LONDON: Liverpool strengthened their hold on the Premier League top spot as Mohamed Salah’s masterclass inspired an extraordinary 6-3 rout of batte­red Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Salah scored twice, as did Luis Diaz, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were also on target at bamboozled Spurs for Dutchman Arne Slot’s Liverpool side who head into Christmas four points clear.

Liverpool have 39 points from 16 games with Chelsea on 35 having played a game more.

Tottenham’s last three home games in all competitions have now provided 23 goals as their wide-open style was ruthlessly punished by Liverpool.

Diaz met Trent Alexander-Arnold’s beautiful cross with a diving header to open the scoring before Alexis Mac Allister nodded home from close range.

James Maddison pulled one back for Spurs in the 41st minute but Dominik Szoboszlai restored the visitors’ two-goal lead before the break as he slotted past Fraser Forster.

Salah’s double came in seven second-half minutes to take his league tally this season to 15 before Tottenham hit back with Dejan Kulusevski’s volley and Dominic Solanke’s effort in the 83rd that threatened to set up a frantic finale. But Diaz settled any Liverpool jitters with his second goal of the game.

Liverpool’s emphatic win means only one of the weekend’s Premier League games ended in a home victory.

“We expected that (a chaotic game), the way they play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game,” Salah, who now has 11 assists this season, said.

Salah is the first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christ­mas in a Premier League season.

Salah is now Liverpool’s fourth top scorer ever with 229 goals. Salah’s brace took him past Billy Liddell, with only Ian Rush (346), Roger Hunt (285) and Gordon Hodgson (241) ahead.

The rampant Reds have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions under Slot and have a game in hand on Chelsea to strengthen their lead in the title race.

“For 60 minutes we did everything we had to do, we were comfortable and good with the ball. The main thing is we worked very hard,” Slot said.

Punished for Ange Postecoglou’s insistence on sticking to his high defensive line, it was the first time since 1997 that Tottenham had conceded six goals in a home league game and an eighth league defeat this season leaves them languishing in 11th place.

“If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back and that hasn’t coincided with how we’re doing... I don’t know what to say anymore,” Postec­og­lou said of his critics.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024