Liverpool strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League table with a thrilling 6-3 win away at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister fired the Reds into a 2-0 lead inside 36 minutes before James Maddison pulled one back for the hosts.
However, Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s two-goal advantage just before half-time before Arne Slot’s men ran riot after the break, with a Mohamed Salah brace making it 5-1.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke almost got Spurs back into the game, but Diaz added his second of the game in the 85th minute to finish the job.
Liverpool are now four points clear at the summit going into Christmas, while Spurs are down in 11th, seven points adrift of the Champions League places.
Here are our full player ratings from Sunday’s match:
Fraser Forster – 2/10 – Set the tone early with another dreadful pass, though Salah let him off. Made a few saves but looked nervous throughout.
Pedro Porro – 4/10 – Ripped apart by Gakpo and was so sloppy with the ball.
Radu Dragusin – 4/10 – Tried to keep a lid on Liverpool’s ruthless attack but was pulled out of position so many times. Poor with the ball.
Archie Gray – 5/10 – Have to feel for Gray here, with the youngster doing his level best and making some big blocks. But he just had too much to do against arguably the best side on the planet right now.
Djed Spence – 6/10 – Actually did quite well up against Salah, making five tackles, three blocks, eight recoveries, three clearances and one interception. But you just cannot keep Salah down in this form.
Pape Sarr – 5/10 – Some loose passing and never got to grips with the dynamism of Liverpool’s midfield. Hooked just before the hour mark.
Yves Bissouma – 5/10 – Like Sarr, Bissouma was just too erratic on the ball, including giving it away to allow Salah to rattle the crossbar in the 18th minute.
Dejan Kulusevski – 7/10 – Tottenham’s best player this season by a mile and deserved his goal for his individual efforts.
James Maddison – 7/10 – Took his goal well and was one of the only Spurs players looking likely to make something happen before he was once again brought off early.
Son Heung-min – 3/10 – Zero chances created and just one shot attempted. Looks so far off the mark at the moment. Very worrying for Spurs.
Dominic Solanke – 7/10 – A nice ball over the top to set up Kulusevski and took his own goal brilliantly, despite often having to feed on scraps.
Substitutes:
Lucas Bergvall (58′, for Sarr) – 7/10 – Added some much-needed class and composure to the Spurs midfield and played a great ball to the far post in the build-up to Spurs’ third.
Brennan Johnson (58′, for Maddison) – 7/10 – Provided the assist for Solanke’s goal and gave Spurs some more punch going forward.
Timo Werner (82′, for Son) – 5/10 – Didn’t really get into the game.
Alisson – 6/10 – Will want to forget this match, conceding three times despite his side dominating, not that the goals were his fault. Made a good save in the final few minutes to deny Johnson.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8/10 – Nine passes into the final third, four chances created and one assist. Take it away, Gary Neville: “There are very few players in Premier League history with that level of accuracy. De Bruyne, Beckham and Gerrard maybe.”
Joe Gomez – 8/10 – Has surely nailed down his spot in the starting line-up at least in the short term with this performance. Dominant and alert defensively and tidy with the ball.
Virgil van Dijk – 8/10 – Contested seven ground duels and two aerial duels, winning all of them. There really isn’t anything else to say. He was a brick wall once again. Take a look at his pass under pressure to start the move for Liverpool’s sixth. Unreal.
Andy Robertson – 5/10 – Endured a tough opening to the match, getting beat behind a few times. Recovered well though and won the ball back to kick-start the move for Liverpool’s fourth goal. Suffered another difficult moment when Bergvall’s cross went over him at the far post on Tottenham’s third.
Ryan Gravenberch – 7/10 – Class with the ball again, one of the best in Europe right now.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7/10 – Lost possession to gift Tottenham their third but already had some credit in the bank having scored Liverpool’s second.
Mohamed Salah – 9/10 – Two goals and two assists and it could have been a lot more. Just unplayable. Surely the best player in the Premier League right now.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 8/10 – Grabbed a goal and an assist and popped up all over the pitch with dangerous runs and precision passes. This is what he’s capable of on his day.
Cody Gakpo – 7/10 – A solid 68 minutes and will feel unlucky to leave the pitch without a goal or assist.
Luis Diaz – 9/10 – A good header to give Liverpool the lead from Alexander-Arnold’s cross, but that was nothing compared to the finish on the sixth goal. Ends a run of seven games without a goal in style.
Substitutes:
Diogo Jota (68′, for Gakpo) – 7/10 – Involved in the build-up to the sixth goal and put himself about well.
Curtis Jones (68′, for Mac Allister) – 7/10 – Posted a 100% pass success rate and helped recompose Liverpool.
Harvey Elliott (87′, for Salah) – 5/10 – Didn’t get into the game.
Darwin Nunez (87′, for Diaz) – 5/10 – As above.
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