Tottenham – Liverpool 3-6: Arne Slot’s men overtake Chelsea and dominate 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 Diaz opening the scoring with a brilliant cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold, and temporarily doubled the lead when Alexis Mac Allister returned home.
James Maddison pulled one back to give Spurs brief hope, but Dominik Szoboszlai headed in temporarily to give them a 3-1 half-time lead.
And the second half started in much the same way, with Mo Salah netting twice in quick succession to put the game out of reach of the hosts. Despite late goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, it was the Reds who had the last laugh too, with Diaz getting his second late on to put the gloss on a fantastic performance for the league 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 victory in north London was the weakness of Postegolou’s erratic team.
Jamie Carragher once again criticized Ange Postecoglou’s tactical set-up, commenting that “no one has ever won playing like that” after 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 the Spurs after a disjointed performance that saw the visitors create nine big chances and take 24 shots.
The former Liverpool defender was speaking on Sky Sports following Spurs’ 6-3 loss to the league leaders
Ange Postecoglou, worried, had a heated confrontation with a BBC journalist when the Tottenham Hotspur manager insisted that injuries were the cause of his team’s defensive weaknesses.
Spurs were beaten 6-3 through Liverpool as they fell to the backside part of the Premier League table in spite of being the division’s most sensible 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 unsatisfied when asked if there is anything other 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 league fixture schedule for Boxing Day 2024.
12.30pm – Manchester City v Everton
3pm – Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
3pm – Chelsea v Fulham
3 p. m. – Newcastle-Aston Villa
3:00 p. m. – Nottingham Forest against Spurs
3pm – Southampton v West Ham
17:30 – Wolves vs. Manchester United
8 p. m. – Liverpool – Leicester
So that’s the table at Christmas. . .
Mo Salah has both scored and assisted 10+ goals in the Premier League this season (15 goals, 11 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 matches played, this is the fastest in terms of appearances through a player to achieve the double of both in a single crusade at the festival (also 16 through Harry Kane in 2020-21).
Liverpool’s game will be on Boxing Day, when they face Leicester City at 8:00 p. m.
Spurs’ match will be on the same day, at 3 p. m. , when they face Nottingham Forest.
“He is 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 forget, they’re the most successful team in this country and they’ve had some legendary players.
“If Liverpool lost Mo Salah, they have more options [than other PL clubs].”
“It is more than a football decision. It’s about his legacy at Liverpool and how he is noticed. Do you want to attract attention 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 around for 20 years. I don’t think it’s smart to feel like I’m leaving for free. I’m sure Liverpool fans will feel that.
Alexis Mac Allister spoke to BBC, and says that Liverpool “are not happy with the fact we conceded three goals, that’s very cear, but we score six, that’s not very easy”.
“Tottenham are an intelligent team, they press very high, they are aggressive, we knew we had to put the ball and take advantage of the opportunities we had. We are satisfied with the result, there are many things to improve but we are satisfied. ” Having gotten the 3 points.
On the functionality of his teammate Dominik Szoboszlai: “Dom is incredible, he can do everything, with and without the ball, he is intelligent. He played a very intelligent game, as did the attackers. We are in a very intelligent 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.
It’s just the way they play, mate. From 3-4 to 1-1 to 5-0 to 4-3 to 3-6, with Tottenham taking and giving up leads and mounting comebacks and scoring in the first minute and conceding at almost any point, often in calamitous fashion. No scoreline is safe, no onlooker bored. Some are exhilarated, some exasperated. And if Ange Postecoglou can fall into the latter category, his annoyance is directed at his inquisitors, not his riotously erratic team. They have been 5-0 up and 5-1 down in the same week. Even by their own standards, it has been a wild ride.
Jamie Carragher once again criticised Ange Postecoglou’s tactical set-up, commenting that “no one has ever won playing like this” after Tottenham’s 6-3 defeat to Liverpool.
Carragher was speaking on Sky Sports after the match, which Liverpool dominated from start to finish. The scoreline arguably flattered Spurs after a disjointed performance that allowed the visitors to create nine big chances and take 24 shots.
Ange Postecoglou was involved in a heated clash with a BBC reporter as the Tottenham Hotspur manager insisted injury issues are to blame for his side’s defensive frailties.
Spurs were beaten 6-3 by Liverpool and fell to the back of the Premier League table despite being the division’s top scorers.
This continues a recent theme of porous performance, with Postecoglou losing four of his five most sensible picks in the middle of a difficult race.
Goalkeeper Gugilelmo Vicario and centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missed Liverpool’s defeat, while Destiny Udogie was only able to make it to the bench when Djed Spence continued at left-back.
And Postecoglou was not satisfied when asked if other injuries were the cause of his team’s problems.
Here is the full league fixture schedule for Boxing Day 2024.
12:30 – Manchester City-Everton
15:00 – Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace
3 p. m. – Chelsea-Fulham
3pm – Newcastle v Aston Villa
3 p. m. – Nottingham Forest against Spurs
3 p. m. – Southampton against West Ham
5.30pm – Wolves v Manchester United
8 p. m. – Liverpool v Leicester
Here’s how the table looks at Christmas then…
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 reach double figures in goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.
With just 16 matches played, this is the fastest in terms of appearances through a player to achieve double the two in a single crusade at the festival (also 16 through Harry Kane in 2020-21).
Liverpool’s game is 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 Liverpool goalkeeper. “
“He is one of the five most productive players to ever play 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 is more than a football decision. It’s about his legacy at Liverpool and how he is perceived. Do you need to attract attention 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 20 years. I don’t think it would be nice to have a feeling of leaving on a free. I guarantee Liverpool supporters will feel that way.”
Alexis Mac Allister spoke to BBC, and says that Liverpool “are not happy with the fact we conceded three goals, that’s very cear, but we score six, that’s not very easy”.
“Tottenham are an intelligent team, they press very high, they are aggressive, we knew we had to put the ball in and take advantage of the opportunities we had. We are satisfied with the result, there are many things to improve but we are satisfied to have got the 3 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: “Defensively, we have to play hard and pass the ball [to the forwards]. We’ve been working on that all week and we’re looking to get better every day.
“We know we have to concede less, we are not happy with conceding three today, but it is what it is, we play against really good teams. Maybe we have to defend better but also we know we are dangerous when we attack.”
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