WITH Mo Salah and Spurs, you knew there would be fire.
It’s not the kind of flame the Egyptian warned he would spark if he spoke to reporters after his clash with Jurgen Klopp last week.
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But the kind of goalscorer that has made him one of the Premier League’s best goalscorers over the last seven years – with Tottenham often being torched.
Salah’s first goal here, after being put back into the team following the West Ham brawl, was his 12th goal against the north Londoners.
The only club feeling his wrath more is Manchester United, against whom he scored 14.
His other favorite opponents are Manchester City, West Ham (both 11) and Arsenal (ten) – summing up what a great player the 31-year-old is.
Salah may have disappeared in recent weeks, leaving this game aside.
But that lethal record against the best the Premier League has to offer shows how much the Reds will miss him if he follows Klopp out the exit door this summer.
That said, Spurs looked more like the worst in the top flight today as Ange Postecoglou’s side made things easy for the hosts.
From Guglielmo Vicario’s weak effort to repel Salah’s initial header, to Emerson Royal having their pocket picked in the build-up to Cody Gakpo to make it 3-0, the visitors were in for a shock.
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Left-back Andy Robertson scored twice in as many games between those strikes, firing in after a shot was saved by Salah, who also set up a world player in Harvey Elliott.
The emphatic victory technically kept Liverpool in the title race, although it would take a miracle for them to overcome City and Arsenal at this point.
It looked like another fun day out for the fans, to remind them of what their icon Klopp is capable of creating in what was his penultimate home game in charge before riding off into the sunset at the end of the season.
The experience at Anfield must have been anything but fun for childhood Liverpool fan Postecoglou, whose debut campaign is in danger of falling apart.
This was their fourth defeat in a row, the second in which they have suffered four defeats and their poor away record in the league is now one win in nine.
Worryingly, the free-flowing fare called Angeball, which yielded a hat-trick of Manager of the Month awards at the start of the season, was in short supply.
That was saved by two late goals, which proved a consolation but at the time added some drama, through former Evertonian Richarlison and Son Heung-min.
They didn’t come close to capitalizing on the favor Aston Villa did them by losing at Brighton earlier in the day.
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And now, with three games remaining, including a home clash against imperious-looking City, they are seven points behind Unai Emery’s fourth-placed team.
Worse still, Spurs have in-form duo Newcastle and Chelsea in their rear-view mirror.
The Toons are just four points behind and, whisper it, former manager Mauricio Pochettino and his Blues are just two up.
Postecoglou wanted a reaction after Thursday’s dismal 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and Spurs looked good for the first five minutes or so.
It was downhill from there, though.
Salah hit the post with a shot that surely should have been a cross in the eighth minute, before Cristian Romero deflected Elliott’s effort on the line.
The hosts didn’t have to wait long to find the back of the net as the impressive Gakpo played a lovely ball to Salah, who had completely missed his Royal marker.
His header was accurate enough for the near post, but Vicário will be disappointed to have been beaten so easily.
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Liverpool’s confidence grew – no mean feat given their recent patchy form – and it was only a matter of time before the second came.
Gakpo, Robertson, Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold all came close to scoring before Liverpool’s favorite Scottish left-back converted just before half-time.
Robertson delivered Alexander-Arnold’s cross to Salah and it was Johnny’s time to recover the rebound when the Egyptian’s shot was saved.
At the half-time whistle, Romero and Emerson Royal had to be separated by goalkeeper Vicario as their frustration threatened to boil over.
Whatever Postecoglou’s half-time team talk was, it didn’t work as Gakpo headed Elliott’s excellent throw into third five minutes after the break.
Elliott then scored the goal of the game just before the 15th minute when he curled a shot into the top corner from 22 yards.
Gareth Southgate, if you were watching, would no doubt be hugely impressed by the 21-year-old.
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It was becoming embarrassing for Postecoglou, just as it had been for Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle since Christmas.
But, similar to the 4-2 defeat at the Amex at the end of December, his team salvaged some pride with a late comeback.
The first came when Richarlison scored his 11th goal of the season when he coolly connected with Brennan Johnson’s cross.
Brazilian number 9 Richarlison assisted Son, who became the first Premier League player to score in four consecutive games at Anfield.
No wonder Klopp thinks missing out on signing the South Korean is his biggest transfer mistake of his tenure at the Reds.
The late goals only covered up the chances of sinking Spurs.
Although his nemesis Salah could even give a wry smile as he was flagged offside after landing what he thought was his 13th strike against one of his favorite opponents.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
