LONDON – It’s a lot of fun to watch Tottenham vs. Liverpool on Sunday, at least if you’re a Liverpool fan.
Liverpool demolished and delighted a shattered and exhausted Tottenham to win 6-3 as their supporters congratulated the Premier League leaders from north London.
Arne Slot’s side are top of the Premier League table at Christmas and were on a rampage as Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz scored twice, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai came on as substitutes and Cody Gakpo was a threat constant. James Maddison briefly made it 2-1 and Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored late after Liverpool were 5-1 up to give the score some respectability.
Here’s a look at what we learned from the old match between Tottenham and Liverpool.
It was difficult to know who was playing as Liverpool’s center forward and that is a very smart thing for Arne Slot. Liverpool created nine big chances, totaled over 4. 46 expected goals and had 24 shots on goal. Just like the days when Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino moved forward and exchanged seamlessly, Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz did it again and again behind Spurs. With goalscorers Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozlai breaking out from midfield to form a four-on-four for the maximum of their attacks, this was Liverpool at their peak productivity. Darwin Núñez is going through a difficult time and Slot has made the decision that he does not want a real number nine. This is more than smart, as Liverpool’s electric front three and marauding central midfielders are very difficult to mark and help them press height and generate pressure. When you add Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott to the mix, Liverpool also have a number of players who can integrate perfectly into this system. Slot has discovered a way to get all of Liverpool’s most productive attackers and midfielders on the pitch at the same time and it’s a pleasure to see Ryan Gravenberch as a true starter, giving them the balance to attack and express themselves.
Missing their two best center backs, left back, and goalkeeper, this was always going to be a tough task for Tottenham. They looked shattered from the start. They played a draining 4-3 win on Thursday against Manchester United in the League Cup quarterfinal and it showed on the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ange Postecoglou doesn’t have enough options to rotate his team and is playing inexperienced and squad players out of position at the back. Combine that with Spurs’ infamous high defensive line and it’s a recipe for disaster. In their last three home games in all competitions Spurs have now conceded 13 goals to Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool. These results won’t define their season and Ange Postecoglou will be heartened that his side didn’t give up as Kulusevski, Son and Solanke kept on trying to create in attack and Spurs scored three. But it’s pretty clear Tottenham need to reinforce their defensive options even after Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Destiny Udogie return to the fold. There can’t be this big a drop off when they lose a few key players — building a top squad, not just a top team, is the next step for Ange’s project at Spurs.
The only weak point of this Liverpool turns out to be their lack of defensive rhythm. Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are dominant centre-backs, however, when Tottenham discovered area on the flanks of the Liverpool centre-backs and stretched them with crosses into the area, the Reds seemed to falter. Liverpool have conceded two or more goals in four of their last five Premier League games. It’s fine if they want to keep scoring 3 or 4 at the other end, but it’s not sustainable and will cause them problems throughout the season. In the name race, Arsenal appear to have a much stronger defense than Liverpool and if the Reds are to continue their march towards an unlikely Premier League trophy this season, they want to tighten things up in defence. Simply put, they want to be more boring. The way Slot roared past him to keep going suggests that he’s fine with being an artist rather than a pragmatist. That’s smart in theory, but Liverpool want to tighten things up to get to the end of this season.
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