Liverpool 5 Tottenham 1 – Spurs hit new low in record-equalling defeat

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Tottenham Hotspur meekly slumped to a 5-1 defeat as Liverpool sealed their 20th Premier League title.

Dominic Solanke’s header from a James Maddison corner in the 12th minute briefly threatened to spoil the Anfield party, but it did not take long for Liverpool to draw level. Kevin Danso dropped a fraction too deep, playing Dominik Szoboszlai onside, who crossed for Luis Diaz to slide in the equaliser.

Alexis Mac Allister’s thunderbolt after Mathys Tel lost possession left Spurs reeling and Cody Gakpo took advantage, finishing smartly from a corner to put Liverpool 3-1 up before half-time.

Ange Postecoglou responded by replacing Maddison and Archie Gray during the break, but substitutes Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr failed to turn the tide. Just after the hour mark, Mohamed Salah easily cut inside Destiny Udogie to rifle home Liverpool’s fourth, before Udogie turned Diogo Jota’s cross into his own net.

Here, The Athletic’s Jay Harris and Elias Burke analyse the main talking points and search for positives to take into Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt.

Worrying display that could leave scars

What is the best way to prepare for a season-defining game? It’s fair to say that the answer is not being thrashed by Liverpool at Anfield. Not many people expected Tottenham to beat Arne Slot’s side and temporarily prevent them from becoming champions, but this was the latest humiliating experience in a horrible campaign.

This result means Spurs have equalled their record for the most Premier League defeats in a single season (19). Only West Ham United throwing away a late lead against Brighton & Hove Albion prevented Spurs from dropping to 17th in the table this weekend.

What makes this performance even harder to swallow is how Liverpool revelled in the party atmosphere. Salah took a selfie after scoring, while silver balloons of trophies blew across the pitch. This felt and looked more like a testimonial.

Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring Liverpool’s fourth (Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

Salah scored from a counter-attack when Liverpool created a four-versus-four situation, Kulusevski lost the ball and slowly trotted back along with the other midfielders and attackers. You felt sympathy for Udogie when the ball bounced off his foot and over the line for Liverpool’s fifth. Spurs defenders barely received any help from their team-mates.

This is just another dent to the team’s confidence. They have lost five of their last six league games. The only team they managed to beat was bottom side Southampton. They need to find a way to quickly forget about this and prepare for Thursday night’s huge game against Bodo/Glimt.

If Tottenham do win the Europa League this season and qualify for the Champions League, then maybe nobody will care or remember these performances. The risk, though, is these results will leave behind nasty scars.

Jay Harris

Gray and Bergvall’s nightmare first start together

The development of Gray and Lucas Bergvall has been one of the only positives to emerge from this season.

Gray prefers to play in midfield but has mainly featured in defence. On Sunday afternoon, Postecoglou started the talented teenagers in midfield together for the first time and it quickly turned into a nightmare.

They were supposed to provide the defence with protection while Maddison acted as the playmaker. They were constantly being swarmed and overrun by Liverpool’s midfielders. In the build-up to the equaliser, Szoboszlai darted past Gray and drilled in a cross for Diaz to finish. For Liverpool’s second, Gray tried to let Tel’s pass roll across his body in the penalty area, but Ryan Gravenberch completely overpowered him. Seconds later, Mac Allister smashed a shot past Guglielmo Vicario. An awful first half for the teenagers was completed when Bergvall’s header from Mac Allister’s corner dropped to Gakpo for Liverpool’s third.

Lucas Bergvall struggled under pressure against Liverpool (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

To compound the misery, Gray was substituted at half-time for Sarr. Maddison was taken off, too, but that felt like a move to keep him fresh for Thursday’s first leg against Bodo/Glimt. Gray has not played much recently and did not play a single minute in either leg of the quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. This was only his second start in midfield and it was always going to be difficult to impress. Being hooked at the break will have dented his confidence.

The only hope is that Bergvall and Gray will learn from this brutal experience.

Jay Harris

Small confidence-booster for Solanke

Solanke does so much for Tottenham that it’s not difficult to make allowances for his below-par goal return this season. Still, his excellent header to open the scoring at Anfield is a timely reminder that he can be much more than a workhorse leading the line.

Against a side who had only conceded twice from corners in this season’s Premier League before today, Solanke span away from Diaz to meet Maddison’s corner, which was whipped towards the far post, around eight yards from goal. Solanke jumped above Gravenberch and powered a header across Alisson and into the far corner, giving the Brazilian no chance in the Liverpool net.

Dominic Solanke climbs highest to open the scoring (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Solanke netted 19 times in the Premier League last season for Bournemouth, proving he can score consistently in England’s top flight. After a £65million ($86.5m) move last summer, 13 goals in 40 appearances (in all competitions) is not an entirely convincing return. Sunday’s goal was his first from open play since returning from a knee injury in March, but it could be timely before Thursday and Spurs’ biggest match of the season.

Elias Burke

What did Postecoglou say?

Speaking to reporters after the game, the Spurs head coach said the Anfield atmosphere made it difficult for his players. “We started the game well and sort of made things difficult for them. Even apart from the goal, we had decent territory, but once they got in front, with the atmosphere inside the stadium, it was going to be difficult to claw them back.”

Postecoglou made eight changes from his side’s last league outing. “I just felt it was necessary,” he explained. “A lot of our players have missed a lot of this season with injuries and it wasn’t just about bringing them back, but managing their minutes because obviously we want them ready.

“Guys like Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero could have played today, but they’ve missed so much of the season that we’ve just got to be careful about when we use them. It has been a juggling act and that hasn’t helped the team, hasn’t helped the players, and when you’re facing the best, you pay that price.”

What next for Spurs?

Thursday, May 1: Bodo/Glimt (Home), Europa League semi-final first leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou; by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

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