That’s all for today. Thanks for your company, and season’s greetings. See you on Boxing Day!

Liverpool’s record goalscorers

• 346 Ian Rush

• 285 Roger Hunt

• 241 Gordon Hodgson

• 229 Mo Salah

• 228 Billy Liddell

“Rob, could I send a message of consolation to my good pal Jamsie, from Dublin, now living in London,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “He couldn’t get home for Christmas with some ferry strike, and he’s worried about the Guinness shortage in the capital, naturally. And, yes, to complete his seasonal misery, he’s a Spurs fan. Keep the faith, Jamsie.”

I might start charging for these shout-outs in 2025.

“I heard that someone asked Jürgen Klopp before the match if he thought his successor would oversee a goal fest,” says Peter Oh. “His answer? ‘Nein’.”

I had no idea that Peter Oh was actually Barry Davies.

The Premier League table (Christmas 2024)

90+2 min Bergvall, on a yellow card, kicks the ball away but escapes punishment. Arsenal fans will have loved that.

90 min Five minutes of added time, which should be enough for at least a couple more goals.

89 min “Are you getting the same feed as me?” says Paul Griffin. “On mine Darren England has chalked off a few and Spurs are 3-0 up.”

87 min Now Alisson makes a fine save, low to his right, to deny Brennan Johnson. This game is absurd.

87 min: Double substitution for Liverpool Nunez and Elliott replace Salah and Diaz.

84 min Diaz’s shot is saved by Forster, then Jota heads Alexander-Arnold’s cross wide. What a bizarre game. When Salah made it 5-1 I thought Liverpool might score 10.

Bergvall’s chipped cross from the left is headed back across goal by Johnson, allowing Solanke to pull away from Van Dijk and stretch to drag a smart finish past Alisson.

82 min: Spurs substitution Timo Werner comes on for Son Heung-min, who had a very poor game by his standards.

81 min Alexander-Arnold’s deflected cross is beaten round the near post by Forster, who has conceded five while also making some pretty good saves.

80 min Another wicked cross from Alexander-Arnold is headed wide by Szoboszlai at the far post. That time the ball had a bit too much pace on it for Szoboszlai to get the header on target.

79 min Bergvall is booked for tripping Jota.

79 min These teams play next on Boxing Day. Spurs go to Nottingham Forest, Liverpool host Leicester.

76 min: Chance for Diaz! Saying which, Liverpool almost make it six with another devastating counter-attack. Salah half-volleys a marvellous pass over the defence to put Diaz through on goal, with Forster in no man’s land. Diaz flips the ball over Forster – and the crossbar, just. It landed on the roof of the net.

75 min Tottenham are having a decent spell now. It helps that Liverpool are conserving energy for the busy Christmas period; even so, the response of a few Spurs players, particularly Kulusevski and Solanke, has been pretty admirable in the circumstances.

74 min “The accountants would tell you that Liverpool got Trent on a free and they’ve first dibs on him on another free in January,” says Gary Naylor. “Of course, his wage demands will be eye-watering, but in what world would you let him go? To say nothing of the impact of a local lad as captain will have on the city - even Bluenoses see that.”

I get the impression it’s not about money, in which there’s not much Liverpool can do.

70 min “If, and I cannot stress the word ‘if’ enough, Liverpool do win the league this season, this performance has shades of the 4-0 away at Leicester in the 2019-20 title-winning season when it seemed, ‘Yep, this is definitely on’,” says Graeme Neill. “(It was Boxing Day though, rather than ahead of Christmas.)”

I guess that shows how (understandably) nervous Liverpool supporters were about jinxing it because the rest of us knew you’d won the league when you hammered Man City in mid-November. That Leicester game felt more like confirmation that you were among the greatest teams in Premier League history.

I’m not sure Liverpool get enough credit for their performance that season, actually. At one stage they had 79 points from 27 games, which is obscene.

68 min: Double substitution Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones, sent off in this game last season, come on to replace Mac Allister and Gakpo.

68 min Spurs have to play Liverpool twice in the Carabao Cup semi-final as well.

67 min Kuluseveski is still playing as if it’s 1-1, not 1-5, and creates enough room for a cross-shot that is turned behind by Alexander-Arnold.

66 min Gomez makes an excellent challenge to deny Solanke a clear goalscoring opportunity after Kuluseveki’s cross ricocheted off a couple of players.

65 min “Spurs fans should look on the bright side,” syas Peter Oh. “For the first time in one match it isn’t Fraser Forster’s feet that are main talking point.”

64 min Diaz’s volley into the ground is saved by Forster.

63 min: Fine save by Forster! Alexander-Arnold whacks a mighty dipping shot from 25 yards that is pawed away by Forster, diving a long way to his right. It’s no exaggeration to say that Liverpool could score 10 here.

63 min Even as a neutral, this is pretty hard to watch. You have to admire Liverpool’s ruthlessness, not to mention their brilliance, but it’s never nice to see a team – and a manager – humiliated like this.

Spurs’ heads have gone. Gakpo played a crisp pass infield that was taken beautifully on the run by Szoboszlai. That touch put him through on Forster – but this time he squared the ball to give Salah an open goal.

60 min Before the game, Arne Slot said Liverpool would need to pick the right moments to play through the Spurs press – “or over”. Their willingness to mix play up has been a big part of today’s romp.

58 min: Double substitution for Spurs Lucas Bergvall and Brennan Johnson replace James Maddison and Pape Sarr.

57 min: Great chance for Szoboszlai! This is getting really ugly. Alisson drives a long pass straight through the heart of the Spurs defence to put Szoboszlai clear. He goes round Forster but is forced slightly wide and screws his shot the wrong side of the near post.

56 min Teams often declare when they get three or four goals ahead, especially during a busy period. The worry for Spurs is that Liverpool look like they want a whole lot more.

Kulusevski was really well tackled by Robertson on the edge of the area and Liverpool were off on their merry way. Mac Allister fired an excellent pass into Gakpo, who made ground and gave the ball to Diaz. He returned it to Gakpo, whose low cross was half cut out by the sliding Gray in the six-yard box. Gray also blocked Szoboszlai’s follow-up shot but Salah gobbled up the loose ball from four yards.

53 min “Assuming the second half continues in the same vein, no doubt there will be even more focus on Postecoglou and the narrative about his playing style,” says Paul Rowe. “But what level can any coach realistically achieve if they have to play Forster, Dragusin, Porro, Spence and poor 18-year-old midfielder Gray as a back five?”

I broadly agree with you. But since when did nuance sell newspapers?

52 min Szoboszlai is booked for a tactical foul.

51 min Gary Neville has just highlighted a half-arsed press from Spurs at the start of the second half, with Son particularly slow to put pressure on.

In modern football pressing – the intensity, the organisation, the efficiency – has become a window into the soul of a team. Spurs’ soul is starting to weep.

48 min Spurs look really flat at the start of the second half and are in danger of a good hiding if something doesn’t change pretty soon.

47 min Salah’s ball is slightly too heavy for Gakpo in space of the far post. It was a hard pass to play.

46 min Liverpool get the second half underway. Right here, right now, they’re four points clear of Chelsea with a game in hand. (I still think Arsenal will be the only team who go the distance with Liverpool.)

Half-time reading

Corrections and clarifications The phrase ‘Lads, it’s not about Tottenham’ was a play on the Sir Alex Ferguson teamtalk later made famous by Roy Keane. It wasn’t a suggestion that only lads are reading this blog, that only lads are allowed to watch football and that only lads understand the offside law. Merry Christmas.

“Woof, what a header from Diaz, eh?” says James Humphries. “Looks like his dive’s actually taking him behind the ball, too, so most/all of that power’s coming from the header itself. Wouldn’t tangle with him on Sauchiehall street on a Friday night, would ye.”

I love headers where the scorer has to really strain their neck muscles to generate enough power.

Liverpool are punishing Spurs with leadpipe cruelty. Alexander-Arnold’s long ball to the halfway line was won really well in the air by Szoboszlai, taking Dragusin out of the game in the process. Salah collected, assessed his options and played a simple reverse pass to put Szoboszlai through on goal. He calmly slipped the ball between Forster’s legs.

45 min Two minutes of added time.

44 min Spurs will almost be the happier team at half-time. They looked finished at 2-0 but that goal has changed the mood and given them a bit of hope.

That said, Liverpool still look so sharp in attack. Next goal’s a big goal!

43 min Liverpool thought Kulusevski fouled Mac Allister; the referee and his VAR team disagreed. It certainly wasn’t a clear and obvious error.

Almost straight from the kick-off, Diaz is played through and has a shot blocked desperately by Spence (I think). The flag went up after that but it looked pretty tight.

Alexander-Arnold played a square pass to Mac Allister, 25 yards from goal. He was challenged firmly by Kulusevski, with Maddison picking up the loose ball and curling an early shot past a flat-footed Alisson.

40 min “Liverpool are already offering up some sumptuous Christmas treats, Salah’s dribble and shot and Trent’s pass for Diaz standing out,” says Colum Fordham. “Spurs are fighting back with some verve but the sheer intensity of Slot’s team risks overwhelming them. Can you send Christmas greetings to my fellow Liverpool fans Andy and my brother Kit.”

I can indeed. Merry Christmas to Andy, Kit and indeed all of you who have read the MBMs throughout 2024.

39 min Maddison fires a crisp pass into Son, who slices well wide from the left side of the area. He was under pressure from Alexander-Arnold but it was still half a chance. I mean, not literally; it was probably about 0.1 on the old xG.

After a good build-up involving three or four players, Robertson teased a cross towards Szoboszlai, who jumped with Spence and Gray at the far post. Nobody could get a clear header but the ball hit Gray (I think) and looped up in front of goal. Mac Allister, who had read the play and made a late run into the box, headed gleefully past Forster from eight hards.

34 min Kulusevski takes a quick free-kick to put Son clean through on goal, only for the referee to pull play back because the ball wasn’t stationary. Son was definitely onside as well.

32 min “Do we think that giving the best crosser of a football in the world 20 yards of space to line up a cross is a good idea?” says Felix Wood. “Or is that question offensive and disrespectful?”

As a neutral I’d argue it’s a bit more complicated than that. And I’m certain that we’ll all miss Big Ange when he’s gone.

31 min Gakpo loses the ball to Sarr, tries to make up for the error with a lunging tackle and is booked.

30 min Salah’s short cross pinballs around the six-yard box before being booted clear. Spurs are hanging on a bit.

26 min Liverpool look so sharp. Diaz cracks a snapshot from 20 yards that Forster, diving low to his right, saves at the second attempt.

24 min That’s the same end at which Luis Diaz scored his wrongly disallowed goal last season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s right foot could unlock Fort Knox. He was 35 yards from goal when he received the ball, took a touch and curled a magnificent pass – because that’s what it was – towards Diaz at the far post. Diaz pulled away and then strained his neck muscles like Bruce Banner to power an excellent header back across Forster. The finish was excellent; the cross was off the charts.

20 min Gray slides Gakpo just wide of his own goal, though it wouldn’t have counted due to an offside in the build up. Spurs were fuming because they thought Szoboszlai had fouled Son 15 seconds earlier.

18 min: Salah hits the bar! Bissouma loses the ball in a dangerous area. It’s quickly fed into Salah, who has Gray and another Spurs player for company on the edge of the area. Salah makes a bit of space with a dizzying piece of skill, although he is still under a lot of pressure when he pokes a right-foot shot that hits the top of the crossbar.

17 min: Good defending by Spence! Salah’s shot is crucially blocked by Spence, as is follow up. It came from a low cross by Gakpo but there’s no time for that because…

16 min Sarr shoots wide from distance at the other end. Not a bad effort but Alisson had it covered. More pertinently, the opportunity came from Kulusevski beating Robertson on the right; that feels like a fertile area of the field for Spurs.

15 min Diaz slips Porro and pokes the ball to Gakpo, who arrows a shot over the bar from 20 yards.

15 min Gravenberch reads Bissouma’s pass to Maddison and nips in to start another Liverpool attack. Nothing comes of it but that Rodri-ish interception was a nice demonstration of how good Gravenberch has become in that positioon.

14 min Spurs are seeing more of the ball now, though Liverpool remain more threatening.

12 min “Is Tottenham’s problem really blowing big leads because they stick to their freewheeling approach or (as Wilson pointed out) failing to get a lead in the first place when the opposition isn’t so accommodating?” wonders Sean Orlowicz.

A bit of both I guess. They’ve lost two games are being 2-0 up which isn’t an everyseason occurrence.

10 min: Fine save by Forster! Alexander-Arnold, on the right touchline, guides a stunning lofted pass to find Salah unmarked eight yards from goal. His flicked volley is superbly saved by Forster and Szoboszlai’s ferociously follow up is blocked by a defender.

Salah might just have been offside but that doesn’t diminish the imagination or quality of the pass.

8 min Spurs are yet to really get going. Maybe that’s a good sign: they started terribly at the Etihad and won 4-0, and brilliantly against Chelsea when they lost 4-3.

6 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner ricochets off somebody at the near post and is cleared by Solanke.

5 min Gakpo finds the overlapping Robertson, whose cross deflects behind for the first corner of the game.

4 min Diaz batters wide from 22 yards. Liverpool have started really well.

3 min: Chance for Salah! Forster, who had a nightmare with his feet on Thursday, inexplicably tries a nonchalant chip over Salah that instead goes straight to him on the right side of the area. Salah chests the ball down and rattles a shot just wide of the near post. Forster had the shot covered but the pass was cringeworthy in the extreme.

2 min “Good morning from Pittsburgh!” writes Eric Peterson. “Another Spurs game, another episode of me trying to get my head around why we use the word ‘inconsistent’ to describe Tottenham. Results, for sure, but not the tactics we see on the pitch – that’s as consistent as can be. Full marks to Ange Postecoglou for demanding constant use of a style that, on balance, will generally result with Spurs outscoring their opponents.

“To paraphrase Ted Lasso with Jamie Tartt, if Postecoglou just figures out how to turn that consistency into inconsistency, and set aside that ‘try to outscore the opponent at all costs’ mentality when ‘hey, we’re ahead, no need to outscore them anymore, let’s just lock this game down’ is called for – whew, the sky’s the limit for him.”

1 min Peep peep! Spurs kick off from right to left as we watch.

A reminder of the teams

Tottenham (4-3-3) Forster; Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence; Sarr, Bissouma, Maddison; Kulusevski, Solanke, Son.
Substitutes: Austin, Reguilon, Udogie, Dorrington, Bergvall, Olusesi, Werner, Johnson, Lankshear.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Kelleher, Endo, Nunez, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah, Nyoni.

“Everton v Chelsea, not exactly a classic game,” says Tom Gould. “The highlight was the director recreating an iconic scene from American Beauty. No not Jordan Pickford lying naked on a bed of rose petals, the scene with the bag being blown gracefully through the air!”

Sometimes there’s so much beauty in Everton’s defensive shape… I don’t think I can take it.

And Arne Slot’s

[Is playing through their press the key?] It is in every game. But it’s more difficult because they are so intense and they’re not afraid to go man v man very high up the field. That brings them a lot because if they win the ball from you they’re an immediate threat. We have to recognise the right moments to go through – or over.

Ange Postecoglou’s pre-match thoughts

They’re a very good side and pretty lethal in the final third. We’ve been scoring lots of goals, so it’s got all the hallmarks of a dour 0-0, mate.

[On Fraser Forster] He had two unfortunate moments the other day but that happens. He’s been very good for us and he’s up for the challenge.

From the archive: Scott Murray on memorable Spurs v Liverpool games

“If poor Keith Burkenshaw had spent his £750,000 on a time machine and had fielded instead of Ardiles and Villa, the entire double-winning side of 1961, the result would probably have been no different,” opined the Guardian’s Patrick Barclay. Liverpool scored seven: two for Kenny Dalglish and David Johnson, one for Ray Kennedy, a rebound penalty knocked in by Phil Neal, and arguably the greatest end-to-end goal ever scored, a zig-zag of raking first-time Hollywood balls, Steve Heighway’s left-wing cross eventually headed home by Terry McDermott, speeding in at the far post.

Liverpool will be top at Christmas regardless of today’s result. Chelsea are the latest title challenger to be come up dry against Sean Dyche’s Everton: a goalless draw means they are a point behind Liverpool having played two games more.

Jonathan Wilson on Big Ange

Given his comments this week about football management being a harder job than prime minister, it’s fair to say Ange Postecoglou is feeling the pressure. Not for him calculations that will materially affect the lives of millions for years to come; no, he has to work out a way to try to get a result at home to Liverpool on Sunday. And yet, counterintuitively, it is Postecoglou who is the one more likely to stick to his principles.

‘TO DARE IS TOO DEAR’

Spurs fans have been protesting against Daniel Levy and friends before the game. Apparently supporters will also release a load of balloons in the 24th minute; Levy and ENIC have been at Spurs for 24 years.

Where does time go? It’s already 15 months since Luis Diaz’s goal that wasn’t against Spurs. Today, Paul Tierney and Sian Massey-Ellis are on VAR duty.

Premier League latest

• Everton 0-0 Chelsea

• Fulham 0-0 Southampton

• Leicester 0-3 Wolves

• Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth

Ineos’s decision to bully Ruben Amorim into taking the job mid-season, rather than wait until next summer, looks more short-sighted by the week.

Half-time scores

There are four 2pm kick-offs in the Premier League. This is how they’re going.

• Everton 0-0 Chelsea

• Fulham 0-0 Southampton

• Leicester 0-3 Wolves

• Man Utd 0-1 Bournemouth

As things stand Bournemouth are fifth in the table, above Manchester City and in a different postcode to Manchester United. Andoni Iraola is the real deal isn’t he?

“And it came to Molby…”

There’s more than one way to win a title, as Liverpool showed throughout the 1970s and 1980s. They often set a blistering pace that nobody could live with (1978-79, 1982-83 and 1987-88 come to mind, not to mention 2019-20). But there was also a few seasons in which they started slowly and were written off, only to come through the field like The Terminator.

One such example was in 1985-86, when a dramatic victory in a televised game at Spurs was the catalyst for them to reel in the champions Everton.