A tough afternoon at Anfield ended in a heavy 5-1 defeat on Sunday, a result which ensured Liverpool secured the Premier League title.
The home side just needed a draw to clinch the championship but we threatened to spoil the party when former Liverpool forward Dominic Solanke headed home a fine goal in the 12th minute.
That was the highlight of the day for us though as the Reds swiftly levelled through Luis Diaz and then led at the interval as Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo also found the target. Mo Salah added a fourth before the unfortunate Destiny Udogie put through his own net to round off a disappointing day.
We fielded a much-changed side, Ange Postecoglou making eight changes from the team that started against Nottingham Forest last Monday, with Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso both back at the venue on which they made their Spurs debuts in the Carabao Cup semi-final in January.
With so much at stake for the hosts, the atmosphere inside Anfield was raucous as you’d expect and the home side started on the front foot. Salah curled high and wide early on while Gakpo went close with an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 10th minute but a couple of minutes later we were in front, James Maddison clipping over a deep corner and Solanke got up superbly well to send his header past Alisson.
The lead didn’t last long though as the home side levelled on 16 minutes, Salah sliding a ball down the channel for Dominik Szoboszlai and his low cross was turned in by Diaz. There was a brief VAR check for offside but the goal stood. And the champions-elect moved ahead in the 23rd minute as the ball fell to Mac Allister on the edge of the area and he hit a thumping left-foot drive into the net. Another Solanke header from a Maddison free-kick needed tipping over by Alisson shortly after, however we fell further behind on 34 minutes when Gakpo collected the loose ball from a corner and drilled through a sea of legs into the far corner, leaving us 3-1 down at the break.
Gakpo should have added a fourth in the early moments of the second period but elected to pass instead of shoot when played in by Mac Allister and Liverpool continued to have the upper hand as the half progressed. Ryan Gravenberch brought a save out of Guglielmo Vicario with another opportunity they created before they did add to their tally, Salah receiving Szoboszlai’s pass and producing a trademark finish, cutting onto his left foot and driving home from 15 yards out.
A rare attack at the other end saw substitute Pape Matar Sarr fire a low shot which was easy for Alisson while Vicario made a good stop from Szoboszlai before it was 5-1, Udogie getting the final touch on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low ball to the back post with Salah waiting to pounce. The closing stages were fairly uneventful and the whistle blew to start the party for the home supporters, while our focus quickly turned to Thursday’s big Europa League semi-final.