Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham on Sunday.
Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London.
Liverpool took advantage of second-placed Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Everton earlier in the day to cement their status as title favourites heading into the Christmas period.
Hapless Tottenham had no answer to Liverpool’s intelligent pressing and supreme passing and movement, with Egypt star Salah at the heart of their lethal attack.
Salah is the only Premier League player to reach double figures in goals (15) and assists (11) this season.
The 32-year-old is now Liverpool’s fourth top scorer ever with 229 goals.
His brace took him past Billy Liddell, with only Ian Rush (346), Roger Hunt (285) and Gordon Hodgson (241) ahead of him.
Salah’s latest heroics only underlined the urgency to get his future resolved, with the forward’s current deal due to expire at the end of the season.
He is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from January and has hinted several times that this could be his last season at Anfield.
With Salah scoring 18 times in all competitions, Liverpool have been on fire since Slot arrived from Feyenoord to replace Jurgen Klopp in the close-season.
Klopp delivered Liverpool’s last Premier League title in 2020 and it looks increasingly likely Slot will emulate that success in his maiden campaign.
The Reds have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions under Slot and have a game in hand on Chelsea to strengthen their lead in the title race.
This was a remarkable display of Liverpool’s firepower as Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister scored to put them in command.
Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Liverpool’s third just before the interval and Salah took over after the break before Diaz netted again.
Punished for Ange Postecoglou’s insistence on sticking to his high defensive line, it was the first time in 10 years that Tottenham had conceded five or more at home in a Premier League game.
An eighth league defeat this season leaves Tottenham languishing in 11th place as the pressure mounts on Postecoglou.
– Unstoppable Salah –
Foreshadowing the demolition to come, Salah slalomed past three Tottenham defenders and blasted against the crossbar in the early stages.
Liverpool’s pressure reaped its deserved reward in the 23d minute as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s inch-perfect cross arced towards Diaz, who headed past Fraser Forster from six yards.
Tottenham fans released black balloons in protest at chairman Daniel Levy’s reign midway through the first half.
They became even more deflated in the 36th minute as Liverpool struck again.
Szoboszlai climbed to meet Andrew Robertson’s cross and the ball deflected kindly for Mac Allister to nod beyond Forster from close range.
Liverpool’s focus briefly wobbled as Mac Allister was robbed by Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison rifled home from 18 yards.
But Szoboszlai quickly restored the two-goal lead, capping a typically incisive raid in the final seconds before half-time.
Salah took Szoboszlai’s flick in stride and returned a clever reverse pass to the midfielder, who took a touch before planting his shot through Forster’s legs.
It wasn’t long before the unstoppable Salah got on the scoresheet.
Cody Gakpo slipped a pass into the six-yard box in the 54th minute and, when Tottenham failed to clear, Salah was on hand to tap in.
Salah bagged his sixth goal in his last five games in all competitions seven minutes later with another close-range finish from Szoboszlai’s pass.
Dejan Kulusevski’s 72nd-minute volley from just inside the area was followed by Dominic Solanke’s close-range effort in the 83rd minute as Tottenham hit back.
But Salah provided a fitting coda to his eye-catching display two minutes later with a precise pass that Diaz converted to ensure the scoreline reflected Liverpool’s supremacy.
AFP
