Liverpool arrived to North London aiming to get back to winning ways after consecutive Premier League draws, while Tottenham Hotspur welcomed the league leaders with a lot to prove.
The match provided plenty of entertainment, with a total of nine goals. Liverpool went two up through Luis Diaz (23′) and Alexis Mac Allister (36′), before James Maddison pulled one back for Spurs (41′). Dominik Szoboszlai then set the halftime score at 1-3 (45+1′), and Mohamed Salah struck twice after the break (54′, 61′) for Liverpool to run away with it. But Spurs still didn’t give up as Dejan Kulusevski (72′) and Dominic Solanke (83′) made it possible for late drama to ensue yet. However, the final word fell to the same player who opened the scoring, Luis Diaz (85′).
The teams
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou had to work around a lengthy injury list. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies, Mikey Moore, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, as well as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, were unavailable through various injury problems, while Rodrigo Bentacur missed out through suspension.
Fraser Forster was in goal. Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray formed the centre-back partnership, with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence on the defensive flanks. Yves Bissouma paired up with Pape Matar Sarr in the middle of the park, while the trio of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min supported former Liverpool man Dominic Solanke in attack.
Arne Slot in the away dugout had Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley missing from the North London trip.
With Alisson Becker between the posts, Joe Gomez partnered Virgil van Dijk in the heart of defence, flanked by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister were the double pivot in midfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai in a more advanced role. Upfront, Luis Diaz played in a ‘false nine’ role and had the support of Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, while Diogo Jota waited for his chance to come in off the bench.
The game
It was all about Liverpool for the most of the game. The visitors started causing problems for the home side straight away, though the first major problem Spurs gave themselves.
Minute three was on the clock when Forster made a real blunder by giving the ball straight to Salah inside the box, but the Egyptian’s response was to fire wide of the target. Salah, Szoboszlai and Gakpo all had good opportunities after that.
And in the 23rd minute, the Spurs defence could hold out no longer. Alexander-Arnold whipped in a wonderful cross from the right, hitting the exact spot between Dragusin and Porro where Diaz was lurking, and the Colombian hit a perfect header to finally beat Forster.
Several Liverpool chances followed, and in the 36th minute, Robertson aimed a cross for Szoboszlai on the edge of six yards, but as neither the Hungary international nor the pair of Gray and Spence got the contact with the ball they wanted, Mac Allister reacted quickest and headed past Forster from close range to double Liverpool’s lead.
The home supporters were given a bit of hope in the 41st minute when Maddison, with the help of Kulusevski, robbed Mac Allister in a dangerous position and beat Alisson from 20 yards, halving his team’s deficit, but as the first half went into stoppage time, Szoboszlai combined with Salah before putting the ball through Forster’s legs into the net to make it 1-3.
Spurs tried to fight back after the break, but their first promising attack ended with Kulusevski losing the ball and Liverpool springing their trademark transition trap. Szoboszlai, Diaz and Gakpo were all involved, but it was Salah who eventually scored. Szoboszlai ruined a good chance soon after that, but then he set Salah up for Liverpool’s fifth right on the stroke of an hour.
The Merseysiders had a few more attempts soon after, but they eventually relaxed a bit too much, and in the 72nd minute, a deflected pass from Solanke went perfectly for Kulusevki to blast into the net. Minute 83 was passing when substitute Brennan Johnson won a header inside Liverpool’s box and assisted Solanke for Tottenham’s third goal.
But all hope of a comeback for Spurs was quickly extinguished, as Liverpool worked their way around the box and Salah eventually set Diaz up for what turned out to be the last goal of the game.
The rankings
Interestingly enough, Spurs are the team which has scored the most goals in the Premier League this season – 39, two more than Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the table. However, they remain in 11th place with 23 points after this round, and Postecoglou might find himself under serious pressure if their results don’t pick up soon.
On the other hand, the dream continues for Liverpool. Arne Slot’s men have managed to capitalize on city rivals Everton holding Chelsea to a draw at Goodison Park earlier, increasing their lead at the top of the table to four points – with a game in hand to boot.
Spurs will have a difficult job in the next round again, when they travel to face high fliers Nottingham Forest, while Liverpool host struggling Leicester City at Anfield. Both matches will take place on Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26th.
Spurs and Liverpool will meet again at the same place in January in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals, and the second leg will be played the following month at Anfield.
Salah sets another record
Given everything he’s done since joining Liverpool in 2017, there’s no real need to explain the brilliance of Mohamed Salah, but he’s just set another record. The 32-year-old Egyptian has now become the first player ever to score 10 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in the Premier League before Christmas. He leads the goalscoring chart with 15 strikes at the moment, two more than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
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