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Jurgen Klopp’s inconsistent Liverpool made the trip to north London for their Premier League bout with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening (November 6).
The Reds, who came into the match on the back of two consecutive Premier League defeats, produced a much-improved performance, securing a 2-1 victory. Mohamed Salah scored both of their goals, while Harry Kane found the back of the net for Spurs.
The visitors came charging out of the gates, creating their first clear-cut goalscoring opportunity in the third minute. Andrew Robertson fed a neat pass to Darwin Nunez on the left flank, prompting the Uruguayan to cut inside to have a go at goal. His shot was powerful, but Hugo Lloris was equal to his effort.
Eight minutes later, Nunez created Liverpool’s first goal of the match, setting up Salah with a perfect cut-back in the middle of the Tottenham box. The Egypt international dispatched a sweet volley to find the back of the net.
Three minutes after going behind, Ivan Perisic tested Alisson, with his header hitting the Brazilian goalkeeper before clattering against the bar. In the 19th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold pushed Ryan Sessegnon inside the box, which prompted the home side to appeal for a penalty. The match official, as well as VAR, deemed the challenge fair, hence no penalty was awarded.
Five minutes before the break, Salah doubled the visitors’ tally, capitalizing on a costly mistake from Eric Dier. The Englishman headed the ball into the Egypt international’s path, paving the way for him to dash forward and beat Lloris.
Three minutes into the second half, Alisson made a great save to preserve Liverpool’s advantage. Dier directed a powerful header on target but the keeper got both his hands on the shot to make a convincing save. A minute later, Perisic latched on to a pass from Sessegnon and went for goal. His shot beat Alisson but clattered against the bar and went behind for a goal kick.
After keeping Liverpool under the cosh for 25 minutes, Spurs got their goal, with Kane cutting the visitors’ advantage in half with a low shot into the far corner. The Reds fixed their act after conceding the goal, being considerably more mindful of possession and keeping the hosts from taking control. Their commitment allowed them to keep the Lilywhites at bay and walk away with a narrow win.
Here are three Reds stars who performed and two who underperformed against Spurs on Sunday:
Performed: Andrew Robertson
Andrew Robertson produced one of his best performances of the season against Spurs on Sunday evening. He was solid as ever at the back, worked tirelessly, linked up superbly with teammates, and created openings.
The Scotland international played two key passes, delivered two accurate crosses, and completed 57 passes (89.1% accuracy). He won three ground duels, made three clearances, made two interceptions, and attempted a tackle.
Underperformed: Harvey Elliott
Liverpool’s dependable midfielder Harvey Elliott looked a shadow of his confident self against the north London outfit on Sunday. He could not make inroads into the opposition third, lacked accuracy in terms of distribution, and surrendered possession rather cheaply at times. Alexander-Arnold’s defensive struggles contributed to Elliott’s subdued performance.
Elliott failed to play a key pass, misplaced a cross and three long balls; lost four ground duels, and ceded possession 13 times. He was also dribbled past on a couple of occasions and misplaced nine ground passes.
Performed: Ibrahima Konate
Ibrahima Konate was a rock at the back for the Reds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He read the game superbly to stop dangerous developments, cleared the ball out without hesitation, and was formidable in one-on-one situations. His last-ditch tackle on Sessegnon in the 27th minute might have saved a certain goal.
Konate made a whopping nine clearances against the Lilywhites on Sunday. He also intercepted the ball twice, attempted three tackles, won 11 of 13 duels, and delivered two accurate long balls.
Underperformed: Roberto Firmino
Klopp deployed Roberto Firmino behind Salah and Nunez against Spurs, possibly to make use of his excellent link-up play. The Brazilian struggled in that role, failing to bring the attacking threat that was excepted from him.
Firmino did not lodge a single shot on target against Spurs, with his only effort being blocked by the opposition. He also did not play a key pass, lost six of eight duels, and lost possession 10 times.
Performed: Mohamed Salah
Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah extended his purple patch with a thumping, match-winning brace against Tottenham. The Egypt international opened the scoring in the 11th minute, opening up his body to find the right angle and dispatching a stunning volley. In the 40th minute, the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner exhibited stellar anticipation to capitalize on Dier’s mistake, charge forward, and beat an on-rushing Lloris.
The brace took his goal tally to 14 for the season (20 games, across competitions), with nine of them coming in the last eight matches.
In addition to the goals, Salah won two ground duels, attempted a tackle, cleared the ball once, and drew a foul.
