Liverpool hit Tottenham for six to cement top spot, Chelsea held

LONDON: Liverpool strengthened their hold on the Premier League top spot with an extraordinary 6-3 victory at battered Tottenham Hotspur after second-placed Chelsea were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away to Everton on Sunday.

Mohamed Salah scored twice, as did Luis Diaz, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were also on target at bamboozled Spurs for Dutchman Arne Slot’s Liverpool side who head into Christmas four points clear.

Chelsea could have gone into first place before Liverpool’s clash in north London but failed to make it nine straight wins in all competitions as Everton dug deep to earn a point at Goodison Park.

Liverpool have 39 points from 16 games with Chelsea on 35 having played a game more. Arsenal, who won 5-1 at Crystal Palace on Saturday, have 33 points from 17 games.

Bottom club Southampton’s 0-0 draw at Fulham on Sunday means reigning champions Manchester City are now the worst performing Premier League team since the start of November after a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday left them down in seventh.

Manchester United suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth on Sunday as the south coast club moved up to fifth, while Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3-0 at Leicester City in Vitor Pereira’s first game in charge.

Raining goals

Tottenham’s last three home games in all competitions have now provided 23 goals as their wide-open style was ruthlessly punished by a razor-sharp Liverpool.

Diaz met Trent Alexander-Arnold’s beautiful cross with a diving header to open the scoring before Alexis Mac Allister nodded home from close range to double Liverpool’s lead.

James Maddison pulled one back for Spurs in the 41st minute but Dominik Szoboszlai restored the visitors’ two-goal lead before the break as he slotted past Fraser Forster following a counter-attack.

Salah’s double came in seven second-half minutes to take his league tally this season to 15 before Tottenham hit back with Dejan Kulusevski’s volley and Dominic Solanke’s effort in the 83rd that threatened to set up a frantic finale. But Diaz settled any Liverpool jitters with his second goal of the game.

Liverpool’s emphatic win means only one of the weekend’s Premier League games ended in a home victory.

“We expected that (a chaotic game), the way they play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game,” Salah, whose two assists took his total for the season to 11, told Sky Sports.

Salah is the first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season.

Maresca happy

The closest Chelsea came to piercing Everton’s armour was a Nicolas Jackson shot against the post in the first half but while it proved a frustrating day for Enzo Maresca’s side the Italian remained upbeat.

“That was a real game,” he said. “I’m very happy because the performance of the boys was fantastic. Sometimes you have to play a different game and we’re learning to play a different game. Everton are one of the best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets.”

The Toffees kept a fifth clean sheet in six games.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said “nothing bad lasts forever” after his side’s 3-0 drubbing at Old Trafford, a defeat that came three days after they were beaten 4-3 at Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup quarterfinals.

“We just need to work on the way we play, that’s all,” the Portuguese, whose side are in 13th place, said. “Focus on the job in the moment, not what you feel in the stadium.”

Goals by Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo put high-flying Bournemouth into the Europa League qualifying spot and means United will spend Christmas in the bottom half of the table for the first time in Premier League history.

Wolves moved up a place to 18th, two points short of the safety zone, with Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha all on target against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester – the perfect start for Pereira.

“I believe that we will stay in the Premier League and we will play at a better level than we saw today. Today I am happy as the team showed spirit and the spirit that Wolves supporters want to see,” said the Portuguese, who replaced Gary O’Neil.

Related Posts