Liverpool had lost all their composure and their disposition was not helped by Jones flapping at a Moussa Dembele shot but it was Tottenham's nerves which faltered next.
Walker's attempted a back pass from the right touchline which succeeded only in drawing Lloris out of his goal to clear. When he failed Downing nipped in to advance on goal and drill a shot through the legs of Vertonghen on the line.
The pace of the game went up a notch and Sturridge headed into the side-netting and Bale nodded wide before another poor backpass, this time by Jermain Defoe, forced Benoit Assou-Ekotto to barge into Suarez. Gerrard, so often Liverpool's big man for the big occasion, stepped up to slot home his ninth of an increasingly profitable campaign.
Newcastle comes from behind
In today's other Premier League match, Senegal striker Papiss Cisse bagged an extra time winner as Newcastle United boosted their survival bid with a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at St James' Park.
Alan Pardew's team moved nine points clear of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to Cisse, who struck two minutes into additional time to complete a fine fightback from the Magpies. Jonathan Walters put Stoke ahead from the penalty spot with 67 minutes gone, but Yohan Cabaye's superb free-kick soon after gave Newcastle renewed hope.
Newcastle pushed hard for a winner after that and they finally shattered Stoke's resistence when substitute Sylvain Marveaux picked out Cisse in front of goal and he controlled before firing past Begovic.
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