Tottenham 3-6 Liverpool: Arne Slot’s men extend lead over Chelsea and top the table at Christmas
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Liverpool FC earned a thrilling 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to ensure they head into Christmas top of the Premier League table.
Arne Slot’s side dominated a frenetic encounter in the capital from the start, with Luis Díaz opening the scoring with a brilliant Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, and temporarily doubled the lead when Alexis Mac Allister returned home.
James Maddison grabbed one back to give Spurs brief hope, but Dominik Szoboszlai quickly poked home to put the visitors 3-1 up at the break.
And the second half began in the same way, with Mo Salah scoring two goals in quick succession to put the game out of play for the hosts. Despite late goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, it was the Reds who also had the last laugh, with Diaz scoring his late moment to complete a performance for the Championship leaders.
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That’s how they play, man. From 3-4 to 1-1 to 5-0 to 4-3 to 3-6, Tottenham took and gave up advantages and multiplied comebacks and scored in the first minute and conceded in almost each and every moment, so calamitous. No outcome is certain, no viewer is bored. Some are delighted, others exasperated. And while Ange Postecoglou arguably falls into the latter category, her annoyance is directed at her inquisitors, not her wild and erratic team. They took a 5-0 lead and a 5-1 loss in the same week. Even by his own standards, it’s been a wild ride.
Liverpool’s emphatic, and predictably chaotic, 6-3 win in north London exposed the flaws in Postegolou’s erratic side
Jamie Carragher once again criticized Ange Postecoglou’s tactical set-up, commenting that “no one has ever won playing like that” following Tottenham’s 6-3 defeat to Liverpool.
Carragher spoke to Sky Sports after the match, which Liverpool dominated from start to finish. The scoreline certainly flattered Spurs after a disjointed play in which the visitors created nine great chances and took 24 shots.
The former Liverpool defender was speaking on Sky Sports following Spurs’ 6-3 loss to the league leaders
A concerned Ange Postecoglou had a heated confrontation with a BBC journalist when the Tottenham Hotspur manager insisted injuries were to blame for his team’s defensive weaknesses.
Spurs were thrashed 6-3 by Liverpool as they fell into the bottom half of the Premier League table despite being the division’s top scorers.
This continues a recent theme of porous performances, with Postecoglou losing four of his first five picks in the middle of a run.
Goalkeeper Gugilelmo Vicario and centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missed Liverpool’s defeat, while Destiny Udogie was only able to move to the bench when Djed Spence continued at left back.
And Postecoglou wasn’t satisfied when asked if there’s more to it than injuries to blame for his team’s problems.
The Tottenham manager oversaw a damaging day in which his team was defeated 6-3.
Here is the full list of fixtures in the league for Boxing Day 2024.
12:30 p. m. – Manchester City-Everton
3pm – Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
3pm – Chelsea v Fulham
3pm – Newcastle v Aston Villa
3pm – Nottingham Forest v Spurs
3pm – Southampton – West Ham
17:30 – Wolves against Manchester United
8 p. m. – Liverpool-Leicester
So that’s the table at Christmas. . .
Mo Salah has scored and assisted on more than 10 goals in the Premier League this season (15 goals, assists).
He’s become the first ever player to hit double figures in both goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.
With just 16 games played, this is the joint-quickest in terms of appearances by a player to hit double figures for both in a single campaign in the competition (also 16 by Harry Kane in 2020-21).
Liverpool’s next match takes place on Boxing Day, when they take on Leicester City at 8pm.
Spurs’ game will be on the same day, at 3pm, when they take on Nottingham Forest.
“It’s a phenomenon.
“Him, Van Dijk and the goalkeeper have transformed Liverpool.”
“He is one of the five most productive players to ever play for Liverpool Football Club.
“Let’s not say that they are the most successful team in this country and that they have had mythical players.
“If Liverpool lose Mo Salah, he will have more roles [than PL clubs]. “
“It’s more than a football decision. It’s about his legacy at Liverpool and how he is seen. Do you want to be seen like Gerrard or McManaman?
“He went to Real Madrid and won cups, but they love him. He deserves to be.
“As a local player, Trent has been there for 20 years. Wouldn’t it be great to have the feeling of going out for free. “I’m sure Liverpool fans will feel that way. ”
Alexis Mac Allister spoke to the BBC and said that Liverpool “are not satisfied with the fact that we have conceded 3 goals, that is very positive, but for us to score six is not very simple. “
“Tottenham are a good team, they press really high, they are aggressive, we knew we had to put the ball in behind and score the opportunities we had. We are happy with the result, there are many things to improve but we’re happy to get the three points.”
On the performance of team-mate Dominik Szoboszlai: “Dom is amazing, he can do everything, on and off the ball he is really good. He played a really good game, same with the attackers. We’re in a really good moment.”
On conceding more goals recently: “At the back we have to play simple and get the ball to them [attackers]. We worked on this the whole week and we try to improve every single day.
“We know that we have to concede less, we are not satisfied with conceding 3 today, but that’s how it is, we play against very intelligent teams. Maybe we want to protect better, but we also know that we are harmful when we attack.
That’s how they play, dude. From 3-4 to 1-1 to 5-0 to 4-3 to 3-6, Tottenham took and gave up advantages and multiplied comebacks and scored in the first minute and conceded in almost each and every moment, in a calamitous way. No outcome is certain, no spectator is bored. Some are delighted, others exasperated. And while Ange Postecoglou may fall into the latter category, his annoyance is directed at his inquisitors, not his wild, erratic team. They took a 5-0 lead and a 5-1 loss in the same week. Even by his own standards, it’s been a wild ride.
Jamie Carragher once again criticized Ange Postecoglou’s tactical set-up, commenting that “no one has ever won playing like that” following Tottenham’s 6-3 defeat to Liverpool.
Carragher spoke to Sky Sports after the match, which Liverpool dominated from start to finish. The scoreline certainly flattered Spurs after a disjointed performance that saw the visitors create nine big chances and take 24 shots.
A worried Ange Postecoglou had a heated confrontation with a BBC journalist when the Tottenham Hotspur manager insisted injuries were the cause of his team’s defensive weaknesses.
Spurs were beaten 6-3 by Liverpool and fell to the bottom of the Premier League table despite being the division’s top scorers.
It continues a recent theme of porous performances, with Postecoglou missing four of his first-choice back five amid a tough run.
Goalkeeper Gugilelmo Vicario and centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missed Liverpool’s defeat, while Destiny Udogie was only able to move to the bench when Djed Spence continued at left-back.
And Postecoglou was not happy when asked if anything other than those injuries were behind his side’s struggles.
Here is the full schedule of league matches for Boxing Day 2024.
12:30 p. m. – Manchester City-Everton
15:00 – Bournemouth-Crystal Palace
3:00 p. m. : Chelsea-Fulham
3 p. m. – Newcastle-Aston Villa
3pm – Nottingham Forest v Spurs
3pm – Southampton v West Ham
17:30 – Wolves vs. Manchester United
8pm – Liverpool v Leicester
This is what the table looks like at Christmas. . .
Mo Salah has scored and assisted on more than 10 goals in the Premier League this season (15 goals, assists).
He is the first player to achieve double figures in goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.
With 16 matches played, this is the fastest brace in terms of appearances through a player in a single crusade at the festival (also 16 through Harry Kane in 2020-21).
Liverpool’s next match takes place on Boxing Day, when they take on Leicester City at 8pm.
Spurs’ next match is on the same day, at 3pm, when they take on Nottingham Forest.
“It’s a phenomenon.
“Him, Van Dijk and the goalkeeper have transformed Liverpool.”
“He is probably in the top five players to have ever played for Liverpool football club.
“Let’s not say that this is the most successful team in this country and that it has had legendary players.
“If Liverpool lost Mo Salah, they have more options [than other PL clubs].”
“It’s more than a football decision. It’s about his legacy at Liverpool and how he is seen. Do you want to be seen like Gerrard or McManaman?
“He went to Real Madrid and won cups, but he is adored. He deserves it.
“As a local player, Trent has been here for 20 years. I don’t think it’s feeling like you’re getting away for free. I’m sure Liverpool enthusiasts will feel that way.
Alexis Mac Allister spoke to the BBC and said Liverpool “are not satisfied with the fact that we conceded 3 goals, that is very positive, yet for us to score six, it is not very simple “.
“Tottenham are a good team, they press really high, they are aggressive, we knew we had to put the ball in behind and score the opportunities we had. We are happy with the result, there are many things to improve but we’re happy to get the three points.”
On the performance of his teammate Dominik Szoboszlai: “Dom is incredible, he can do everything, with and without the ball, he is intelligent. He played a smart game, as did the attackers. We are in a very intelligent moment.
On recent goals conceded: “In defense, we have to play uncontested and pass the ball [to the forwards]. We’ve been working on that all week and we’re looking to improve every day.
“We know that we have to concede less, we are not satisfied with conceding 3 today, but that’s the way it is, we play against very intelligent teams. Maybe we have to protect ourselves better, but we also know that we are harmful when we attack.
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