• yesterday
Slot on Liverpool's 6-3 thrashing of Spurs

22/12/2024

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Transcript
00:00I mean, that was a crazy game, wasn't it?
00:02I mean, could you still enjoy that?
00:05I mean, it was just... It was an amazing attacking performance.
00:09Yeah. Yeah, until 60, 65 minutes, I really, really, really enjoyed what I saw.
00:16Of course, we were caught one time in bringing the ball out from the back
00:19and that immediately led to a goal for Tottenham,
00:23that you think if we would have gone into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead,
00:26that would not have done justice to all the chances we had.
00:30That's why I was quite happy with the fact that we scored the 3-1,
00:33then 4-1, 5-1. Incredible display.
00:37But then you also saw that no matter how much quality players have,
00:41if they think they don't have to run anymore,
00:43and then in this league, especially against Tottenham,
00:46because they are so good with the ball as well,
00:49they immediately start to create, and that's what they did, and they scored two goals.
00:53I was happy that the 6-1 went in, to be fair.
01:01Arnaut, in terms of the attacking performance,
01:03it's the first time you've scored six under you, I think, so far.
01:07Do you think it's the best you've been in attack?
01:10It just gives you a brace for Lewis Diaz and Mo Salah in particular.
01:17It was very good.
01:19Maybe it was our best performance away from home,
01:23although I really liked what I saw against Man Utd as well.
01:27It was total dominance and we outplayed them many, many times.
01:31So that was a very good away game as well.
01:36Today, apart from scoring six goals, I think we could have even scored more.
01:40It's always like this, you don't score every chance,
01:42although Tottenham almost did, because the first three chances were a goal, I think.
01:47And then the fourth one, luckily enough, didn't go in.
01:51Mo and Lucio, of course, they were both with two goals,
01:55maybe the ones that stand out in terms of scoring two,
02:01but I think we would not do justice to Dom's performance if we don't name him as well,
02:06because apart from his attacking things he did today,
02:10he was without the ball also a very important part of our game plan.
02:15And that's what he executed really well.
02:18Yes, these are the ones that scored the goals,
02:21but if you watch the goals one more time back, and that's definitely what I'm going to do,
02:25it was mostly started off with centre-backs or full-backs.
02:29Every lead-up to a goal was, I think, multiple passes.
02:34So it's not only the ones that scored, it's also the ones that helped to create.
02:39Jürgen, in terms of what you say about the players not running anymore,
02:41is that just a natural thing that happens at 5-1,
02:44or was it that you didn't realise that anymore?
02:47No, I exaggerate a bit if I say they don't run anymore.
02:51Of course, they still run, but they don't block the crosses anymore,
02:53they don't defend in front of their goal.
02:56Until that moment, it was every time, wherever the ball was,
02:59we were there with two, three, four players.
03:02And, yes, maybe it is human that if you are 5-1 up, you think,
03:09OK, and I think in general it's also enough,
03:13because not many teams, after being 5-1 down, just keep on going.
03:17But we know Tottenham, they always keep on going,
03:20and they also have the quality to create, because they are such an attacking threat.
03:24Every game they play, they create so, so, so many chances.
03:28So you have to be on top of your game every second of the game,
03:31and if you're not 100 per cent, then it immediately hurts you.
03:37So, not in every game, but definitely against a well-managed side like Tottenham.
03:43Is that Dominic's best performance?
03:48Of course, I haven't seen all of his performances,
03:51because it's my first year and his second.
03:54I just referred to the Man Utd game, I think he was outstanding over there as well.
03:59Yeah, if you score so many goals, that's always what stands out,
04:04but last week, for example, against Fulham, if you look at the work rate he did over there...
04:10It was a very good performance of him, but I think it wasn't his first great performance,
04:16but it was definitely one of his best, yes.
04:19Top of the league on Christmas Day, does that mean anything to you?
04:24Of course it means something, because you always prefer to be where we are at the moment
04:29than to be in another position in the league table.
04:32But you know just as well as I know, because I've won the league once,
04:38how hard it is to win it.
04:40You have to keep on going, every three days you have to be on top of your game,
04:44every minute of the game.
04:46That's why it's so hard to win it, because it's not always easy to show up every three or four days.
04:52We saw last week that in a moment you can get a red card,
04:56which was quite a debate afterwards, not by me but by other people.
05:00These things can happen in a season, and in a new castle on 3-2 up,
05:04you expect to win it and we missed just the situation and we dropped two points.
05:09So, that's the Premier League.
05:11I didn't expect Chelsea to drop points today as well,
05:15so it can happen in every game and that's what makes this league so special,
05:19that's why so many people want to see it and that's why we play at Christmas time.
05:24James Pearson, let me do the last of the preview.
05:26Arno, Mo today became the first player in Premier League history
05:29to get the double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas.
05:33He's also gone past Billy Nidal and now the fourth all-time goal-scoring club's history.
05:38What is it like to work with him?
05:40You must have had some kind of idea before you came in,
05:42and how does it compare to the reality?
05:45Of course you have an idea before you start working with players,
05:48but the best way to judge them or to experience them is when you start to work with them.
05:55I think Mo shows what he's shown so many years at Liverpool,
05:58that he can score a goal and the team just has to provide him
06:02to come in these positions where he came today many times.
06:06Then he's able to score goals or provide assists.
06:11Apart from him being a very good football player,
06:14I think he's a very likeable person to work with as well.
06:17He's always there to help his teammates, always down-to-earth.
06:25So tomorrow, or even now I think, he will already work on his recovery.
06:30But definitely if he's not repressed now, then it will start in a few minutes.
06:34But he understands what it takes to be at this level every three days.
06:42He's working really hard for this, so that maybe impressed me most.
06:46That a top player like him understands how hard he has to work for the quality he shows.

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