See how two Spurs players had to be parted ways at halftime.
WITH Mo Salah and Spurs, you knew there would be fire.
Not the kind of flames the Egyptian warned he would unleash if he spoke to reporters after last week’s touchline bust-up with Jurgen Klopp.
8Mo Salah headed Liverpool into an early lead against TottenhamCredit: PA
Andy Robertson pounced from close-range to double the advantage before the break Credit: Getty
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo headed home his team’s third moments after the restart Credit: AFP
Harvey Elliott scored a rocket to make it four in front of the KopCredit: AFP
However, with Tottenham frequently losing, his scorching scoring style has made him one of the Premier League’s most prolific goal scorers over the past seven years.
After being immediately reinserted into the squad after the altercation at West Ham, Salah scored his first goal against the North Londoners here. It was his 12th goal overall.
Manchester United, whom he has scored 14 goals against, is the only team that has felt his fury more.
His other preferred opponents are Arsenal (ten), West Ham (eleven), and Manchester City (eleven), demonstrating the 31-year-old’s prowess in big games.
Aside from this game, Salah may have declined in previous weeks.
However, if he does follow Klopp out the door this summer, the Reds will miss him a great deal given his deadly record against the greatest players in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, Spurs appeared to be the lowest team in the Premier League today as Ange Postecoglou’s failing team made things easy for their hosts.
The visitors had a disaster, from Guglielmo Vicario’s feeble attempt to block Salah’s early header to Emerson Royal’s pocket being picked in the build-up to Cody Gakpo making it 3-0.
Between those goals, left-back Andy Robertson made it two goals in as many games when he scored after Salah had saved a shot and set up a worldie for Harvey Elliott.
Even if it would take a miracle for Liverpool to surpass City and Arsenal at this stage, the decisive win kept them officially in the running for the championship.
On his penultimate home game as manager before he retires at the end of the season, it seemed more like a nice day out for the supporters to remind them of what their icon Klopp is capable of creating.
Postecoglou, a childhood Liverpool fan whose debut season is in jeopardy, must have found the experience at Anfield anything but enjoyable.
They have now lost four straight games, their second in which they have conceded four goals, and their miserable away record in the league is at one win in nine.
More concerningly, there wasn’t enough of the free-flowing cuisine known as “Angeball,” which helped the team win three consecutive Manager of the Month titles at the beginning of the season.
That was save for two late strikes by former Evertonians Richarlison and Son Heung-min, which ended up being consolation but at the moment injected a little drama.
They failed to even come close to repaying Aston Villa for their earlier-day loss at Brighton.
And now they are seven points behind Unai Emery’s fourth-place team with three games remaining, including a home match against the imposing-looking City.
Even worse, Spurs are below Chelsea and Newcastle, two of the league’s best teams.
Whisper it, former manager Mauricio Pochettino and his Blues are only two points behind the Toon, who are only four points behind.
After Spurs’ humiliating 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, Postecoglou sought a response, and for the first five or so minutes, they appeared to be playing OK.However, it was all downhill from there.
On minute eight, Salah hit the crossbar with what was undoubtedly meant to be a cross, and Cristian Romero then cleared an Elliott effort off the line.
The outstanding Gakpo chipped a beautiful ball over to Salah, who had completely lost his marker Royal, so the hosts did not have to wait long to strike the back of the goal.
Vicario will be disappointed that he was defeated so easily even if his header was rather accurate in the direction of the near post.
Former Everton forward Richarlison grabbed a goal back for Spurs after coming off the bench Credit: AP
Son Heung-Min then scored another as Spurs threatened a late rally Credit: Getty
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Gakpo, and Luis Diaz all had good looks before Liverpool’s favorite Scottish left-back scored shortly before halftime.
Goalie Vicario had to pull Romero and Emerson Royal apart as the halftime whistle blew, with frustration threatening to explode.
Just before the hour mark, Elliott scored the game’s first goal when he drove a 22-yard shot into the top corner.
If Gareth Southgate was present, the 21-year-old undoubtedly left an impression on him.
Postecoglou was beginning to seem foolish, as he had at Brighton, Fulham, and Newcastle since Christmas.
But like the 4-2 defeat at the Amex at the end of December, his team managed to save face with a late comeback.
First, Richarlison scored his 11th goal of the year by calmly tapping in a cross from Brennan Johnson.
After that, Brazilian No. 9 Richarlison set up Son, who made Anfield history by becoming the first Premier League player to score in four straight games.
It makes sense that Klopp believes his biggest transfer error during his time with the Reds is not signing the South Korean.
The late scores, however, just covered up Spurs’ collapse.
Salah, their rival, was even able to grin sarcastically when he was called offside after scoring what he believed to be his 13th goal against one of his favorite opponents.
Jurgen Klopp only has one more game left to go at Anfield Credit: PA
Ange Postecoglou’s awful run of results continued despite the late rally Credit: Getty