Match report: Liverpool 5-1 Tottenham – and onto Bodo/Glimt
Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions, rightfully so, after thrashing Tottenham 5-1 under the Anfield sun. Requiring only a point to claim the title, Liverpool delivered a five-star performance, coming from behind to seal the title.
A typical day at Anfield for Spurs, as they continued their 14-year winless drought at this ground. It was always destined to be a goal fest between these two sides. And today was no different.
Spurs made eight changes to the side that started against Nottingham Forest last week, the most they have made in successive Premier League games. It looked like a call to rest key players ahead of their Europa League semi-final next week, but this performance will have dented confidence severely heading into that massive fixture.
First half: Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
The match started brightly, with James Maddison darting down the left and Mohamed Salah threatening from a clever set-piece routine that wasn’t too far off target.
Both sides were moving the ball quickly across the pitch, and surprisingly, Spurs were just as involved, if not more active, in the opening exchanges. Virgil van Dijk almost set up Cody Gakpo, whose early shot was gathered by Guglielmo Vicario at the second attempt. Moments later, Gakpo nearly scored a once-in-a-lifetime overhead kick, which flew just wide.
It was Tottenham who struck first, though. Dominic Solanke, facing another of his former sides, rose highest from a Maddison outswinging corner to thump a header past Alisson. Double credit to Solanke there, who actually won the corner moments earlier from a hopeful Kevin Danso ball.
A once-deafening Anfield crowd silenced… for all of four minutes.
Liverpool responded almost immediately. Salah danced past Destiny Udogie and slipped a ball through to Dominik Szoboszlai, who kept it in play and crossed low for Luis Diaz to slide home the equaliser.
Five minutes later, the exact replica of that equaliser happened. But this time, Gakpo was the scorer and Salah, was offside.
Liverpool didn’t have to wait too long for their second. Tottenham’s attempt to play out from the back fell apart thanks to Gray‘s weak tracking and Tel’s loose ball. Ryan Gravenberch shifted it to Alexis Mac Allister, who hammered an unstoppable left-footed rocket into the roof of Vicario’s net. 2-1
Tottenham’s best chance to level came once again from a set-piece. Maddison’s teasing free-kick found Solanke for a header, but Alisson tipped it over.
Liverpool, however, soon made it even uglier for Spurs. Lucas Bergvall’s poor touch from Mac Allister’s corner fell straight to Cody Gakpo, who smashed it home for Liverpool’s third.
Tottenham did try to find a way back late in the half. Brennan Johnson released Bergvall down the left, whose low cross nearly found Mathys Tel until Konate slid in just at the right time.
At the break, despite scoring three, Liverpool had only an xG of 1.16. That was however, still better than Tottenham’s 0.25.
Second half: Liverpool 5-1 Tottenham Hotspur
With a mountain to climb, Ange turned to Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr, withdrawing Maddison and the ineffective Archie Gray.
Liverpool nearly made it four inside three minutes of the restart. Gakpo, found by Mac Allister in a congested Spurs box, chose to square it for Salah rather than shoot himself, and the opportunity went begging.
After a quieter spell, Liverpool had three separate penalty shouts waved away in a single phase. Two for handballs and one for a foul. But none were convincing enough to tempt VAR intervention.
Danso attempted one from long range before Gravenberch did the same at the other end, except Gravenberch’s was on target but not enough to stop Vicario from making his first save of the day after conceding three.
Liverpool’s next attack finally gave Anfield what it had been desperate for – a Salah goal.
Szoboszlai made a powerful run after Kulusevski lost the ball on the edge of the Liverpool box. Salah picked up the ball, cut inside, and hammered it past Vicario. Shambolic defending all around, as Spurs completely switched off, not for the first time.
From that point on, it felt inevitable that Liverpool would score every time they countered. Szoboszlai had another fierce shot blocked by Vicario, while Sarr tried his luck with a tame effort at the other end.
The embarrassment only increased for Spurs. With 20 minutes to play, Liverpool made it five. Trent Alexander-Arnold backheeled into Mac Allister, who fired the ball across the box, and Udogie, trying to clear, tapped it into his own net helplessly. Not much else summed up Spurs’ afternoon better.
Liverpool continued pushing for a sixth, with Darwin Nunez and Salah both going close late on. Add in a few expected clashes from Richarlison, with Everton blood still running through him and the full-time whistle was blown.
FT: LIVERPOOL 5-1 TOTTENHAM
What’s next for Spurs?
Six years ago, these two sides were fighting in a Champions League final. Today, one celebrates a Premier League crown, while the other is simply relieved to have avoided relegation.
This game was a total mess, and Ange Postecoglou will have a hard time justifying it. How easily and frequently did Spurs players get into 4v4 situations on Liverpool counters? Very fortunately, only some of them ended up being goals tonight. You don’t see professional football teams getting into those kinds of defensive situations very often.
Maybe the players assumed their efforts wouldn’t matter or didn’t feel like trying because they’re 17th in the league, but that’s not the case for the fans. They still take pride in at least being a bit competitive with the other big six clubs.
Ange Postecoglou can’t let this result weigh too heavily on his team, especially with a European semi-final just around the corner. He should get back to his drawing board and introduce a bit, maybe just a bit, of newness into his tactics.
Next up, Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday night in North London.
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