Liverpool extended their Premier League lead to four points with a dominant but chaotic 6-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on December 22, thanks to doubles from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
First Half Drama
Diaz opened the scoring with a diving header off Trent Alexander-Arnold’s beautiful cross before Alexis MacAllister doubled Liverpool’s lead from close range.
Four minutes before halftime, James Maddison equalised after Dejan Kulusevski dispossessed Mac Allister in midfield, giving the hosts a chance to retake the lead.
But Dominik Szoboszlai scored in first-half extra time to restore Liverpool’s two-goal lead and give Spurs a mountain to climb.
Salah Record-Breaking Performance
Salah scored twice in seven second-half minutes, passing Liverpool legend Billy Liddell for the club’s all-time scoring record with his 14th and 15th league goals of the season, to make it 5-1 and send some Spurs fans home.
“I’m happy and proud, and I’ll just keep working hard,” said Liverpool’s now fourth-highest goalscorer with 229.
Late Spurs Rally and Liverpool’s Sixth
Dejan Kulusevski’s volley was followed by Dominic Solanke’s 83rd-minute goal, giving Spurs hope for an unlikely comeback, before Diaz made it 6-3 two minutes later, capping a madcap contest that could have had even more goals.
Post-Match Reactions
“We were quite good up front, but defensively, we need to improve as a team,” Salah told Sky TV. “It’s quite good the result, and hopefully we just keep going.”
Liverpool leads with 39 points from 16 games, four points ahead of second-place Chelsea, who have played one more game.
Spurs are still 11th with 23 points from 17 games, but manager Ange Postecoglu insisted his team would stick to their attacking style, which has produced 30 goals for both sides in their last 5 games, despite Dec 22’s “painful result”.
Over the past 18 months, he told reporters, “I think I’ve been really, really patient, sitting up here answering the same questions over and over again.”
“If people want me to change my approach, it will not change. We’re doing it for a reason, and we believe it will help us succeed.
Analysis of Key Moments
Salah should have given the Reds the lead within three minutes after Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who made two costly mistakes in midweek, passed to him in the box. However, Salah missed the mark. The Reds were always threatening offensively.
Salah then hit the crossbar after beating three defenders with silky footwork, but the visitors deservedly took the lead in the 23rd minute, with Diaz heading home from full stretch.
A second seemed unavoidable, and it arrived in the 36th minute when Andy Robertson’s cross to Szoboszlai bounced nicely for Mac Allister, who nodded past the onrushing Forster.
Spurs’ unexpected first goal, which should have given them a chance to regain the lead, was the fault of Mac Allister.
But Szoboszlai made it 3-1 by latching onto Salah’s through ball and nutmegging Forster at the end of a sweeping move.
Second-Half Highlights
Salah got in on the action after the break, scoring from close range in the 54th minute and adding another shortly after when Szoboszlai laid it on a plate.
Liverpool showed no signs of slowing down, with Forster forced into a good save to deny Alexander-Arnold before Kulusevski and Solanke raised the prospect of a remarkable comeback.
However, Diaz fired a clinical finish past Forster with five minutes of normal time remaining to cap a thrilling match that fell two goals short of equalling a Premier League record.
Managerial Insights
Liverpool’s head coach, Arne Slot, praised his team’s offensive performance but admitted he was slightly relieved when their sixth goal ended Spurs’ faint hopes of a comeback.
He told reporters, I really, really, really enjoyed what I saw until 60-65 minutes.
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