Tottenham 4 Liverpool 1
Two more goals from Harry Kane contributed to Tottenham’s crushing defeat of Liverpool as the north London club moved joint-second in the Premier League with an impressive 4-1 victory at Wembley.
A record Premier League crowd of 80,827 – among whom was Diego Maradona – witnessed a dominant display from Spurs and also had the privilege of seeing Kane net his first goals at the famous stadium. He may have run riot at most grounds this season, scoring 15 goals for club and country, but the England striker had failed to find the net at Wembley, the temporary home for Spurs this season.
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That hoodoo was broken in emphatic style when Kane scored twice, the first time on four minutes and the second ten minutes into the second half. Sandwiched either side of his goals were efforts from Son Heung-min and Dele Alli.
All Liverpool had to show from their endeavours was a goal midway through the first-half from Mohamed Salah, a fair reflection of a performance in which the Reds were alarmingly inadequate.
“The whole game, the whole result was all our fault – Tottenham was good, they needed to be good, but we made it much too easy for them,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “The first goal was a little throw-in... It was just really bad, bad, bad defending.”
Liverpool have shipped 16 league goals this season – the club’s worst defensive record at this stage of the season since 1964 – and 15 of those have come on the road. No other Premier League side has conceded as many away goals this season and Klopp says he has to take the blame.
“It is my responsibility,” he said. “I don’t coach the type of defending for the first throw-in. The second goal, we miss the ball and then Son is quicker. We put it on a plate. It’s not about confidence. It’s just about being 100% spot on. It was a really average day for us.”
There’s nothing wrong with Kane’s confidence, however. The England frontman took his tally for the calendar year to 45 goals, although there were concerned faces on the Tottenham bench when he limped off two minutes from time with what appeared to be a hamstring twinge.
Asked about Kane after the game, Mauricio Pochettino said he was just “tired”. The Spurs boss reassured the Tottenham faithful he would be raring to against Man Utd on Saturday.
As for catching Manchester City, who are now five points clear at the top, Pochettino said: “It is the third season that we are trying to catch someone. Manchester City are doing very well, they have an amazing squad and one of the best managers in the world. We see what happens, we believe, we will try to catch them. We are focused every day.”
Everton 2 Arsenal 5
Ronald Koeman insists he’s still the man to save Everton’s season after watching his side lose 5-2 at home against Arsenal.
The Toffees had taken the lead through Wayne Rooney, but Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey inflicted more pain on the Merseysiders to put the Gunners 4-1 up.
Everton substitute Oumar Niasse reduced the deficit later on, but there was still time for a fifth Arsenal goal through Alexis Sanchez.
Koeman, who was under pressure before yesterday’s match, says the rumours about his future are “normal”.
He told the BBC: “The team is underperforming. It is in a difficult situation mentally. That is what we need to change.
“I still believe I can change the whole situation but everybody knows how it works in football... It is how you look to the situation. If you start to think negative then maybe there is no solution. I am not like that.”
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger added: “Our passing and movement were excellent. It’s very difficult to single out any performances as everyone played very well. It was important to get our first win away from home.”
Saturday’s Premier League results
- Chelsea 4, Watford 2
- Huddersfield Town 2, Manchester United 1
- Manchester City 3, Burnley 0
- Newcastle United 1, Crystal Palace 0
- Stoke City 1, AFC Bournemouth 2
- Swansea City 1, Leicester City 2
- Southampton 1, West Bromwich Albion 0
Yesterday’s Premier League results
- Everton 2, Arsenal 5
- Tottenham Hotspur 4, Liverpool 1
