Liverpool secured their first away win in the Premier League this season with a victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds beat Spurs 2-1 on Sunday in North London thanks to a first-half brace from Mohamed Salah. Liverpool were made to endure a nervy finish after Harry Kane got a goal back for the home side but held on to secure the three points.
Jurgen Klopp’s side moved up to eighth place in the league table with the victory. They are now seven points adrift of the top four spots with a game in hand.
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Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And here is a round-up of what they had to say.
Ian Ladyman, via the Mail Online
“It says everything for what Tottenham can do when the mood is right that Liverpool finished this game playing with a back five that at times resembled a back eight. When their blood is up, Antonio Conte’s side can make things very difficult for the very best teams. There is one habit that Tottenham must break, though, and that is the one that involves giving the opposition a head start. Whatever sport you play, you will never get very far if you wake up only when your opponent is already half way round their first lap.
“Liverpool led 2-0 nil at half-time here and had been magnificent at times. Mo Salah scored two superbly taken goals. Deep in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, there are signs of life. But to those who watch Tottenham play regularly, this was a game that followed a familiar pattern. This was the sixth successive game Tottenham have trailed and indeed the thirteenth time in 20 games in all competitions this season.
“Oddly it’s a habit Liverpool know all about too. They have also suffered this way over the course of what for them remains a very strange season. But here two Salah goals, early and late in the first half, gave Jurgen Klopp’s team enough of a buffer to withstand a second -half Tottenham revival that was still developing momentum when the final whistle was blown on 94 minutes of play.
“Both Salah goals were superbly taken. The Egyptian is now looking a little more like his true self. Early on, with Tottenham slow to start, Liverpool were exceptional and after Darwin Nunez twice threatened from range, Klopp’s team eased into the lead.”
Jacob Steinberg, via The Guardian
“It was about time Liverpool remembered how to dig in. Even if Jürgen Klopp more or less admitted that the red machine is not back to full working order just yet, at least he saw glimpses of the old fighting spirit.
“It took plenty of guts to see off another late comeback from Tottenham, not to mention plenty of clearances from Ibrahima Konaté and brave punches from Alisson Becker, and while this was not a complete display from Liverpool it was easy to see why Klopp celebrated at full-time by marching across the pitch to celebrate with the travelling support.
“These have been a strange few months for Liverpool. Whether this victory, their first on the road in the league, marks a turning point remains to be seen. The legs are wearier and the intensity has dipped. This is still not the dynamic force of old and, for all that Liverpool excelled during the first half, establishing a lead through two clinical strikes from Mohamed Salah, Antonio Conte was not exactly pushing it when he insisted that a draw would have been a fairer result.
“In the end Liverpool had Salah on his own up front and a five-man defence battling to protect the points. Spurs played with unrestrained fury after Harry Kane halved the deficit and will take heart from how their attack improved after Dejan Kulusevski, who had not played since September, came off the bench.”
Jason Burt, via The Telegraph
“For a must-win game along came Mo. Whether Liverpool actually deserved to triumph was a moot point but two sharply-taken first-half goals from Mohamed Salah were enough to rekindle their dampened down hopes of finishing in the top four.
“Jurgen Klopp joked that Salah had scored “400 goals” against Spurs (in fact it is now just eight) but the forward certainly has an impressive record against other so-called 'top six’ sides. It is 44 goals for him against that level of opposition and, thankfully for Liverpool, he continues to thrive in this environment.
“It is also nine goals in his last eight games for Salah who certainly has brushed aside concerns over his form as he has reinforced, with Sadio Mane leaving and Darwin Nunez arriving for such a big fee, that he emphatically remains Liverpool’s main man.
“‘Insane, was Klopp’s verdict on the numbers the 30-year-old will post by end of his career in a few years time and they certainly will be even if the numbers the manager is concerned about right now are how far Liverpool are behind.
“The result means they move up to eighth, seven points behind fourth-placed Spurs with a game in hand. Anything short of victory would have left them in a bleak position as Klopp had conceded. It was a result that could be season-defining and that is the thing about must-win games. They have to be won.”
James Gheerbrant, via The Times
“Liverpool delivered a jolt to their top-four chances in this breathless game, which they began in dominant fashion and ended up closing out a little nervily as Tottenham Hotspur mounted a strong second-half fightback.
“For Jürgen Klopp’s team, this was a much-needed victory, and they earned it through a brave and enterprising approach, trusting their talent to prevail. Tottenham have now scored their past ten goals after half-time: they were belatedly excellent here, after being booed off at the break, with the introduction of the much-missed Dejan Kulusevski whipping up the crowd and turning the last quarter of the match into a real barnstormer.”
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