Liverpool 4 Tottenham 2: Spurs fail to capitalise on Aston Villa slip-up with Champions League hopes all-but over
WITH Mo Salah and Spurs, you knew there would be fire.
Not the kind of flames the Egyptian warned he would unleash if he spoke to reporters after last week’s touchline bust-up with Jurgen Klopp.
But the sort of blazing scoring form that has made him one of the Premier League’s hottest goal-getters in the last seven years – with Tottenham so often getting burnt.
Salah’s opener here, after he was put straight back into the team following that fracas at West Ham, was his 12th strike against the North Londoners.
The only club to feel his wrath more is Manchester United, against whom he has notched 14.
His other favoured opposition are Manchester City, West Ham (both 11) and Arsenal (ten) – summing up just what a big-game player the 31-year-old is.
Salah may have faded in recent weeks, this game aside.
But that lethal record against the best the Premier League has to offer shows how much the Reds will miss him if he does follow Klopp out the exit door this summer.
Having said that, Spurs looked more like the worst in the top flight today as Ange Postecoglou’s struggling side made it easy for their hosts.
From Guglielmo Vicario’s weak effort to repel Salah’s early header, to Emerson Royal having his pocket picked in the build-up to Cody Gakpo making it 3-0, the visitors had a shocker.
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Left-back Andy Robertson made it two goals in as many games in between those strikes, firing in after a shot was saved by Salah, who also teed up a worldie for Harvey Elliott.
The emphatic victory kept Liverpool technically in the title race, even though it would take a miracle for them to overhaul City and Arsenal at this point.
It resembled more of a fun day out for fans to remind them of what their icon Klopp is capable of creating on what was his penultimate home game in charge before he walks into the sunset at the end of the season.
The Anfield experience must have been anything but fun for boyhood Liverpool supporter Postecoglou, whose first campaign is in danger of unravelling.
This was their fourth defeat on the trot, their second where they have shipped four and their dismal away record in the league now stands at one win in nine.
More worryingly, the free-flowing fare dubbed Angeball which delivered a hat-trick of Manager of the Month awards at the start of the season was in short supply.
That was save for two late strikes, which proved to be consolations but at the time added a bit of drama, through ex-Evertonian Richarlison and Son Heung-min.
They did not get close to capitalising on the favour Aston Villa did them by losing at Brighton earlier in the day.
And now with three games left, including a home clash with imperious-looking City, they are seven points off Unai Emery’s fourth-placed side.
Worse still, Spurs have in-form pair Newcastle and Chelsea in their rearview mirror.
The Toon are only four points behind and, whisper it, old boss Mauricio Pochettino and his Blues are just two further away.
Postecoglou wanted a reaction after Thursday’s dismal 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge and Spurs actually looked OK for the opening five minutes or so.
It was downhill from there, though.
Salah struck the crossbar with an effort which surely must have been intended to be a cross on eight minutes, before Cristian Romero cleared an Elliott strike off the line.
The hosts did not have to wait too much longer to find the back of the net as the impressive Gakpo clipped a gorgeous ball over to Salah, who had lost his marker Royal completely.
His header was accurate enough towards the near post but Vicario will be disappointed he was so easily beaten.
Liverpool grew in confidence – no mean feat given their patchy recent form – and it was just a matter of time before the second went in.
Gakpo, Robertson, Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold all went close before Liverpool’s favourite Scottish left-back converted just before the break.
Robertson had laid an Alexander-Arnold cross back to Salah and was Johnny on the Spot to turn in the rebound when the Egyptian’s shot had been saved.
As the whistle went for the break, Romero and Emerson Royal had to be separated by goalie Vicario as frustration threatened to boil over.
Whatever Postecoglou’s half-time team-talk was, it did not work as Gakpo headed in Elliott’s superb delivery for number three within five minutes of the interval.
Elliott then netted the goal of the game just before the hour by driving a shot into the top corner from 22 yards.
Gareth Southgate, if he was watching, will no doubt have been hugely impressed by the 21-year-old.
It was getting embarrassing for Postecoglou, just like it had been at Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle since Christmas.
But similarly to the 4-2 loss at the Amex at the end of December, his side did salvage some pride with a late rally.
The first came when Richarlison hit his 11th of the season by coolly slotting home Brennan Johnson’s cross.
Brazilian No9 Richarlison then teed up Son who became the first ever Premier League player to score in four consecutive matches at Anfield.
No wonder Klopp thinks missing out on signing the South Korean is his biggest transfer mistake of his Reds tenure.
The late goals merely papered over the cracks for sinking Spurs though.
While their nemesis Salah could even afford a wry smile when being flagged offside after burying in what he thought was his 13th strike against one of his favourite opponents.