Tottenham demolished nine-man Liverpool at White Hart Lane as Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel saw red on a miserable afternoon for Kenny Dalglish.
Nine-man Liverpool demolished at White Hart Lane
Tottenham demolished nine-man Liverpool at White Hart Lane as Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel saw red on a miserable afternoon for Kenny Dalglish, who saw his side suffer their heaviest Premier League defeat for eight-and-a-half years.
Former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor struck twice as Luka Modric and Jermain Defoe both found the net as Spurs secured a second successive top-flight victory and condemned their opponents to back-to-back defeats.
Dalglish voiced his concerns over decisions which he felt had gone against the Reds in the wake of his side's 1-0 defeat at Stoke, but referee Mike Jones had little option but to dismiss midfielder Adam and makeshift right-back Skrtel for two bookable offences.
Modric rifled Spurs ahead in the seventh minute as he found the top corner of Pepe Reina's net with a fantastic first-time finish from outside the box before Adam, already booked for hauling down the Croatian schemer, clattered into Scott Parker with less than half an hour gone.
And the visitors, who made a sluggish start and were always on the back foot, saw their numbers reduced further in the 63rd minute after Skrtel's second crude lunge on his chief tormentor Gareth Bale left the Wales winger on the floor.
Spurs immediately pressed home their advantage with Defoe being released into acres of space by Rafael van der Vaart before holding off Jose Enrique and drilling a shot on the turn beyond Reina.
And an uncharacteristic error from the Spanish goalkeeper gifted Harry Redknapp's side a third as Defoe's routine shot from distance bounced off his chest, allowing Adebayor to clip the ball over him and roll home, with the on-loan Manchester City striker smashing in a last-gasp fourth.
Right from the kick-off it looked like there was only ever going to be one winner in this match.
Dominance
After his team's midweek trip to Greece, Redknapp reverted to the same XI that beat Wolves and they stamped their dominance on the game from the whistle.
Adebayor brushed past his marker to gain a yard in the box but miscued his volleyed wide from 10 yards. Daniel Agger then blocked Defoe's goal-bound shot before Modric brought White Hart Lane to its feet with his blistering opener after seven minutes.
The Croatian, who had been the subject of at least three bids from Chelsea this summer, picked up a loose ball 20 yards out and hammered his strike into the top left-hand corner of Reina's goal.
Liverpool were struggling to get in to the game and at times, their passing was poor. They thought they had equalised though when Luis Suarez tapped home but the linesman ruled the Uruguayan was offside when he picked up the ball from Andy Carroll.
Agger then hobbled off after slipping and injuring his chest. He was replaced by debutant Sebastian Coates.
Liverpool's afternoon went from bad to worse just before the half hour when Adam caught Parker in the leg with his studs up as the England midfielder went for a volley and received his second booking.
Skrtel, clearly struggling to keep up with Bale's electric pace, saw yellow for a cynical bodycheck on the Welshman.
Like Bale, Adebayor was proving to be a real handful. The striker brushed off Coates and ran towards goal but the defender hacked him down from behind and earned a booking.
Furious
Younes Kaboul and Defoe both came close to making it 2-0 before the break as Spurs' dominance continued.
Suarez was annoyed he did not get a foul on the stroke of half-time after a tussle with Benoit Assou-Ekotto and his protest at the referee earned him a booking.
Reds boss Dalglish, who last week criticised Mark Clattenburg for not giving his side a penalty at Stoke, was furious with Jones and remonstrated with the official as he went down the tunnel at half-time.
Spurs almost scored a minute into the second half when Kyle Walker crossed for Adebayor, who played in the unmarked Defoe but his poor shot dribbled wide from six yards.
Liverpool were convinced they should have had a penalty when Carroll thought his jump in the box was impeded by Assou-Ekotto but Jones waved play on.
Their miserable afternoon continued in the 63rd minute when Skrtel clipped Bale's heels as he turned to run down the flank. The former Southampton man punched the turf in apparent pain and Jones issued his second red card of the game.
Two minutes later it was 2-0. Substitute Van der Vaart sent Defoe racing through the middle, and after holding off Enrique's challenge, the England striker spun and shot low past Reina.
Just two minutes passed before Adebayor scored Tottenham's third. Reina spilled Defoe's shot and the former Gunners man reacted quickly, lifting the ball over the scrambling Spaniard before tapping in to an empty net.
Van der Vaart tried a cheeky chip at the other end in injury time but Reina was equal to his effort. Adebayor then made it 4-0 in the final seconds when he picked up Assou-Ekotto's cross to control and calmly volley past Reina.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Liverpool |
| 4 |
Goals |
0 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 9 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 7 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 4 |
Corners |
1 |
| 14 |
Fouls |
9 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
2 |
| 90.9 |
Passing Success |
76.1 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 72.2 |
Tackles Success |
71.4 |
| 62.3 |
Possession |
37.7 |
| 61.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
38.9 |
|
