Liverpool beat Tottenham 6-3 on Sunday evening to move four points clear at the top of the Premier League, but the team weren’t entirely happy.
Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah has called for an improvement defensively from his team-mates despite the Reds hammering Tottenham 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
Salah’s brace, combined with two assists, contributed to a thumping 6-3 victory over Spurs, tightening their grip at the summit of the Premier League table with a four-point cushion and a game in hand over their rivals.
The Egyptian’s brace propelled the visitors into a commanding 5-1 lead but late goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke offered Spurs fleeting hope during the closing stage before Luis Diaz killed the game once and for all.
Spurs’ three goals somewhat obscured Liverpool’s incredible dominance away from home. And Salah was left wanting more from his team off of the ball.
“We worked quite good upfront but defensively we need to improve as a team. Conceding three goals is quite hard. But it’s a good result. We expected [chaos] the way they play, they open the game,” Salah told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game. They have the way they play, they don’t change it much. You see other teams come here and struggle.
“I’m happy we won because they play an intense game. It’s great to achieve that [fourth all-time Liverpool scorer] 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.”
“We worked quite good upfront but defensively we need to improve as a team. Conceding three goals is quite hard. But it’s a good result. We expected [chaos] the way they play, they open the game,” Salah told Sky Sports.
“They enjoy their football, physically tough and mentally we always have to be in the game. They have the way they play, they don’t change it much. You see other teams come here and struggle.
“I’m happy we won because they play an intense game. It’s great to achieve that [fourth all-time Liverpool scorer] 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.”
Salah made Premier League history by becoming the first player ever to score 10 goals and provide 10 assists before Christmas, after setting up Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal just before the break.
But despite the win, Liverpool’s first since 2023 away at a big six rival, the Merseyside outfit have now conceded nine times in their last five games – having only conceded 10 goals in their previous 15 before that.
Echoing Salah’s sentiments, his team-mate Alexis Mac Allister also expressed dissatisfaction with their team’s defensive performance.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “We spoke about it in the dressing room, we are not happy with the fact we conceded three goals, that’s very clear, but we score six, that’s not very easy.
“Tottenham are a good team, they press really high, they are aggressive, we knew we had to put the ball in behind and score the opportunities we had.
“We are happy with the result, there are many things to improve but we’re happy to get the three points. At the back we have to play simple and get the ball to them [attackers]. We worked on this the whole week and we try to improve every single day.
“We know we have to concede less, we are not happy with conceding three today, but it is what it is, we play against really good teams. Maybe we have to defend better but also we know we are dangerous when we attack.