Mo Salah hits double as Premier League leaders Liverpool crush Tottenham

Luis Diaz also grabs brace in thrilling 6-3 victory for Arne Slot's table-toppers

Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring Liverpool's fourth goal in their 6-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London on December 22, 2024. Reuters

Luis Diaz scores Liverpool's sixth goal in the 85th minute. Victory sent the Merseyside club four points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on second-placed Chelsea. PA

Luis Diaz celebrates scoring Liverpool's sixth goal. PA

Mohamed Salah scores his second and Liverpool's fifth goal. The Egyptian became he first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas in a Premier League season. PA

Dominic Solanke slots home for Spurs to make it 5-3 with seven minutes to go. Reuters

Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring Liverpool's fifth goal with Luis Diaz at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. EPA

Dejan Kulusevski volleys home Spurs' second goal to make it 5-2 in the 72nd minute. EPA

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah makes it 4-1 in the 54th minute. PA

Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai shoots past Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster to make it 3-1. Reuters

Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring their third goal in first-half injury-time. Reuters

James Maddison fires home for Spurs to pull the score back to 2-1. Reuters

Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister celebrates after scoring in the 36th minute to make it 2-0.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou saw his team lose for the third time in four games. AFP

Luis Diaz heads Liverpool into a 23rd-minute lead against Spurs. AP

Luis Diaz celebrates after scoring the opening goal for Liverpool against Tottenham. AFP

Mohamed Salah grabbed two goals and set yet more records as he fired Liverpool to a 6-3 victory in a helter-skelter encounter with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

In the first half, the Egyptian became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas.

Salah now has a staggering 18 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Liverpool this season.

He also moved up to fourth on the all-time list of Liverpool goalscorers with 229 goals, surpassing the late Billy Liddell.

Luis Diaz also netted two goals for the visitors and Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were on target for Arne Slot’s side.

Liverpool now lead second-placed Chelsea by four points with a game in hand over the Londoners, who could only draw 0-0 with Everton earlier in the day.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored for Spurs in a chaotic but hugely entertaining match at the Tottenham Stadium.

It was just the second time Tottenham have conceded six goals in a home Premier League game after a 6-1 defeat by Chelsea in December 1997.

After the match, Salah spoke to Sky Sports about his new Premier League record, saying: “I didn't think about it before the game but I'm glad I have done it, something that makes me proud, I’ll keep working hard.”

On the game, he said: “We were quite good up front but defensively we need to improve as a team. Concedeing three goals is quite hard. It’s a good result, hopefully we just keep going.

“We expected that [a chaotic game], the way they play, they open the game, they enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game.

“They don't change much the way they play, it’s intense. City came here and struggled, other teams too. I’m happy we won because they play an intense game.”

On being fourth on Liverpool's all-time goalscoring list, he said: “It’s great to achieve that at such a big club, but the most important thing is that we won the game. Wherever I am going to end my career I am happy about it.”

Asked if he had any further comment about his future, Salah replied: “No.”

Spurs – who had eight players missing – could never reach the energy levels of a midweek League Cup quarter-final triumph over Manchester United and were 5-1 down at one point before they rallied.

Liverpool opened their account in the 23rd minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold was given too much space and his cross from deep picked out the unmarked Diaz to head home for his 10th goal of the season.

Alexis Mac Allister nodded in after 36 minutes to make it two before James Maddison got one back for Spurs, curling home his eighth goal of the season.

But in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Radu Dragusin was beaten in the air by Szoboszlai, who received the ball back from Salah and slid it under Spurs keeper Fraser Forster.

It was 4-1 nine minutes into the second half when Diaz combined with Cody Gakpo, whose cross was half-cleared by Archie Gray, who then blocked Szoboszlai’s follow-up effort but Salah was on hand to tap home.

Not long after that, Szoboszlai brilliantly teed up Salah for Liverpool’s fifth.

Spurs were again cut open by a counter-attack as Szoboszlai was played through and selflessly passed to Salah, who grabbed his 18th goal of the season in simple fashion.

Only a flying save by Forster to deny Alexander-Arnold’s piledriver prevented another before Tottenham did rally.

Kulusevski led the charge and reduced the deficit – with 18 minutes left – with a fine volley from Solanke’s chipped pass to score for a fifth-consecutive match.

And in the 83rd minute as Solanke fired home on the turn from Brennan Johnson’s header.

Tottenham’s fun quickly ended when Diaz expertly rifled into the bottom corner two minutes later after another Salah assist to secure another statement result for leaders Liverpool.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou told BBC Sport: “It’s obviously a painful one for us. Credit to Liverpool, they were too good for us. They're in a great moment, great form, feeling confident.

“It was a bridge too far for us, We looked like we lacked energy which is understandable.”