Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here
GO BEYOND
Tottenham 3 Liverpool 6: Slot team tops the league on Christmas, gray day, Szoboszlai
Let’s bring you the games in store for these two sides over the festive period. They come thick and fast, for sure.
Here’s what Liverpool and Tottenham face from here in the Premier League over the coming 10 days.
Liverpool:
Tottenham:
And then the two groups will meet in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, in London on January 8 (Ange swallows).
Advertisement
There still seems to be plenty of support for Ange Postecoglou among Tottenham fans too. Or maybe it’s just elsewhere that their irk is being directed?
Here’s some Spurs stuff from our fans in our Chat tab:
? Jim W: “Basically, the boo-boys…want George Graham football at Spurs. 1-0 to the Spurs. Boring, boring Tottenham. I really don’t. I’d rather risk a couple more years of ‘hurr trophy cabinet hurr’ jokes for a chance of something truly glorious than boring, miserable (& still expensive to watch) football.”
? Michael A: “Liverpool play great football. Even when healthy, we’ve been a model of inconsistency. I’m not stressed about it. I love what Ange has brought, but was hoping we’d have played a little better even shorthanded as we’d done against other top sides this year. Onto the next one.”
How are the fans feeling after all that then? Here is a flavour of the Liverpool view from subscribers on our Discuss tab — and yes, I’ll bring you the Tottenham side to follow:
? Jeremy M: “Szoboszlai is Action Man. Loving. He’s everywhere!
? Jake D: “Those are the moments when we still don’t have the control that Slot wants. There’s no desire to concede and keep pushing when you’re up 5-1. They are looking to play forward as a Klopp team. , instead of taking an extra pass.
? Zoé L: “I can go to the bathroom now. ??? Big deal tonight guys!!! How happy!!! It seems we have it in us! “YNWA and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!”
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min spoke after the match. This is what he told Sky Sports:
? “I’m very disappointed with the result and conceding six goals, it’s painful. I don’t need to make excuses.
“You can see that they (Liverpool) have quality players with high points discipline. There is an explanation why they are the most sensible in the league. If you make a mistake for them, they will punish you.
“Football is always risky even if you sit back, you concede so many goals. We have to stick together in difficult times and also good times.
“Today is painful. We want to move forward together and recover stronger. “
Tottenham’s Premier League games under boss Ange Postecoglou have seen an average of 3.6 goals scored per match (across both teams combined).
Among those who have controlled more than 50 games in the competition, this is the goals per game rate of any coach.
Kevin Keegan, eat your heart out.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Alexis Mac Allister praised fellow Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
Now for me, the Hungarian captain is one of the best midfielders in the English top flight — and here is what the Argentinian said on the subject:
? “Dom is incredible. He can do everything. With and without the ball, he is intelligent. He had a very intelligent game, as did the forwards.
“We are in a smart moment. “
Listen, listen.
Advertisement
Alexis Mac Allister made a winning return to Liverpool’s midfield after his suspension. He told BBC Sport after the match:
? “We are not happy with the fact we conceded three goals, that’s very clear, but we scored six and that’s not very easy.
“We know we have to concede less, but it is what it is. We play against many teams. We may want to protect better, but we also know that we are harmful when we attack.
“Tottenham are an intelligent team, they press very high, they are aggressive. We are satisfied with the result, there are many things to do but we are satisfied to have got the 3 points.
At one point in the match, Tottenham had conceded eight goals in their last 90 minutes of football.
They have a lot of defensive injuries, but those kinds of numbers are indefensible and can never be in a club that cares about winning trophies.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot was not entirely satisfied with his team’s victory, as our own James Pearce predicted. This is what Slot told BBC Sport:
? “For 60 minutes we did everything we had to do. We were comfortable and with the ball. The bottom line is that we work very, very hard.
“But then the same players with the same quality thought that 10 or 15 minutes of not working as hard was good enough.
“Tottenham have enough quality to score goals if you give them chances. You have to be as sensible as possible throughout the game, and we didn’t.
I owe you full-time numbers. As you can see, Liverpool had a busy day in terms of the number of attackers at Tottenham. But it hides Spurs’ biggest risk after the break.
Foot: Tottenham 3-6 Liverpool
As has always been the case, it was Tottenham’s defensive paints that caused them disruption, although at least this time they can say they opposed the most popular team in England, and possibly Europe too.
I have to say that 3-6 is a diabolical scoreline, by the way.
Have some self-respect (apart from possession).
Advertisement
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has reflected on a difficult evening. Here he is, speaking to BBC Sport:
? “It’s notoriously painful for us. Thanks to Liverpool, they were too smart for us. It’s a bridge too far for us. We seemed to lack energy, which is understandable.
When asked if anything other than widespread injuries was the explanation for his team’s defensive problems, he added:
? “I’m just going to avoid answering those questions. If other people don’t see the obvious, I’m not going to point it out. Do what you want with it.
“Yes, we conceded goals. We are missing a goalkeeper, two center backs and a left back. This is significant.
“If you take out Liverpool’s goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back, or any team other than Liverpool, would also have difficulty passing. “
. . . but does it matter? In the last seven seasons, when Liverpool have been most sensible in the Premier League table at Christmas, they have only won the league once.
Can they follow it through this season?
Plus, this table is a nice sight for Tottenham fans.
Before the match, fans protested outside the Tottenham Hotspur stadium against president Daniel Levy.
And the evening ended with Levy sitting sullenly, hunting in the bloodless air as his team was badly beaten at home.
He has noticed better days.
To continue the love of Mohamed Salah. . . This is the sixth Premier League season in which the Liverpool forward scores and assists 10 or more goals (2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23 , 2023-24). and 2024-25).
This is the most players in the history of the competition, surpassing Wayne Rooney’s total of five.
He is also the only player in the division’s history to get 10 goals and 10 assists before Christmas.
It is a historic day for Mohamed Salah. His brace today takes him to 229 Liverpool goals, putting him ahead of Billy Liddell and fourth on the club’s all-time list of illustrious goalscorers:
Salah asked about the record via Sky Sports after today’s victory:
? “I didn’t think about it before the game but I’m glad I have done it. It’s great to achieve that at such a big club, but the most important thing is that we won the game.
“Wherever my career ends, I’m happy. “
Advertisement
What season is Mohamed Salah having at Liverpool? Maybe his last season at the club? He also spoke with Sky Sports:
? “We were quite good up front but defensively, we need to improve as a team. Conceding three goals… It’s a good result, hopefully we just keep going.
“The way they (Spurs) play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically it is difficult and mentally we have to be in the game.
“They don’t replace much of their way of playing. It’s intense. (Manchester) City came here and had problems. Other groups did too. I’m satisfied that we won because they play an intense game.
When asked if there is any news about the prestige of his contract, which expires this summer, the undeniable answer is “no. “
Despite conceding 3 goals today, Liverpool never looked like losing.
A dominant performance away from home.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool device is still working.
It may well be that some enthusiasts tip the Reds a lot for the Premier League name from here. . .
Liverpool beat Tottenham to cement their position at the top of the Premier League heading into Christmas.
The result puts Liverpool 4 issues transparent of second-placed Chelsea with a overall of 39 and a game in hand before Boxing Day matches. Tottenham remain 11th.
Below, The Athletic writers break down the talking points from the game.
GO BEYOND
Tottenham 3 Liverpool 6: The most sensible slot team in the league at Christmas, grey day, smart Szoboszlai