Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou has hit back at reporters following his side’s 6-3 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool.
Days after their helter-skelter 4-3 League Cup win against Manchester United, Spurs were again involved in an end-to-end contest resembling a basketball match, in which Liverpool scored more than five goals for the first time this season.
Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah both scored doubles as the Reds ran rampant at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai also scoring.
Tottenham is injury-hit, particularly in defence, but its attack caused Liverpool’s problems throughout.
James Maddison had scored before the break for Spurs, who added two late consolation goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke burnishing the scoreline for the hosts.
Tottenham’s all-out attacking style was brutally exposed against the runaway league leaders, but Postecoglou was unrepentant when talking with reporters after the game despite the “painful result”.
“I think I’ve been really, really patient the last 18 months, sitting up here answering the same questions over and over again,” he said.
“If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change.
“We’re doing it for a reason, we’re doing it because we think it’ll help us be successful.”
Spurs’ all-action approach has led to a glut of goals, with 30 scored for both sides in their past five games.
But the supporters remain restless, with the Lilywhites stuck in 11th place with 23 points from 17 games, sitting in the bottom half of the table heading into Christmas.
The crushing defeat emphasised the sombre mood in the stadium before kick-off, when several hundred supporters staged a protest against chairman Daniel Levy.
Black balloons were also released in the 24th minute, marking the number of years the current boss has owned the club.
“You can see quality players with top discipline,” Tottenham captain Son Heung-min said of Liverpool.
“There’s a reason they are top. If you give them a mistake, they punish you.”
It is now 21 games in all competitions without defeat for the Reds, who look on track for the Premier League title even at this early stage.
Liverpool has 39 points from 16 games and stretched its lead over second-place Chelsea, which could only draw 0-0 at Everton, to end a five-match winning streak in the league.
Salah’s two goals moved him above Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to the top of the scoring charts with 15 goals in the Premier League — but he will leave London thinking he should have had more.
The Egyptian also passed Liverpool great Billy Liddell on the club’s all-time scoring list.
“I’m happy and proud, I’ll just keep working hard,” said Liverpool’s now fourth-most prolific scorer with 229 goals.
ABC/wires
