11 match 4 goals scored new record by Liverpool against Tottenham and Reds back to Premier League top, this time John Terry smash to Chelsea.

Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0:Reds break to records and hang to Premier League top

It summed up the mood perfectly; the wording as sharp as the performance which followed on the pitch, while also serving as a nod and a wink towards a club intent on clambering back onto its perch after 24 years.

If Liverpool’s progress to the summit of the Premier League is vindication for the owners, Fenway Sports Group, then an eighth successive victory, ramshackle Tottenham the latest opponents trampled underfoot, owed much to the managerial acumen of Brendan Rodgers.

“No, we can’t,” said the Liverpool manager, as he walked into his post-match press conference, anticipating the line of questioning that was to follow. His problem is that on this subject, no one believes him any more.

Luis Suarez may have broken Robbie Fowler’s club record of 28 Premier League goals in a campaign with a deadly finish on a day when his team-mates set a new benchmark in the modern era by scoring four or more for the 11th time in a season.

But the triumph was conceived in the mind of Rodgers and carried out with aplomb by a team daring to dream.

The tactical tweaks evident in recent months were implemented once again as a diamond formation was ditched in favour of 4-3-3, man-of-the-match Raheem Sterling brought into a line-up designed to feast on Tottenham’s deficiencies in wide areas.

Sterling, who can only have impressed watching England assistant manager Ray Lewington, was stationed on the right and Suarez on the left and the contests with Danny Rose and Kyle Naughton were embarrassingly one-sided.

A mismatch proceeded, with reward reaped inside two minutes. Philippe Coutinho’s pass to Sterling caught Rose in no man’s land, the winger even had time to recover his touch after mis-controlling, before finding the overlapping Glen Johnson.

He surged beyond the dozing Christian Eriksen and delivered a low cross which Jan Vertonghen failed to deal with, and then Younes Kaboul could not sort out his feet in time to prevent himself from putting through his own net.

For the visitors, and Kaboul in particular, it was to be the onset of a torrid afternoon.

When Steven Gerrard pitched a pass forward Michael Dawson’s first touch after replacing the injured Vertonghen played his team-mate into trouble and gave Suarez all the encouragement he requires.

Out-muscling Kaboul and speeding away from Dawson, Suarez hared into the penalty area before spearing a rasping drive beyond the exposed Hugo Lloris and finding the far corner with unerring accuracy.

If it is not worrying enough for Manchester City and Chelsea that Liverpool’s destiny is in their own hands, then that it also lies at Suarez’s feet is further cause to fret.

Put simply, the hosts were quicker, slicker and more focused than Tottenham, the pressure of taking advantage of the slips by their rivals 24 hours earlier eased before anxiety could even take hold.

Instead, it was Rodgers’ opposite number, Tim Sherwood, who ended the afternoon in the headlights. He had watched from the directors’ box, spending so much of the contest shaking his head that it was in danger of falling off, and much of what unravelled will have been all-too-familiar.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made five more passes than Spurs striker Roberto Soldado and on the rare occasion they did threaten, Liverpool’s much-maligned defence stood unflinching.

Sherwood could hardly say the same. Lloris produced a miraculous save to deny Suarez on 41 minutes, pushing the forward’s bullet header onto the underside of the crossbar, but it brought only brief respite.

Another of the routs at the hands of the elite that has so scarred Spurs’ campaign duly ensued. They have conceded 44 goals this term with 24 leaked in just five games (Man City 6-0 and 5-1, Liverpool 5-0, 4-0 and Chelsea 4-0).

Coutinho ran forward unchecked and drilled a low shot from 20 yards into the corner shortly after the break before Jordan Henderson’s free-kick from wide on the left went straight in having passed through the legs of Suarez and Dawson.

The parallels with the first of Bill Shankly’s championship triumphs are now proving uncanny. Just as in 1963-64, Liverpool have two strikers with 20 league goals, and yesterday was 50 years to the day since the team of Roger Hunt and Ian St John swatted Spurs aside in the seventh to last game to move to the summit of the table. It was an ascendancy they never relinquished.

When Liverpool are as ruthlessly efficient as this, omens seem pointless. As it said on the front of their shirts, “Seeing is believing”.

Liverpool vs Tottenham Match Stats

Liverpool (4-1-3-2): Mignolet 7, Johnson 7.5, Skrtel 8, Agger 7.5, Flanagan 8, Gerrard 7.5 (Lucas 70, 6), Coutinho 8 (Allen 64, 6), Henderson 7.5, Sterling 8 (Moses 82, 5.5), Sturridge 7, Suarez 9.

Subs not used: Jones, Aspas, Sakho, Cissokho.

Goals: Kaboul (og) 2, Suarez 25, Coutinho 55, Henderson 76.

Manager: Brendan Rodgers 8.

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris 7.5, Naughton 4.5, Kaboul 4, Vertonghen 5 (Dawson 23, 4), Rose 5, Sigurdsson 4.5, Chadli 5 (Dembele 60, 5), Lennon 4 (Townsend 60, 5), Eriksen 5.5, Bentaleb 4.5, Soldado 4.

Subs not used: Friedel, Sandro, Kane, Winks.

Booked: Kaboul, Sigurdsson.

Manager: Tim Sherwood 4.

Ref: Phil Dowd.

Att: 44,762

Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Match Video

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Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea  0:Captain Terry Shot to own ship

With more than a little help from oh so plucky Palace – plus an uncharacteristic own goal by John Terry – the former Chelsea youth coach’s Liverpool side could go top if they beat Spurs tomorrow.

Jose Mourinho was gracious enough to congratulate the Palace players afterwards. What he said to his fallen stars was not for public consumption.

What is a matter for the record, though, is that they let him down badly yesterday – and probably left Rodgers and Manchester City’s Manuel Pellegrini to battle it out for the top honour as a result.

Laurent Blanc at Paris St Germaine was probably smiling broadly as well last night. If Chelsea play as feebly as this when they go to France in the Champions League on Wednesday the French coach must really fancy his chances.

How Chelsea can go from the destroyers who savaged Arsenal 6-0 last week to this, goodness only knows.

But truth to tell if Yannick Bolasie hadn’t snatched at one chance and referee Lee Mason been less harsh about two penalty appeals Palace could well have turned the form book on its head much earlier than they did.

Not that Chelsea showed any sort of form in the first half. Casual is the only word to describe 45 minutes in which they strolled around to little effect and David Luiz got their biggest cheers – wry ones at that – for two speculative efforts that sailed high into the stand. Hardly top of the table stuff.

Palace, by contrast, fought for every ball and looked as if their lives depended on it. And with Jason Puncheon arguably his most influential game in a controversial career they certainly had the lion’s share of shots.

Mourinho was not a happy bunny and it was hardly surprising that Oscar came on for Luiz for the second half, but it made little difference.

Six minutes into the second half Palace – quite deservedly – went in front, courtesy of the unfortunate Terry.

The Chelsea skipper went up with Joe Ledley to meet a cross from Joel Ward and the ball went off his head like a bullet past Petr Cech. There wasn’t a thing the keeper could do about it on a day when the men in front of him had a real off-day.

It could have been even worse for them soon afterwards when man of the match Puncheon found space with a shot that shaved the post with Cech again beaten.

No one will probably ever know if Chelsea were conserving energy for the hour’s sleep they lost when the clocks went forward this morning, but it took them a long time to wake up yesterday alright.

When they finally did Palace had Julian Speroni to thank for a superb save that denied Eden Hazard when the Belgian produced Chelsea’s best effort thus far.

Even then, though, only the post prevented Palace going two up after sloppy marking let the impressive Cameron Jerome clear and the striker on loan from Stoke deserved a goal for his effort. And the same could be said for Stuart O’Keefe with a cracker that Cech was mighty grateful to tip over the bar.

It was, to be honest, a bit like the Alamo around Palace’s goal after that, but no one can deny they didn’t deserve what they got – and the joyous celebrations that greeted the final whistle.

This result may well have wrecked Chelsea’s Premier League dream – but it went a long way to saving Palace’s.

As assistant manager David Kemp said afterwards: “Our players were magnificent and it was nice for them that Jose came in to congratulate them. That was very classy of him.

“This result was big for the club but even bigger for the players because it gives them the belief to go on.”

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Match Stats

Crystal Palace (4231): Speroni 7.5; Mariappa 7, Dann 7, Delaney 7, Ward 7; Dikgacoi 7, Jedinak 8; Puncheon 7.5 (Parr 90), Ledley 7, Bolasie 6 (O’Keefe, 70 6); Jerome 7.5 (Murray 88).

Subs not used: Hennessey, McCarthy, Ince, Bannan.

Bookings: Bolasie, Puncheon, Dann, Mariappa.

Manager: Tony Pulis 8.

Chelsea (433): Cech 7; Ivanovic 6.5, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6; Luiz 5 (Oscar HT, 6), Matic 5, Lampard 5.5 (Salah 57, 6); Schurrle 6 (Ba 70, 5), Torres 5, Hazard 6.

Subs not used: Hilario, Kalas, Mikel, Willian.

Bookings: Terry.

Manager: Jose Mourinho 6.

MOM: Mile Jedinak

Referee: Lee Mason 6

Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0 Match Video

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English Premier League Match Week 32 Results

Saturday, 29 March

Man United 4 Aston Villa 1

Stoke City 1 Hull City 0

Swansea City 3 Norwich City 0

Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 0

West Brom 3 Cardiff City 3

Southampton 4 Newcastle 0

Arsenal 1 Man City 1

Sunday, 30 March

Fulham 1 Everton 3

Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0

Monday, 31 March

Sunderland 20:00 West Ham

Barclays Premier League Match Week 32 Table

 

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