da leao： A rampant Liverpool significantly damaged Tottenham Hotspur’s title bid with a comfortable 2-0 victory at Anfield on Saturday evening. Impressive from start to finish, Jurgen Klopp’s side looked as good as they have all season, especially in the first half.
da 888casino： It was an unexpected showing considering the Reds have had a dismal start to 2017, failing to win in the Premier League this calendar year prior to facing Spurs. In contrast, Spurs were in great form on paper, winning ten games in an undefeated streak of eleven matches.
All that was pushed to one side by one man, Sadio Mane, who blitzed the North London side with two goals in two minutes in the first half.
From that point on Liverpool never looked like losing their lead and saw out the game in a professional manner.
These are the FIVE photos that summed up all the action…
The main Mane
It took just fifteen minutes for Sadio Mane to find the net, exposing Spurs badly and firing past Hugo Lloris with no problem at all.
Below par on his return to the starting eleven against Hull last week, on Saturday he looked like the Mane that left for Africa in January to join up with Senegal in the African Cup of Nations.
He showed Liverpool fans what they’d been missing, making the team with the best defensive record in the Premier League look ordinary.
Two in two minutes
Mane followed up that opening goal with his second just minutes later. Two minutes to be exact. Spurs looked stunned as a defensive mix-up allowed Liverpool to swarm on their box before the ball eventually fell to Mane to fire home.
It sent Anfield wild with supporters finally seeing a performance they’d come to expect from their side in the opening months of the season.
Not their night
Put simply, Spurs’ big stars simply didn’t show up at Anfield. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen were all ineffective across the ninety minutes. They looked a totally different team to the one that so expertly saw off Chelsea in January.
They’ll have travelled back to London disappointed, knowing they didn’t play anywhere near to their peak potential.
Liverpool have to take some credit, with a solid defensive performance neutralising the threat from Pochettino’s side but the Lilywhites made it far too easy for the home side to protect their lead.
Klopp’s delight
Jurgen Klopp always celebrates goals passionately but he looked particular delighted after Sadio Mane’s double. He knew how big Saturday’s match was in the context of their season. Another slip-up could’ve been a disaster for their top four ambitions.
A win against one of the best sides in the country could revitalise their season and it’s now on the Liverpool manager to build on this win and deliver more consistent performances against the so-called lesser teams in the English Premier League.
Pochettino’s plight
Mauricio Pochettino cut a lonely figure on the Anfield touchline, seeing his side put in a fairly weak and disjointed performance. Perhaps he realised his side still have a long way to go to sustain a serious title challenge. If that’s where Spurs want to be then the Argentinian manager has a lot of work to do this summer.
What he must ensure in the short term is that this defeat isn’t demoralising and too detrimental to their hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
A top four position is a must and guarding against a slump after the bubble has been burst on such an impressive unbeaten run will be a difficult task.
Can his side bounce back with a European win away to KAA Gent on Thursday?