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Liverpool logo
Premier League
Mar 30, 2014 at 4pm UK
 
Spurs logo

4-0

Kaboul (2' og.), Suarez (25'), Coutinho (55'), Henderson (75')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Match Analysis: Liverpool 4-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Sports Mole runs the rule over Liverpool's 4-0 annihilation of Tottenham Hotspur, which saw the Reds move top of the Premier League.

Liverpool went top of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon thanks to a 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

The Reds were in front inside two minutes when Glen Johnson's low cross was inadvertently turned into his own net by Younes Kaboul.

Luis Suarez reached 29 goals for the season in the 25th minute before second-half strikes from midfielders Coutinho and Jordan Henderson completed the rout.

Here, Sports Mole delves a little deeper to ask why it was so easy for Brendan Rodgers's side.

Match statistics

Liverpool
Shots: 11
On target: 5
Possession: 59%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 9

Tottenham
Shots: 15
On target: 4
Possession: 41%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 9

Was the result fair?

Absolutely. Although Spurs may have had more shots, the majority were speculative efforts while Liverpool carved out clear-cut chances and could have had more than four.

Liverpool's performance

Can anyone stop Rodgers's Redmen at the moment? They have now won eight league games in a row and today were on the front foot right from the start. They put plenty of pressure on Spurs, who buckled and gifted them two first-half goals. Take nothing away from Liverpool though. They were again electric and now are the clear second-favourites with the bookies for the Premier League title. Should they be favourites though? The title is completely in their hands as they play odds-on favourites Manchester City at Anfield.

Tottenham's performance

Tottenham's terrible record against top four continued and they looked second-best all game long today. Sherwood came across as crestfallen throughout the game as he watched on from the stands at Anfield. To be fair to him, you simply can't legislate for the missed Jan Vertonghen clearance for the first goal and then Michael Dawson's careless pass that Suarez stole for the second. Elsewhere, Roberto Soldado was a downcast figure all game long as he was bullied by Martin Skrtel and then had to leave the field on a stretcher in the final seconds. The one and only good thing that Spurs did today was Hugo Lloris's unbelievably good stop in the first half when he somehow clawed Suarez's powerful close-range header against the woodwork. One of the best saves in recent memory.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Coutinho: It was a brilliant team performance from Liverpool and very hard to pick out one man in particular who stood out. Although Brazilian playmaker Coutinho went off after 64 minutes, the game was already over by then and he played many a clever pass before scoring the third with a precise low finish from 20 yards.

Biggest gaffe

Take your pick from the two atrocious errors that gifted Liverpool their first-half goals. How Vertonghen missed his clearance for the first, only he will know, while Dawson simply didn't look when he played the ball back to Kaboul. A mention too for Henderson, who leant back and skied an easy chance to make it three just before Coutinho did just that.

Referee performance

Phil Dowd had an easy game to referee today, with no contentious penalty appeals or anything like that.

What next?

Liverpool: Next up for the Reds is a trip to West Ham United next Sunday.

Tottenham: Spurs, meanwhile, return to White Hart Lane to host Sunderland next Monday night.

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Liverpool's Luis Suarez scores against Tottenham Hotspur on March 30, 2014.
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