Premier League: Liverpool thrashes Tottenham Hotspur with 4-2 victory
Despite the opportunity for Tottenham to climb towards Champions League qualification, the team displayed a disheartening performance, experiencing a fourth consecutive Premier League loss, undermining any possible hope for a top four position. As Liverpool reincarnated their vitality in manager Jürgen Klopp’s second last home game, the match culminated with Tottenham submerged in defeat, a scoreline that cast a shadow over the losing side.
Although demonstrating signs of resilience in the last 72 minutes of the game, with Tottenham’s substitutes, Richarlison and captain Son Heung-min, momentarily unsettling Klopp’s squad, their efforts were insubstantial. For the second week in a row, Tottenham displayed late-game energy only when confronted with the reality of a resounding loss. As per the sequence of events in the prior north London face-off, their late attempts were seen through. Liverpool’s triumphant win, secured by performances from Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott, was well-earned.
Despite entering the match with the potential of Champions League qualification following Aston Villa’s loss at Brighton, Tottenham’s performance left much to be desired. Postecoglou’s squad displayed their shortcomings at Anfield, emphasizing that incentive cannot make up for frail defence and a largely inefficient offence.
Despite displaying promising possession at the beginning of the match, Tottenham fell short outside of this area. Salah’s return to Liverpool’s starting roster after a dispute with Klopp in the West Ham game and being granted absolute reign over the right wing by Emerson Royal, afforded the hosts a comforting home game win following several previous stinging losses.
At the first indication of Liverpool’s pressure, Postecoglou’s team fell apart. The team’s dismal first-half performance showed minimal resistance, with the only notable conflict eventuating from an intermission altercation between Cristian Romero and the nonchalant Royal, requiring their goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario to mediate.
Salah started the game strongly, hitting the crossbar with Liverpool’s inaugural noteworthy attack, skillfully curving the ball over Vicario but against the woodwork. Micky van de Ven managed a desperate clearance, preventing an attack from the restocked striker on Gakpo’s header. However, Tottenham’s defensive efforts were woefully inadequate, with descriptors like helpless, sluggish, feeble, and reckless apt in encapsulating their performance.
The previously reliable Vicario was left red-faced after conceding to Salah. The scoreboard was shaken due to a fantastic play set into motion by Elliott, who passed to Salah following an unfortunate blunder from Pape Matar Sarr in the middle of the field. However, there was some doubt over whether this would be Sarr’s final mistake.
Inevitably, an improvement in the score came from the expected source. Wataru Endo skillfully directed the game towards Gakpo on the left, who in turn provided a superb cross into the gap which Royal routinely left unattended. This allowed Salah to easily send it flying over the goal line with a powerful header. While Vicario did seem more exposed this time, it seemed like he could’ve potentially done more to stop the goal.
Resurrecting their old spark was Liverpool, led by their winning spirit, ferocity, and hunger for dominance. However, their well-noted struggles with goal scoring also became apparent before the whistle blew for half-time, thanks to a surprise from Robertson. Several shots were sent skywards by influential players Salah, Elliott and Alexander-Arnold. Robertson’s opportunity finally balanced the scales of the game in favour of Liverpool as he directed a beautifully precise cross from Alexander-Arnold. Despite Vicario’s best efforts to block Salah’s quick fire shot, the ball ended up rolling towards Robertson, who easily netted it. Tottenham’s poor response to Liverpool’s strong first half performance was evident in Robertson’s effortless goal.
The visitors weren’t spurred into action by Postecoglou’s talk during the break, as Liverpool continued their winning streak by scoring a third goal courtesy of Elliott and Gakpo. The fourth goal swiftly followed, with Royal paving the way for Salah by inadvertently redirecting a cross from Robertson. Salah, in turn, set up Elliott who successfully curled a 20-yard shot into Vicario’s top right corner.
Eager to mitigate the embarrassment of a one-sided defeat, Tottenham’s management decided to take action by introducing Richarlison, James Maddison and Oliver Skipp just an hour into the match. This led to some rejuvenation in the team’s performance. Klopp’s decision to make some substitutions may have unintentionally disrupted Liverpool’s winning flow, and that may have contributed to Tottenham’s brief period of improved play.
Richarlison managed to breach Alisson’s goalkeeping defenses by expertly converting Brennan Johnson’s low cross at close range. The former Everton star then set up a second goal for Son, directing Skipp’s pass to the skipper who nailed a definitive finish. This succession of events caused palpable tension at Anfield, exacerbated by Salah’s missed opportunity to amplify their lead from a two yards distance. At this point, Liverpool was teetering on the brink of defeat each time Spurs surged ahead. Alisson, however, demonstrated his prowess by deflecting a powerful shot from Richarlison. Joe Gomez stepped in to stop Johnson from finishing the rebound while Alexander-Arnold crucially intercepted a potential second goal from the Brazilian striker. Despite a spirited last-minute rally from Spurs, they couldn’t alter the results. A turnaround would have been a monumental injustice, doing little more than briefly unnerving Liverpool. – (Source: Guardian)