Tottenham Hotspur absorbed Liverpool in their own unique vortex of chaos in north London on Sunday afternoon, but still came out on the wrong side of a 6-3 defeat.
There were nine goals, seven different scorers and a clear winner from the first whistle. After Luis Diaz's opener, Spurs were always in the hunt but never really in danger of picking up any points.
Victory for Liverpool and Chelsea's setback to Everton earlier in the day gives Arne Slott's side a four-point lead at the Premier League summit when they sit down to their Christmas dinner. Tottenham will have their cock from the relative depths of 11th place.
How the game played out
Underpowered Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had spent much of his pre-match press duties. lashing out at his critics. Amid Jamie Carragher's side-kicks, the stalwart Australian admitted: “A big part of our game is having fun.” More importantly, Postecoglou never clarified which group of fans he would enjoy watching.
An increasingly angry Tottenham Hotspur stadium watched in horror as Liverpool quickly created a barrier over the competition. The Reds had made eight shots (to Tottenham's one) before Diaz broke free in the 23rd minute. Rising to Trent Alexander-Arnold's wild cross, Diaz headed home six yards from goal.
Spurs had a box full of white shirts when Andy Robertson hit another delivery towards goal, yet neither host managed to claim any authority over the situation. Alexis Mac Allister capitalized on the indecision, doubling Liverpool's lead with a header that left Postecoglou nodding off on the touchline.
Dejan Kulusevski emerged as one of them Tottenham's some consistent performers this season. The indefatigable Swede dispossessed Mac Allister of the ball in the 41st minute, teeing up James Maddison for a goal that came just as any hope of an attack against Spurs was beginning to fade.
Liverpool quickly extinguished those faint embers of optimism. Dominik Szoboszlai struck with a simple forward that deflected off the rails of the Tottenham full-backs. Archie Gray and Radu Dragusin were behind two sets of red shirts as Mohamed Salah scored for Szoboszlai to make it 3-1 on the eve of half-time.
Arne Slott's visitors were in no forgiving mood, but Tottenham were not to be so hospitable. The hosts are rarely reserved and were even more ferocious when pushing forward in search of a way back into Sunday's contest. Liverpool hit back twice in quick succession, launching several powerful drives forward – both finished by Salah to make it 5-1 with 30 minutes to play.
Kulusevski continued his fine individual form by combining with Dominic Solanke on the edge of the Liverpool box to volley home Tottenham's second in a typically chaotic outing in north London. Solanke scored himself in the 83rd minute to bring Tottenham within two goals of an unthinkable turnaround.
Diaz capped off the celebratory fun with the ninth and final goal five minutes later, picking out the bottom corner with a sharp volley.
Check out the player ratings for Tottenham vs Liverpool here.
In a game that was mentioned once or twice in the build-up to Sunday's game, Luis Diaz has unhappy memories of Tottenham Hotspur's stadium. The Colombian was at the epicenter of the biggest VAR controversy in Premier League history when he strike against Spurs In September 2023 he was wrongly ruled out for offside.
No amount of miscommunication can deter Diaz this weekend – although the Liverpool forward took advantage of a lack of dialogue between Pedro Porro and Dragusin, sneaking between the two defenders to head in a deserved opener.
There was so much faith in Diaz, who proved to be an excellent nuisance all over the pitch from a roving centre-forward role, that he attempted a fake rabona, sending Porro sprawling across the pitch with a mischievous dummy in the second half .
The in-form striker wrapped up the night's scoring, but it could have ended with a hat trick. Diaz had five shots on goal – the same number as the entire Spurs team combined.
Instructing your centre-backs to cross the middle of the line is all very well and good when the fastest player in the league and a World Cup winner are your defenders. However, this lofty act quickly turns into self-immolation when you line up with a defensive partnership of an 18-year-old midfielder and Radu Dragus.
Archie Gray did his best to hold back the flood of redshirts, but could only pull his corner frame against so many tackles. Dragusin spent most of the race helplessly running towards his goal, constantly chasing a fleet of red buses that would never catch him.
Postecoglou's gung-ho approach gave Tottenham their three goals but also contributed to the six they conceded. Had Liverpool been a little more ruthless, the result could have gone beyond the tennis courts to the cricket.
Arne Slott was very close to taking over Tottenham in the summer of 2023. Ultimately, the former Feyenoord boss chose to stay in Holland while Spurs tried for Postecoglou.
Both clearly aspire to an attractive style of football, but Slot has proven to be a deceptively pragmatic manager. Unlike his opposite number, the Dutch coach has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to change matches with in-game tactical changes – however, Slot took his set-up from the first whistle on Sunday.
Removing Cody Gakpo from the front line and pushing Diaz into a more hybrid role in Liverpool's press left Spurs completely confused. The Colombia international overshadowed Yves Bissouma, thwarting Tottenham's build-up and forcing the hosts to play aimlessly up front.
Despite scoring three goals, Spurs were restricted to just nine shots – only once all season has Postecoglou's attacking unit registered fewer attempts in a Premier League game.