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Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou lifted the celebrated enactment from the movie Gladiator pursuing the chaotic thrust of triumph implicit Manchester United erstwhile helium asked: "Are you not entertained?"
It was Postecoglou's mode of answering questions astir his cavalier approach, aft Spurs threatened to concede a 3-0 pb successful Thursday's Carabao Cup quarter-final earlier winning 4-3.
The occupation is that Postecoglou's thought of amusement works 2 ways - arsenic helium and Spurs recovered retired to their outgo arsenic they were brutally punished by Liverpool successful beforehand of their ain supporters.
Liverpool surely recovered Spurs highly entertaining successful a 6-3 triumph that was obscurity adjacent an close reflection of their superiority. It demonstrated wherefore Arne Slot's squad are successful power of the rubric contention with a four-point pb implicit Chelsea astatine Christmas, with a crippled successful hand, portion Spurs languish successful 11th place, 8 points disconnected fourth.
Entertainment is ne'er a occupation with Spurs nether Postecoglou. But pleasance is laced with an constituent of sporting torture erstwhile they are exposed to a squad of Liverpool's world-class attacking quality.
There person present been 30 goals successful Spurs' past 5 games. Entertaining each right, but 10 of those person been scored against Postecoglou's squad successful successive location league defeats by Chelsea and Liverpool. In the second case, the lone question was however Liverpool lone scored six portion someway conceding three.
Liverpool's expected goals full was 4.6 to Spurs' 1.2. Slot's team, measured by Opta statistics, carved retired 9 large chances - grounds to their dominance arsenic good the antiaircraft vulnerability Postecoglou shows small motion of addressing with other pragmatism.
It would unfair connected Postecoglou and Spurs not to constituent retired that helium is missing first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario arsenic good arsenic cardinal defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. These are large absentees for a squad playing successful specified an unfastened style, particularly Van de Ven, whose gait is truthful important to Postecoglou's favoured precocious line.
Spurs are stretched connected numbers, meaning Postecoglou fielded an unchanged broadside from that which faced Manchester United connected Thursday.
No specified problems for Liverpool, however, who person present won 12 and drawn 3 of their 16 league games this season. They besides person the highest extremity quality of positive 21.
The modulation from Jurgen Klopp to Slot has been singular successful its seamlessness, helped by Mohamed Salah's evident determination to rewrite Liverpool's grounds books, whether helium extends his Anfield declaration oregon not.
Slot has taken what Klopp near him and has, if anything, shaped it into a much controlled, measured machine, with Salah arsenic its spearhead.
The 2 goals helium scored successful the 2nd fractional took him to a singular tally of 229 goals successful 373 games, moving up of the legendary Billy Liddell - who was truthful influential during his Anfield vocation that they were often renamed "Liddellpool" - and into 4th spot connected the club's database of all-time scorers.
And to amusement conscionable however bully Salah has been, Liddell scored 228 successful 534 games, with his 228th extremity coming successful his 526th appearance.
Salah is present down Gordon Hodgson with 241 - would you backmost against him overhauling that this season? - World Cup victor Roger Hunt with 285 and grounds holder Ian Rush with 346.
He has present scored and assisted much than 10 goals successful the Premier League this season, with 15 goals and 11 assists. With conscionable 16 games played, this is the joint-quickest that a subordinate to deed treble figures successful some categories successful a azygous Premier League run since Harry Kane, who besides took 16 matches to bash it, successful 2020-21.
It is besides the sixth Premier League play successful which Salah's goals and assists totals person some reached treble figures. No-one successful the Premier League epoch tin lucifer that.
The statistic connection a numerical measurement of Salah's power and value but it goes wider than that - each the much crushed wherefore Liverpool indispensable surely beryllium prioritising his signature connected a caller contract.
Slot mightiness person looked arsenic if helium was taking connected the intolerable occupation erstwhile helium succeeded Klopp successful the summer, but Liverpool's assignment of the erstwhile Feyenoord manager looks much similar a masterstroke with each passing week.
He has won 21 of his archetypal 25 games successful charge, the fastest immoderate manager has reached specified a fig successful complaint of a top-flight English nine since William Suddell with Preston successful 1888-89.
And with this latest spectacular triumph, it means this is lone the 3rd clip successful Liverpool's past they person reached Christmas Day without being beaten distant from home.
Slot's calm demeanour and analytical, meticulous approach, differs from Klopp's much emotion-driven style: low-key waves to Liverpool fans replacing the frantic fist pumps. The existent squad is simply a reflection of his personality. The league leaders inactive person the attacking riches and menace of his predecessor but with the Dutchman's tweaks adding greater composure.
He said: "Being apical of the league tells you we are a precise bully team. There are inactive 3 games to spell until halfway, but if you travel present and play the crippled we did, past it shows you we are a precise hard squad to beat. If it was casual to triumph the league past each squad would bash it."
This is the 21st clip Liverpool person led the league connected Christmas Day. They person gone connected to triumph the rubric successful 11 of those erstwhile 20 seasons.
In contrast, this was a time of suffering for Postecoglou arsenic different extremity glut meant Spurs person conceded 31 goals successful Premier League location games successful 2024. That is the astir they person shipped astatine location successful the league successful a calendar twelvemonth since the 34 they mislaid successful 2007.
He said: "It was a achy one. Credit to Liverpool. They were excessively bully for us. They're successful a large moment, large form, feeling confident. It was a span excessively acold for us."
If this was a span excessively acold for Spurs, determination presently seems small to bounds the travel Liverpool mightiness instrumentality nether Arne Slot.
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