Mane double puts Liverpool back on track

Liverpool topped Spurs 2-0 Saturday at Anfield on the back of two goals from Sadio Mane.

Sadio Mane scored twice within the opening 20 minutes of the match in Liverpool’s well deserved, desperately needed 2-0 victory over Tottenham at Anfield on Saturday evening.

The Premier League leaders have three of the four equivalent fixtures still to play – including this weekends match at Burnley – but it is hard to envisage them dropping many points, if any at all.

In just their third defeat of the season, Spurs were dismantled by a rampant Liverpool team who came into the game without a win in 2017.

Six of Chelsea’s starting XI at Turf Moor won the title with the club in 2014-15, while N’Golo Kante arrived as a league champion from Leicester City and David Luiz and Pedro are both Champions League winners boasting multiple European titles.

Liverpool moved into the top four, above Manchester City, who visit Bournemouth on Monday, and Manchester United.

With a two-week gap before their next league game against Stoke City at White Hart Lane, Pochettino said it was time for his team to take stock and focus on their top-four challenge.

“We were much better in terms of performance and the result”.

“It was how we have to play against Tottenham“, said Klopp, whose side are not in action again until 27 February, in quotes reported by BBC Sport.

Considering that Liverpool are a richer club that Spurs and have the ability to pay significantly more in wages to their players than Tottenham, I have a bit of a hard time believing Bezemer when he says that money wasn’t a factor.

That intelligence, coupled with an outlet in Mane, had Spurs pinned back early on as they were out-pressed in every department. “Tonight was a big win and a big performance”.

“If you start a game like we start then it is very hard”, said Pochettino.

Since August 2014, Tottenham have won just once in 15 away games against the other teams now in the Premier League top six. “What we must do now is to win as many of our games as possible”.

His return could be the catalyst for a renewed tilt at the Champions League qualification places for Liverpool.

The Liverpool captain was like a metronome in the first half as he kept on pinging the passes around and didn’t give the visitors a minute to rest.

“For different reasons that we need to analyse, the team, collectively, didn’t show”. With 13 rounds remaining, Chelsea could then canter to a second title in three years.