Harvey Elliott curled an unbelievable strike as Liverpool came out victorious against a struggling Tottenham Hotspur
With the title all-but-gone – Liverpool are looking to finish Jurgen Klopp’s tenure at Anfield as strong as possible as qualification for UEFA Champions League was confirmed following Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Chelsea.
The departing manager made just one change from their frustrating 2-2 draw at West Ham United the previous Saturday, with Mohamed Salah returning to the starting 11 in place of Ryan Gravenberch who was dropped to the bench.
Harvey Elliott started in the front three at the London Stadium and was returned into midfield for the Tottenham Hotspur clash at Anfield.
Spurs, under Ange Postecoglou, were searching for their first win at Anfield since the 2010-11 season where the Lilywhites ran out 2-0 victors with goals courtesy of Rafael van der Vaart and a Luka Modric penalty. It had been a minute, to say the least.
And they got off to the worst possible start at Anfield as Mohamed Salah scored inside the opening 16 minutes as the Egyptian headed home Cody Gakpo’s cross at the back post.
Remarkably, Liverpool had somehow scored first in a football match. Something most Reds fans had believed was a distant memory of the good old days.
Incredibly, they didn’t stop there and they turned one into two as Andy Robertson scored in back-to-back games as the Scotland captain poached home a tap-in after a well-worked and patient Liverpool attack.
The Reds took their 2-0 advantage into half-time and looked to prevent Tottenham Hotspur from completing a comeback similar to that of last season at Anfield: Liverpool were 3-0 up, then level at 3-3, but ultimately winning 4-3 in the last minute thanks to Diogo Jota.
Gakpo headed home the Reds’ third goal of the Sunday afternoon as Liverpool looked to grind out a comfortable, routine win at Anfield.
Elliott then decided he wanted to be in on the action and curled an unbelievable strike into the top corner at the Kop end. A fourth for Liverpool, and it was by far the best of the lot.
The young Englishman is having an incredible season for the Reds and will certainly, or certainly should be, on Gareth Southgate’s radar as he looks to choose his 26-man squad for EURO 2024 in Germany this summer.
Wataru Endo was exceptional throughout the match but was substituted for Stefan Bajcetic on the 64th minute. Bajcetic was really encouraging and it was fantastic to see such a promising young player return to action after so long.
But it was clear that after the changes that saw Endo, Robertson, Diaz and Mac Allister leave the pitch, there was a clear shift in momentum in the match. And remarkably, Tottenham Hotspur were allowed back into the game.
Substitute Richarlison scored just minutes after coming onto the pitch, and then shortly after, provided the assist for Heung-min Son as the visitors reduced the deficit from 4-0 to 4-2.
It made the final 20 minutes rather uncomfortable as Liverpool struggled to get the ball out of their own half. Salah thought he had sealed the win with Liverpool’s fifth goal of the match but he was denied by the offside flag.
The Reds eventually saw the game out and came out 4-2 winners. The win took Liverpool to 78 points in the Premier League table and guaranteed a minimum 3rd-place finish this season.
A roller coaster of a season is reaching its conclusion as Klopp’s final hurrah looks set to finish with an impressive 3rd-place finish and an EFL Cup triumph.
The next challenge will be a visit to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa. Kick-off is at 8pm on Monday, 13 May. The match will be televised for viewers in the UK on Sky Sports.
Liverpool team: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson (Gomez 64), Elliott (Szoboszlai 83), Endo (Bajcetic 64), Mac Allister (Gravenberch 75), Salah, Gakpo, Diaz (Nunez 75).
Tottenham Hotspur team: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson (Skipp 61), Bissouma, Sarr (Lo Celso 75), Bentancur (Richarlison 61), Kulusevski (Maddison 61), Son, Johnson.
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