A first half brace from Mohamed Salah capped off a dominant first 45 minutes from Liverpool. The Reds' star man was able to produce a couple of smart finishes, after a pass from Darwin Nunez and a mistake from Eric Dier.

As they often do, Tottenham were able to provide a response to going behind. However, a Harry Kane goal midway through the second half was not enough to salvage a result for the hosts.

Liverpool withstood a few nervy final moments and held on to a 2-1 win, recovering from the shock defeat to Leeds, last weekend.

The win puts Liverpool up to eighth in the Premier League. They edge closer to a place in the UEFA Champions League spots - the final one of which is currently occupied by Tottenham; The Reds now have a seven point deficit to try and shorten.

Manchester United's defeat at Villa Park means that Tottenham retain fourth place in the table. However, their run of three defeats from their last four games puts them under pressure to pick up a win in Tottenham's final game before the World Cup, against Leeds.

Story of the Match

Antonio Conte made two changes to Tottenham's starting 11, from their successful trip to Marseille. The injured Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura were replaced by the more defensive-minded Yves Bissouma and Emerson Royal.

For Liverpool, there were three changes from their midweek 2-0 win against Napoli. Nunez, Andrew Robertson and Harvey Elliott came into their team, in the places of Curtis Jones, James Milner and Konstantinos Tsimikas.

The returning Robertson picked out a pass in behind the Tottenham defence, within the first couple of minutes. Nunez was able to get away a threatening attempt at the hosts' goal, which called Hugo Lloris into early action.

The Reds started off the clash comfortably the more active side. A fantastic long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold picked out Nunez, again. His attempt to whip the ball into the corner floated narrowly wide of the far post.

Just after the ten minute mark, Liverpool made their dominant early start be reflected on the scoreboard.

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

The most active player of the opening phase of the match, Nunez, was picked out in the box with a precise ball from Robertson. The forward showed great composure to find a pass across to Salah, who produced a perfect, low finish into the corner with his second touch.

With their first foray forward, Spurs almost drew level, very soon after. Kane found himself on the wing and put in a threatening cross into the box; the delivery deflected off of Ivan Perisic onto Allison, before the ball struck the post, denying the hosts a swift equaliser.

A quieter period in the game followed that chance. Up until the 40th minute, there were no events of real note. Conte's men were struggling to put the visitors under a great deal of pressure, as they aimed to draw level. 

A nudge from Alexander-Arnold on Ryan Sessegnon was the only flashpoint during that period - the fairly needless push was adjudged to not have been serious enough to result in a penalty for the hosts.

The dull period in the first half was ended, with Salah doubling his own and his team's tally.

Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

Dier's attempt to header back a long ball to Lloris was awfully misjudged. The defender picked out Salah, who smartly anticipated a potential mistake. Dier's attempt to pressure Salah as he retreated were hopeless, the Egyptian smartly lobbed the ball over the oncoming Lloris, into the back of the net.

A dipping, long-range attempt from Harvey Elliott drew a save from Lloris and the first corner of the game, just before the half-time break. It was an assured away performance from Liverpool and an equally disappointing one from the hosts, in the first period.

After the restart, just like they did in Marseille, Tottenham set about improving their attacking play. A cross-field pass met Sessegnon on the left side, the wing-back's low ball across was greeted by a first-time effort from Perisic, which cannoned off the crossbar.

A Liverpool response, later on, saw Salah seemingly set up to complete his hat-trick. His first-time attempt, after Nunez's pass, was a tad too tame and comfortably held by the keeper.

While Tottenham were able to control more of the ball, compared to what they did in the first half, they were doing so without causing too much threat to the Liverpool goal. This frustrating period of play lasted until just before the 70th minute.

A glanced header from Kane, following Perisic's set-piece delivery, beat both Allison's despairing dive and the far post. Immediately following the half-chance, Dejan Kulusevski was introduced into the game, for his first appearance, after a lengthy injury lay-off.

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

It took the Swede no time at all to make an impact. His intricate through ball to Kane allowed the forward to produce a first-time strike which, again, beat Allison and, this time, crept the right side of the far post, into the corner of the goal.

Kane's goal set up a potentially exciting final 20 minutes. Liverpool often found themselves defending deep on their own half, as they attempted to hold on to the 2-1 lead.

A Tottenham corner led to Clement Lenglet having a free header at goal. Disappointingly, the effort floated over the bar, as the centre-back could not get solid contact on the effort.

Rodrigo Bentancur's header forced Allison to make a neat, low save, which would have been made tricky by the ball bouncing just ahead of the keeper.

Further trouble in the Liverpool box was stirred, following Perisic's cross, from the left side. Kane was able to get a smart flick-on, sending the ball towards the back post, where two Tottenham players were so close to redirecting the ball into the goal, from short range.   

The visitors were then able to withstand the four minutes of added time and hold on for an important and impressive three points.

Player of the match - Mohamed Salah

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

An easy to decision to make. Two very well taken first half goals set Liverpool on their way towards the win.

After a fairly slow start to the season, Salah seems to be picking up something akin to his remarkable goalscoring form of the last campaign. 

The World Cup break may come as a slight frustration to the forward, who will look to round off 2022 with another impressive performance, in Liverpool's final league game of the year, against Southampton.

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