Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham: Rampant Reds victorious in Klopp's penultimate Anfield game

Liverpool beat Tottenham in a six goal thriller in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game at Anfield.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson put the Reds in a comfortable lead at half-time, with Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott extending it in the first 15 minutes after the break.

However, the visitors made it a nervy finish with two goals from Richarlison and Son Heung-Min despite a poor performance before the 70th minute.

The result leaves Liverpool in third and Tottenham in fifth, seven points off Aston Villa, with a game in-hand.

Story of the Match

Jurgen Klopp made two changes to the team that drew 2-2 away at West Ham, with Virgil van Dijk and Salah replacing Ryan Gravenberch and Conor Bradley.

Ange Postecoglou made just the one change, dropping Richarlison and recalling Rodrigo Bentancur to the line-up in response to the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea.

The hosts had the better of the opening exchanges, Salah’s outside of the foot cross coming back off the crossbar after six minutes.

The Egyptian then had another chance but Guglielmo Vicario was equal to the shot from a tight angle, but Elliott’s follow-up was another story, blocked by Romero on the line.

The Reds went ahead just after the 15 minute mark, Salah heading in at the back post from a delightful Gakpo cross.

They came very close to doubling their lead on the half an hour mark, Alexander-Arnold’s cross deflected by Pedro Porro over his own goal.

The pressure on the visitors was mounting, with numerous corners and then a penalty appeal, which upon replay, looked like Micky van de Ven was very lucky to get away with a challenge on Gakpo.

A spectacular overhead effort from Luis Diaz failed to trouble Vicario five minutes before the interval, then Alexander-Arnold fired over and Elliott straight at the keeper as the hosts sought to make their dominance count.

However, they doubled their lead on the verge of half-time, Robertson with a simple finish after Vicario had parried Salah’s latest effort.

It was no less than they deserved, they were relentless, winning the ball back in the final third eight times in the opening 45 minutes, more than in any other Premier League first-half this season.

There was only one booking in the first-half, Pape Sarr for blocking an attempted quick free-kick from the hosts.

After the interval, Spurs got forward quickly, requiring a last ditch intervention by Quansah, before Salah broke down the right but could only chip straight at Vicario.

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Just five minutes into the second-half, Gakpo towered above Romero to power home a third, after an exquisite cross from Elliott.

The hosts showed no signs of slowing down after that goal though, Salah nearly finishing off a neat move just two minutes later, but his effort was blocked.

The Reds goalkeeper made a superb save from a Brennan Johnson header as the visitors tried to find a way back into the contest.

However, they were even further adrift in the 60th minute when Elliott picked up the ball from Salah just outside the box and curled a stunning strike into the top corner to make it four-nil to the home team.

In the meantime, van de Ven and Emerson Royal were both added to the referee's list of bookings.

The visitors made a triple substitution with James Maddison, Richarlison and Oliver Skipp replacing Dejan Kulusevski, Bentancur and Royal and the hosts responded by bringing on Stefan Bajcetic and Joe Gomez in place of Robertson and Wataru Endo.

The referee was forced to reach into his pocket for the second time in the match, when Yves Bissouma fouled Elliott.

The Lilywhites got a goal through a close range finish from Richarlison from Johnson’s cross, which seemed like nothing more than a consolation.

A double substitution for the hosts saw Gravenberch and Darwin Nunez replace Alexis Mac Allister and Diaz, the visitors also made a change, with Giovani Lo Celso replacing Sarr.

Anfield got nervous when Spurs pulled back another goal with 13 minutes of normal time remaining, this time Son slotting home after Richarlison’s hard work in the box.

Nerves should have been calmed when the ball found its way to Salah in front of goal from close range after a scramble in the box, but he somehow prodded it wide.

A cheeky effort from Alexander-Arnold from just inside the Spurs half nearly had Vicario beaten but was a little bit too powerful to dip under the crossbar.

The final change for the hosts was then made, Dominik Szoboszlai on for Elliott, who received a standing ovation as he left the pitch.

The Hungarian nearly had an instant impact, firing just wide when Salah played him into space in the box with four minutes left.

The away side threatened again after that, with Richarlison forcing a save from Alisson with a powerful shot that nearly fell to his own man, there was a VAR check in the aftermath but it was deemed to be no penalty.

The only Liverpool booking of the contest went to Alexander-Arnold in the 92nd minute for time-wasting.

The Reds had the final chance, Nunez hitting the ball straight at Vicario on the break before the final whistle blew.