'With a fit of the giggles' - national media in awe as Liverpool demolish Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool steamrollered Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points. The Reds ran out 6-3 winners, but in truth, it could easily have been a lot more with only their own complacency to blame for Spurs’ prominence on the scoreboard.
Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz both scored braces, while the Egyptian claimed two assists too on another record-breaking day for the in-form forward. Meanwhile, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai also got their names on the scoresheet as Liverpool ran riot in the capital.
Arne Slot’s men have now won 21 of his 25 matches to date, and still only suffered defeat once. With their victory over Tottenham one of their most impressive showings yet, the ECHO rounds up the national media reaction to the Reds’ North London massacre…
READ MORE: What happened to Tottenham scoreboard at full-time speaks volumes as Liverpool send stunning message
Alyson Rudd of The Times thoroughly enjoyed herself in the capital as Liverpool proved, once again, that they are in the Premier League title-race for the long-haul.
She wrote: “Arne Slot is not a showman and under his command Liverpool have been efficient in giving us spurts of beauty and breathtaking pace and finishing — but not too often. It is a harrowing and draining campaign and the Dutchman plans for the long haul.
“But sometimes an opponent is so open and so vulnerable that it is harder to be deadpan than witty, and so Liverpool played as if with a fit of the giggles. This was great fun and, crucially, did not sap the team at all.
“Slot tried to be annoyed at the three goals conceded but admitted that, in the main, he really enjoyed himself. Managers tend to hate games such as this, where both teams are guilty of lapses in concentration and there is an element of pantomime.
“But you will struggle to find a Liverpool supporter who was at any juncture worried about a Tottenham Hotspur fightback. Indeed, the performance merely underlined that in Slot, the club has a master of timing and rotation.”
The Telegraph’s Jason Burt would christen Mohamed Salah ‘the best player in the Premier League - and it’s not even close’, following his electrifying display against Spurs.
He wrote: “Liverpool have the imperious touch of champions and there was only one Maximus on this display. Only one gladiator. Only one winner. It was, as so often, Mohamed Salah who tore Tottenham apart with two more goals and two more assists.
“He almost scored three times in the opening 10 minutes, hitting the crossbar, and was just about unstoppable throughout. He strikes fear. The Egyptian really is in a league of his own.
“Salah’s contract situation, with his current deal running out next June, has been well-discussed but the 32-year-old could do well to take a leaf out of Kevin De Bruyne’s playbook when it comes to negotiations.
“With his last deal at Manchester City, which also expires at the end of this campaign, De Bruyne brought up the data to reinforce his worth. Salah can simply say to Liverpool: “look at my numbers. Look at the facts”.”
The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew was impressed by how easily Liverpool exposed Tottenham.
He wrote: “Liverpool are serious about this. They’re not in London for souvenirs or sightseeing. They had a game four days earlier, they’ve got another in four days’ time, and so all they really want for Christmas is to get in, get the points and get out. They’d rather do it clean. But they’ll do it dirty if they have to.
“Above all, they know exactly what they want. Luis Díaz wants to spin off his man and run from deep, and Ryan Gravenberch wants to plug the gaps and get the ball moving, Dominik Szoboszlai wants you to commit, but not until he’s put you half a step off balance first, and Mo Salah wants to be Mo Salah. They can go short or long, hit you from every angle, hurt you from every bit of the pitch. Nine Liverpool players made a key pass in this game, including the goalkeeper and both full-backs…
“Amid the carnage of the second half, there was also an immense and ominous coolness to them, the unerring ability to execute under pressure the thing that is required, and to keep doing it over and over. This is the difference between a serious and an unserious team.
“And there is nothing inevitable about this. Tottenham and Liverpool may feel gulfs apart, but in reality they are the eighth- and seventh-richest clubs in the world, fishing in the same water. Tottenham could have had Arne Slot in 2023. Tottenham could have had Díaz in 2022. Tottenham could have assembled a proper backroom structure years ago, instead of leaving their fate in the hands of a spiralling succession of celebrity managers.”
Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail pointed out that Liverpool know exactly how good they are as they made sure it was ‘men against confused and disorientated boys’ in the capital.
He wrote: “Liverpool are the team to beat while Tottenham are – for the time being at least – the team that anybody could hope to beat.
“Arne Slot’s Liverpool head into Christmas top of the Premier League and rightly so. They were magnificent here. Hungry, clinical and overflowing with festive fervour. What a sight they were with the ball…
“They (Spurs) will know what it is they witnessed on the whole, though. They will know what this was. It was a hiding. A thrashing. Men against boys and confused and disorientated boys at that.
“Liverpool will push on towards the New Year knowing how good they are, driven on by the knowledge that Manchester City are gone from the race.”
Richard Jolly of The Independent lauded Liverpool for the ease at which Arne Slot’s men overcame Tottenham.
He wrote: “Even as Liverpool’s previously impressive defensive record took another dent – it is now eight goals conceded in three league games – they suggested they had a better balance. They have excelled at winning under Arne Slot but have rarely run riot. This time they did both, scoring six in a game for the first time under the Dutchman.
“It was certainly their most explosive attacking display, spearheaded – with a certain inevitability – by Mohamed Salah. He ended his afternoon with two goals, two assists and a sense he was too good for Djed Spence, the makeshift left-back luckless enough to be his immediate opponent…
“Because it was all underpinned by Slot’s blueprint. He spent Friday morning praising Postecoglou and Sunday afternoon exploiting Spurs’ shortcomings. If they were killed with kindness, Tottenham were unlocked by Liverpool’s intelligence and incision.”
And finally, the Liverpool ECHO’s very own LFC correspondent Paul Gorst was impressed at how Liverpool ripped through Tottenham to send a statement to their Premier League rivals.
He wrote: “If Liverpool's Premier League title rivals had just started to believe the leaders were feeling the heat after back-to-back draws either side of a Merseyside derby postponement then they have been sorely mistaken.
“Instead, Arne Slot's rejuvenated Reds made a difficult assignment at Tottenham Hotspur look easy as they plundered six goals to Spurs' three in what was undoubtedly the wildest game of the head coach's time at the club. Slot may hold commodities like control and clarity close to his heart but this was nothing of the sort, even if anything other than a Liverpool victory never really looked on the cards.
“A stunning attacking performance in North London now ensures their name will sit in top spot for Christmas Day and while the significance is largely symbolic only, the nature of the display from a team who are now four points clear of their closest competitors Chelsea will be enough to make the chasing pack sit up and wince. Make no mistake, Liverpool remain firmly in control of their own destiny…
“Slot's rampant team ripped through a backline that offered little resistance for much of the contest. This wasn't so much Gladiator Maximus putting his feared nemesis to the sword as it was the defenceless victim being thrown to the lions.
“And the speed at which the 'Spurs 3-6 Liverpool' scoreline was taken down off the two giant scoreboards at each end of this impressive stadium said it all as the home fans streamed for the exits at full time. They were not entertained.”
