EPL

Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham: Salah shines as Reds swat aside Spurs

By Sports Desk May 05, 2024

Liverpool got back to winning ways with a 4-2 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, though they had to survive a late Spurs push.

Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott were the stars, getting a goal and an assist each to help the Reds avoid a third straight home defeat in all competitions.

Andrew Robertson and Cody Gakpo got in on the act as Liverpool cruised into a 4-0 lead, though Richarlison and Son Heung-min scored to make matters interesting, ensuring this fixture became the highest-scoring in Premier League history in the process.

Spurs remain in fifth, seven points below Aston Villa in fourth, while Liverpool are third, five points off leaders Arsenal, though they would need an almighty slip-up from either of the top two to stand a chance of winning the title.

The warning signs were there early from Liverpool, with Guglielmo Vicario smothering Salah’s shot on the line before Cristian Romero cleared Elliott’s follow-up.

Salah grabbed the opener 16 minutes in, latching onto Gakpo’s cross to cushion his 18th goal of the season past Vicario, who got a hand to it.

The Reds’ dominance continued – Luis Diaz tried an acrobatic attempt and Elliott saw a curler saved by Vicario, but Liverpool’s pressure told again before the break.

Vicario got down to Salah’s crisp effort but could only parry it into the path of Robertson, who tucked into an open net on the rebound.

Spurs’ display did not improve after the break, and Gakpo thumped in Elliott’s cross after Emerson Royal was dispossessed.

Elliott capped a fine individual display in the 59th minute, curling a sumptuous shot into the top-left corner, giving Vicario no chance.

Richarlison’s introduction from the bench sparked Spurs into life, as he slotted in his 11th goal of the campaign with 18 minutes remaining.

The Brazil international turned from scorer to provider five minutes later, laying it off for Son to finish.

Salah squandered a great chance to put the contest to bed at the other end, but Alisson denied Richarlison a second – with Joe Gomez preventing Brennan Johnson nodding in the rebound – as Liverpool saw out a morale-boosting win in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate home game.

Salah back on song

Salah grabbed the headlines last week after a spat with Klopp on the touchline during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Ham.

But, restored to the starting XI, Salah was back on form on Sunday. He hit the crossbar before he opened the scoring, and then got an assist when he teed up Elliott – that makes him the first player in Premier League history to score 10+ goals and provide 10+ assists in three consecutive seasons. He is also only the second player to tally 10+ in both in five separate seasons in the competition overall, after Wayne Rooney.

Salah, who had a goal ruled out for offside late on, has now netted 12 goals against Spurs, only scoring more against Manchester United (14) in all competitions, while he is also the joint-top scorer in Liverpool v Tottenham matches in the Premier League, scoring nine, level with Harry Kane.

Super-sub Richarlison

Spurs, who have lost four league games in a row for the first time since November 2004, were left to rue a dismal showing for the first hour, but would things have been different had Ange Postecoglou used Richarlison from the start?

The former Everton man has been linked with a move away from Spurs this week, but he turned the tide at Anfield, where he has scored three times in the Premier League.

Richarlison’s hold-up play and pass into Son for Spurs’ second was also excellent. That goal from the South Korean was the 191st scored in this fixture in the Premier League, meaning it overtook Arsenal v Liverpool as the fixture with the most goals in the competition’s history.

Related items

  • Gakpo feels 'more dangerous' for Liverpool under Slot Gakpo feels 'more dangerous' for Liverpool under Slot

    Cody Gakpo believes he has become a more "dangerous" player after returning to his preferred left-wing role under new Liverpool boss, Arne Slot. 

    Gakpo, who joined the Reds in January 2023, was often deployed in a central striker role under Jurgen Klopp during his first 18 months at Anfield. 

    Across his 53 appearances for Liverpool last season, 27 came as a centre forward, with the remaining 26 coming on either flank or in the attacking midfield position. 

    The Dutchman, however, has registered eight goal contributions (six goals, two assists) in 17 appearances in all competitions this season, all but one of which has come from the left wing. 

    Gakpo has found the net four times in his last four outings for the Reds, which included a brace against Brighton in the EFL Cup to propel them into the quarter-finals. 

    Speaking about the switch, he told Men in Blazers: “Before I came to Liverpool I also played as a left-winger. Then I came here, and I started to play more as a central striker.

    “At the Euros, I played as a left-winger again. Then this season the new manager came in. I had a talk with him, and he said, ‘You have to focus on the left-winger position.

    "This is your position when you come on or when you start.’ Because he said there’s a lot of competition here, so you just have to show yourself. But he said, ‘That is going to be your position.’

    “It felt a little bit, for me, like the old me, like what I did at PSV [Eindhoven] as well. I feel really good in this position. I try to show my best to everybody, what I’m capable of.

    “I think I come into more one-v-ones now with my face towards the opponent, where I can really go inside and give a cross, shoot or go outside and give a cross – which is more my game, I would say, and where I think I can be really dangerous and help the team the most.”

    Liverpool have enjoyed a fine start to the season, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables heading into the November international break.

    Slot has earned 28 points from his first 11 top-flight games in charge (W9 D1 L1), the joint-most by a manager after as many games in the competition along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.

    The Reds also remain the only side with a 100% record in the Champions League and have edged closer to defending their EFL Cup crown this season. 

    And Gakpo, who played a part in the Reds' win over Chelsea in the final of that competition last year, is eager for that fighting spirit to help bring more success to the club.

    “I see those [as] separate,” he said. “When I’m on the pitch, [I’m] really there to win the game, to show my quality," Gakpo said.

    “I think one of my qualities is going inside and going for a goal or maybe going for an assist. As an attacking player, I think that’s also part of the job.

    “Outside of the pitch, I tend to be a different guy – it’s more about life and development, mental growth, health growth with family, with friends.

    "I just try to be myself and I’m very happy that people speak so nicely of me, so thank you everybody!

    “Obviously when you come on the pitch, it’s game on. You have to think a little bit different – maybe not that nice in some ways because you have to win.

    "But for me, it will never be personal. Out there, [I’m] just trying to do my best for the club and to win these games for the fans, for myself, for the team.

    "When the referee blows the last whistle then the switch flips again and then I’m back to normal again.”

  • Odegaard given time to recover as Arsenal star pulls out of Norway squad Odegaard given time to recover as Arsenal star pulls out of Norway squad

    Martin Odegaard has pulled out of Norway's Nations League games against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.

    Odegaard, who was injured while on international duty in September, only returned to action for Arsenal last week.

    After coming on from the bench against Inter in the Champions League, the playmaker featured for the entire game as Arsenal drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, and teed up Gabriel Martinelli's opener at Stamford Bridge.

    Yet Odegaard will not play for his country in their matches over this international break.

    "This has been a complicated ankle injury. With very few training sessions with the team [Arsenal] over the past nine weeks, it's natural that the body is not 100% at this stage," Norway's national team doctor Ola Sand said in a statement on Tuesday.

    "After thorough examinations and conversations, we have agreed that Martin will not be ready to play in the matches against Slovenia and Kazakhstan.

    "In consultation with him, we've agreed that it's better for him to return to London to continue his rehabilitation there."

    Norway are top of their Nations League group, though they are level on points with Slovenia and Austria.

  • 'Please, doubt us' – Dias dares Man City's critics 'Please, doubt us' – Dias dares Man City's critics

    Ruben Dias has dared Manchester City's critics to "doubt us" after the Premier League champions' four-game losing streak.

    Pep Guardiola lost four straight matches in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career as City capitulated in a 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday.

    That loss came on the back of a 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP – coached by new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim – in the Champions League, as well as a reverse to Bournemouth in the Premier League and an EFL Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham.

    City are five points behind league leaders Liverpool, but Dias shrugged off the doubters.

    "I would say, please doubt us, doubt us, feel welcome to do so," the centre-back told reporters.

    "When we did the treble, we even called it the dark January. We had a tough period. But it is what it is.

    "What matters is how you bounce back from these moments. That's why our team has won so much because in moments of difficulty, the characters come up and we stay together.

     

    "We don't find people to kill, we find people to bring into the cause and fight together.

    "That's what we need to do once again. Until it's done, it's not done."

    City's losing run combined with Liverpool's excellent form has seen a swing in the Opta supercomputer's predictions.

    The model now has Liverpool as the favourites, with a 60.3% chance of winning the title.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.