Liverpool made if five wins out of five as they maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season by outclassing Tottenham in a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Gini Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino scored the goals for the Reds, who should have been miles out of sight before Erik lamella pulled a goal back in stoppage time to give the visitors a few jitters in the remaining 60 seconds.
The scoreline only flattered Tottenham though, with Liverpool by far the better side and in truth they should have scored a few more goals as the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane wasted some glorious chances on the break in the second half.
It was a strangely subdued performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who changed formation in the early stages and never seemed to get to grips with Liverpool’s pace and quick passing in midfield.
Jurgen Klopp cut a furious figure late in the game as chance after chance went begging, and his side could have faced an almighty backlash had they let it slip late on, but they saw the game out to remain top of the Premier League.
Fast Liverpool start but no goal
Liverpool thought they’d opened the scoring in the first minute when a James Milner cross got the faintest of touches off Firmino into the far corner, but Sadio mane was flagged for offside as he half attempted to get the final touch.
After creating by far the better chances Liverpool needed set play late in the half to get the breakthrough as Michel Vorm flapped at a corner and Wijnaldum powered the header well over the line despite the keeper swatting the ball away.
Mane wasted a good chance just after the break before Lucas Moura, by far the most dangerous Spurs player on the day, struck a post after a showcasing his pace by rattling by Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool scored a deserved second soon after though, as Mane used his pace to get in behind down the left and his deflected cross squirmed through Vorm's hands to allow Firmino the easiest of tap-ins from close range.
Klopp could only smile as Lamela slotted in a reply deep into stoppage time to give Spurs hope of what would've been an unlikely point, but Liverpool saw out the closing minutes to keep up their perfect start to the season.
Tottenham v Liverpool Opta stats
- Tottenham v Liverpool is now the highest scoring fixture in Premier League history (152 goals).
- Tottenham have lost consecutive Premier League games for the first time since the final two games of the 2015-16 season.
- Liverpool have won their opening five games of a top-flight season for only the third time, after 1978-79 and 1990-91.
- Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum’s opener was the 19th Premier League goal of his career but the first to come in an away game.
- Georginio Wijnaldum’s goal for Liverpool came via his 55th shot attempted in away Premier League games.
- Roberto Firmino has been directly involved in 61 Premier League goals for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp (38 goals, 23 assists), 16 more than any other player.
- Tottenham faced 10 shots on target in a Premier League home game for the first time since January 2014 vs Manchester City.
- Christian Eriksen's assist for Erik Lamela's goal was his 50th in the Premier League, making him the second player to reach that milestone for Spurs (Darren Anderton, 67).
