What Jurgen Klopp did after Tottenham win shows Liverpool still have something they shouldn’t…

What Jurgen Klopp did after Tottenham win shows Liverpool still have something they shouldn’t…

That Diaz immediately returned to nut-meg his adversary was a perfect encapsulation of the teak tough mentality the ex-Porto star combines with his silky skills. His effort had in fact made it 2-0 on the day after Curtis Jones had cushioned home to give the Reds lift-off after just three minutes.

It was a goal crafted in the Liverpool Academy as the in-form and thriving Trent Alexander-Arnold clipped a gorgeous ball to the back post where Jones found himself in oceans of space to convert first time past Fraser Forster.

“How s*** must you be!? It’s only 2-0!” joked the away end in a self-deprecating nod to that 5-0 scoreline Newcastle had after 20 minutes of Spurs’ most recent away game the previous week. That was until Mohamed Salah marked his 300th game for the Reds by going fifth in the all-time scoring charts at Anfield, at least.

Salah scored his eighth goal against Spurs on 15 minutes when he put to bed a poor run of form from the penalty spot by rifling beyond Forster after Cristian Romero had fouled Gakpo. A rampant Reds were threatening to improve on the shocker in the north east.

After Spurs had taken the somewhat controversial decision to refund their away fans following that 6-1 collapse, it was tempting to suggest that a standing order might as well be set up as Klopp’s men looked to inflict similar damage on a club with a myriad of seemingly deep-rooted problems.

As the first half wore on, however, Liverpool started to get sloppier and after Virgil van Dijk had cleared a Son Heung-min effort off the line, it was Harry Kane who volleyed Spurs back into the match from Ivan Perisic’s cross after the Dutch defender had slipped looking to close the space vacated by Alexander-Arnold midfield roaming.

The loss of footing from Van Dijk was unfortunate but it is generally the sort of chance Liverpool will simply have to accept they will cough up now and then the more they ask their right-back to play two positions at once. Suddenly, the visitors smelled an unlikely route back into the game.

At 3-1, it felt like the next goal was vital and it went the way of the north Londoners when the excellent Son sprung the offside trap before keeping his cool against Alisson. As Ryan Mason’s charges poured forward in search of a leveller, they had it through Richarlison after substitute Darwin Nunez’s marking left an awful lot to be desired.

The Brazilian wasted no time giving it back to the supporters who had jeered him to high Heaven upon his arrival and it looked like his intervention would be enough to seal a dramatic point.

Within seconds, his heart would be broken, however, when Jota latched on to a slack touch from Lucas Moura after a punt from Alisson. The Portugal international took his season’s tally to five with a sublime left-footed finish across Forster to set up the mother of celebrations from the Kop.

Klopp, whose previous pitch-invading celebratory antics have become iconic at Liverpool, could only pull up nursing a hamstring complaint this time as everyone around him cheered the match-winning fourth.

The return of the trademark fistbumps was a much more dignified way to mark a big Anfield victory. It’s a routine that has been conspicuous by its absence this term, but the Kop savoured every last one after their side made it four wins on the spin.

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