Tottenham held off a resilient Liverpool side to clinch to go fifth in the Premier League, with Gareth Bale scoring at both ends.

The winger set up Aaron Lennon for the first, before doubling his side’s lead with a free kick inside 16 minutes, only for Sandro’s goal-line clearance to rebound off the Welshman’s face to give the Reds hope with 20 minutes to play.

Moussa Dembele returned to the starting line-up for Spurs after recovering from a hip injury while Brendan Rodgers named an unchanged side to that which drew 0-0 with Swansea City, with Jos Enrique continuing on the left of front three.

The hosts got off to the perfect start when Bale’s jinking run into the area and drive across Pepe Reina was met by the unmarked Lennon to tap in at the far post with seven minutes on the clock.

The away side came back strong, though, and should have equalised soon after when Hugo Lloris rushed out to clear Steven Gerrard’s through-ball, only for Kyle Walker to divert the ball into Jordan Henderson’s path and, with the goal gaping, the midfielder sent his shot from 18 yards wide.

But Tottenham were rampant and soon doubled their lead when Bale fizzed a free kick up and over the wall which Reina seemingly failed to read as it nestled into the centre of the goal.

As the saying goes ‘2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football’, and the hosts seemed to either relax or start feeling the nerves of an apparently comfortable lead to allow Liverpool the chance to build momentum.

Lloris found himself all at sea for the second time in the game when Dembele’s clumsy challenge on Steven Gerrard again takes the ball away from the shot-stopper to leave Luis Suarez with an open goal, but another weak effort is this time punted off the line by the back-tracking Kyle Walker.

Liverpool started the second half as they finished they first by dominating possession and again went close when sloppy marking from Michael Dawson allowed Enrique to find Henderson inside the area for a shot on goal.

Andre Villas-Boas was visibly agitated on the touchline with the away side dominating possession but Clint Dempsey nearly gave his side a reprieve when he pounced on a mix-up from Martin Skrtel to run through on goal with Defoe, but the Spurs pair both shirked responsibility on the edge of the area to allow Glen Johnson to recover and clear.

The Reds finally clinched the reprieve their play deserved with 20 minutes to play, but in fortuitous fashion when Sandro’s goal-line clearance from a Liverpool corner was hit straight into Bale’s face from a yard out and back into the net for an own goal.

Suarez thought he had won his team a penalty at the death when Gallas tangled with the striker inside the area, prompting manic protests from the away bench, but referee Phil Dowd quickly dismissed the Urguyuan’s yelps as Liverpool’s eight-match unbeaten run came to an end.

Liverpool coach Mike Marsh has confirmed that midfielder Lucas Leiva is nearing a return to first-team action.

The former Gremio player has been absent since August with a thigh injury, but stepped up his rehabilitation with an hour-long outing for Liverpool’s Under-21 side on Friday.

“Lucas came back and played an hour last week in an U21 fixture so he could be available sooner rather than later,” Marsh told the club’s official website.

“Everyone is looking forward to welcoming him back and getting him on the pitch in a first-team shirt.

“Fortunately we’re blessed with a lot of central midfielders so there’s no rush to get him back in – when the time is right I’m sure the boss will put him in when he thinks it will benefit Lucas and the team.”

Marsh believes Lucas could be involved in the following weeks, and praised the mental strength and resolve of the Brazilian during his long road to recovery.

He continued: “He’s not far away at all – if he gets a good week in training while we’re away in London, he won’t be far away from being included in the next game or two.

“He’s a Brazilian international, he moved away from home when he was very young – he is a very mentally strong player. We’re looking forward to having him back.”

Liverpool will unveil the world’s biggest AIDS ribbon during half-time of their match against Southampton on Saturday to raise awareness for World AIDS Day 2012 and Standard Chartered’s Living with HIV programme.

The ribbon stretches to 49 metres and will be rolled out across the pitch at Anfield with help from staff at Standard Chartered and the HIV/AIDS charity AVERT.

The ribbon was made in India and is recognised as the largest in the world by Guinness World Records, and will be making its first appearance in the UK at the match.

Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre said: “Living with HIV is an important cause, and one which the club is proud to support.

“When an individual wears a red ribbon they are demonstrating that they have joined the global fight against HIV, so we are delighted to be able to use the Anfield pitch to display the ribbon and raise awareness for HIV and AIDS.”

Mark Devadason of Standard Chartered described the match as the “perfect opportunity” to unveil the banner, highlighting it as an important moment in the battle to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS.

“Liverpool is scheduled to play Southampton on World AIDS Day making it the perfect opportunity to display the red ribbon and reinforce our commitment to the global fight against HIV.

He continued: “Our thanks go out to both Liverpool and AVERT who have made this activity possible, and enabled us to show our solidarity with those living with HIV and commemorate those who have died from the illness.”

Living with HIV is Standard Chartered’s global HIV and AIDS education programme, which seeks to inform people across the globe about preventative measures and treatments for the viruses.

The ribbon itself is being provided by AVERT on behalf of HIV expert Dr Surya Rao, who created it in his home country of India.