Liverpool player ratings vs Tottenham: The Egyptian King rules at Christmas! Record-breaking Mohamed Salah tears apart Spurs as Reds’ out-of-contract trio remind FSG of their worth

Player ratingsLiverpool

Tottenham vs LiverpoolTottenhamPremier League

The Reds ripped right through Tottenham and will now sit at the top of the Premier League table on Christmas Day.

Liverpool will go into Christmas four points clear at the top of the Premier League table and with a game in hand after they thrashed Tottenham 6-3 on Sunday.

Arne Slot’s men were imperious from start to finish in north London and made their shorthanded hosts pay for their naive nature with a ruthless performance.

Midway through the first half, the Reds had their opener. An exceptional cross by Trent Alexander-Arnold from the right channel found Luis Diaz in acres of space, and the Colombian headed past Fraser Forster to give his side the lead.

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Ten minutes before the break, Liverpool had a second. Andy Robertson’s delivery caused trouble for Archie Gray and Djed Spence, who collided with Dominik Szoboszlai going up for the floated cross, and Alexis Mac Allister beat Forster to the loose ball to poke home.

However, Tottenham pulled one back before the interval. Mac Allister lost possession to Dejan Kulusevski midway inside his own half, allowing James Maddison to take over possession and fire one past Alisson from just outside the box. The Argentine claimed a foul by Kulusevski led to Maddison pinching the ball, but neither the referee nor VAR were interested in his complaints.

But there was still time for the Reds to restore their two-goal advantage heading into half-time. A long ball from Alexander-Arnold straight down the middle caught Spurs high up the pitch. Szoboszlai headed on for Salah to race in, and the Egyptian returned the ball to his Hungarian team-mate to slip under Forster.

Shortly after the restart, Liverpool scrambled in their fourth. A quick breakaway saw Cody Gakpo square for Szoboszlai, who was twice denied by Gray before Salah forced the ball in at the third attempt.

Liverpool got their fifth with their next attack, carving right through Spurs with ease as Szoboszlai squared for Salah to tap into an empty net.

Tottenham kept up the fight and were rewarded with a superb goal of their own. Dominic Solanke dropped deep to drag the centre-backs up, and he found Kulusevski with a lovely dink before he provided the finishing touches from a close distance.

With under 10 minutes remaining, Solanke scored one of his own after peeling away from Virgil van Dijk to slide in a headed ball back across goal from Brennan Johnson.

The home crowd started to believe their side could mount a comeback, but those hopes were extinguished when Salah teed up Diaz for his second of the game and the last of Sunday’s nine goals.

GOAL rates Liverpool’s players from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium…

Goalkeeper & Defence

Alisson (6/10):

Couldn’t do much about Tottenham’s goals, though he did concede three of them. Brought some cheers from the away end by turning Brennan Johnson and made an excellent save to keep out Johnson late in the day.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (9/10):

What a player, whew. Every ball he struck was with such precision and intent, totally deserving of his assist. Liverpool need to sort his contract saga out as soon as possible – it would be a disaster if he started next season at Real Madrid instead.

Joe Gomez (7/10):

Silently solid once again in the absence of Ibrahima Konate. Never too troubled when having to cover Alexander-Arnold up against Son, while was hardly of blame for Spurs’ strikes.

Virgil van Dijk (6/10):

Harsh critics would accuse the Liverpool captain of toning down the intensity when Liverpool were way out in front but threatening to cave in. To be truthful, he was largely fine and unable to realistically do a lot about Spurs’ goals.

Andy Robertson (6/10):

The Scot was in dire need of a steady showing after a torrid season by his own standards to this point. To Robertson’s credit, he nullified the tandem of Kulusevski and Porro, then came up with a delicious ball for Liverpool’s second goal. However, allowing Johnson to win the header for Solanke’s goal goes down as

Ryan Gravenberch (9/10):

Pretty much unstoppable in the midfield battle. Tottenham players bounced right off the Dutchman with a whimper and he breezed past them with such ease.

Alexis Mac Allister (8/10):

Gave Liverpool some breathing space with their second goal of the evening, before putting them in trouble when robbed of possession leading to Maddison’s strike before the break. Nonetheless a fine performance. Subbed off for Jones with Liverpool 5-1 up.

Dominik Szoboszlai (9/10):

One of the Hungarian’s best-ever performances for the Reds, crashing the box with force and giving the rugged Dragusin quite the physical battle too. Cautioned for tugging Bissouma.

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Attack

Mohamed Salah (10/10):

You think you’ve seen it all from Salah, and then he goes and delivers a masterclass like this. The scary layer to his performance is it felt he hardly got out of second gear, and now the first player in Premier League history to register double figures of goals and assists in a season before Christmas. An utterly ludicrous player and a modern-day legend. Given a rest when taken off for Elliott.

Luis Diaz (9/10):

Took up the invitation to run at Tottenham’s extremely high line, and without a quick defender like Micky van de Ven to pin him back, Diaz had the freedom of Tottenham High Road. A fine striker’s goal got Liverpool off the mark. Came off for Nunez towards the end.

Cody Gakpo (6/10):

Liverpool were feasting all day long, though Gakpo seldom got in on that act despite being afforded space to gallop into by Porro. That’s the beauty of the Reds though, even if one player has a so-so performance they will still be fine. Booked for a cynical foul on Sarr and replaced by Jota.

Subs & Manager

Diogo Jota (6/10):

Unable to use his fresh legs to give Tottenham any further bother himself.

Curtis Jones (6/10):

Kept play ticking when Liverpool needed to try and kill the game for good.

Harvey Elliott (N/A):

Brought on late on for Salah.

Darwin Nunez (N/A):

Replaced Diaz but didn’t have time to score himself.

Arne Slot (9/10):

Liverpool look unbelievably complete despite only half a season under the Dutchman’s management. They threw Spurs about like they were bottom-half fodder.