22 December 2024
Tottenham 3 Liverpool 6
Tottenham have a habit of turning up against the big sides this season, it is the other games that are proving all too difficult. They welcomed league leaders Liverpool to North London, looking for a victory that would see them top of the Premier League table at Christmas. When they met in this fixture last season, it turned into a fiasco of incompetent officiating that cost The Reds the game.
Postecoglou’s side had booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals in midweek, with an entertaining victory over Man Utd. The one stand-out thing from that game, was the inability of both sides to defend. The visitors were no doubt hoping to see more of this, feeling their plethora of attacking talent would take full advantage.
The hosts tried to play out from the back early on and Forster gifted the ball to Salah in the box. The Egyptian winger controlled it on his chest before getting a volley off at goal. He dragged it wide into the side-netting to let the keeper off. Moments later, Liverpool’s talisman was at it again, this time rattling the crossbar with his effort.
It was evident from the opening exchanges where these two sides were at in their evolution, Slot’s side were dominating. Alexander-Arnold spotted a run from Diaz and swung in a sublime cross right onto the Columbian’s head. He made no mistake as he beat Forster to give the Merseysiders an early lead in North London, silencing the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the process.
Spurs just did not seem to have any answer to what was being thrown at them. Liverpool were opening up the hosts at will, the only wonder being that they had only scored once. As another cross came into the box, Szoboszlai challenged but the ball ricocheted into the air. Mac Allister arrived to head home, as he beat Forster to the loose ball.
Spurs just did not seem to have any answer to what was being thrown at them. Liverpool were opening up the hosts at will, the only wonder being how they had only scored once. As another cross came into the box, Szoboszlai challenged for the ball but ricocheted into the air. Mac Allister arrived to head home, as he beat Forster to the loose ball.
It was no more than the visitors had deserved, this had been one-way traffic. However, the Argentinian was soon to be hanging his head in shame. As a Reds’ attack broke down, Spurs came forward. Alexander-Arnold passed it to Mac Allister, who was dispossessed in the middle of the park, Maddison swept the ball into the bottom corner to half the deficit.
The weird thing about the Tottenham goal was the reaction. Maddison threw his hands up like someone celebrating a consolation goal in a heavy drubbing. Maybe he can see into the future, nobody knows. As the hosts looked to press, Alexander-Arnold played the ball forward. Szoboszlai won a flick-on at the halfway line, with the ball dropping to Salah.
He ran towards goal, holding onto the ball until the ideal moment. At that point he played it back to the Hungarian, who slotted under Forster to restore the visitors’ two-goal lead. It just looked all too easy for Arne Slot’s side. They headed into the break 3-1 up and nobody could deny them the scoreline as, if anything, it should have been more.
After the break Spurs looked to put some pressure on. Liverpool won the ball back and countered with pace. Gakpo got down the left and cut the ball across the box. Gray tried to slide in and clear but all he did was present it to Salah to smash home and add a fourth. Tottenham looked a shambles at the back, not good when the free-scoring Reds were in town.
Moments later a direct ball from Alisson set Szoboszlai away, who was clean through. He took it around Forster but seemed to be off balance as he tried to get his shot away. As a result, his effort went well wide of the target, much to the frustrations of Salah in the middle. Had this been a cup game against a lower league outfit, the manager would have made changes to save them embarrassment.
This just seemed like a reoccurring nightmare for the hosts at this point. They attack, Liverpool win it back and play through them for another chance to score. This time, Szoboszlai squared it to Salah who neatly slotted home with a first-time right-footed shot. Reality had seemed to dawn on the home fans as they could see the massive gulf between these two teams.
Solanke then tried a neat chip over the Liverpool defence towards Kulusevski, who volleyed past Alisson to reduce the deficit. It was met with muted celebrations from the home fans. Even with so much of the game remaining, they did not fancy their teams’ chances of beating this impressive Reds’ team who were far the better side.
That was until a deep cross was headed back across goal by Johnson. Solanke swivelled on it to half-volley past Alisson and make it 3-5. Now the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium awoke, knowing that one more goal would make for a nervy ending for Arne Slot’s side. It would have been unthinkable for Spurs to get anything from this game, they had been second best for the duration.
Even so, Tottenham continued to press. Alexander-Arnold intercepted a threaded pass and got The Reds moving forward once again. Szoboszlai fed it into Salah, who threaded in Diaz. His right-footed shot beat Forster to add a sixth goal for the visitors. This had been a comprehensive performance from the league leaders in the capital.
Johnson almost clawed another goal back but Alisson got down to make a good save to prevent it going into the far corner. The referee brought the game to an end and Slot’s side had sent a real statement to their rivals. On another day, this could easily have been double figures, that was the only positive that Spurs could take from this one.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.