Salah double sinks Spurs for Liverpool's first away win of the season
Both sides may have arrived with growing injury lists in tow, but the visitors were evidently more settled in their forced changes than their opponents, and smelt blood.
No away win to Liverpool’s name after five league matches on the road has been their longest wait since the start of the 2006/07 campaign, and Salah struck early to help put that run to bed.
After starting the scything attacking move on the halfway line, the Egyptian took a fine touch inside the box from Darwin Núñez’s pass before firing beyond the helpless Hugo Lloris (35) into the bottom right corner.
With 10 points from trailing positions so far this campaign, Spurs looked like they weren’t going to take this lying down.
Alisson (30) was provided a scare by Ivan Perišić (33) when the Croatian’s header hit him at point blank range and came back off the post, then was quickly forced into a second save by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (27).
Ultimately those two attempts would remain the hosts’ closest to drawing level before closing out the first half by gifting Salah a second goal. Eric Dier (28) was at fault, misplacing a header back to his goalkeeper straight to Salah, who calmly chipped Lloris in no man’s land.
Whilst that last act was damaging, it didn’t quell the fire in Antonio Conte’s side, who emerged after HT seeking to make amends.
They began to repeatedly expose the Reds’ defensive frailties, but still the crucial next goal evaded them as Perišić hit the post again from Ryan Sessegnon’s cut-back, Dier saw a header saved, and Harry Kane (29) almost stole the ball from Alisson that would have granted him a free shot on goal.
They inevitably pulled one back in the 70th minute, in part thanks to the impact of substitute Dejan Kulusevski (22).
A minute after entering the fray the Swede teed up Kane, who escaped Ibrahima Konaté to tuck the ball in from a tight angle, notching his fifth goal contribution in the last home five H2Hs.
But despite the waves of Spurs’ attacks that followed in a nervy finale for the Reds it wasn’t enough to prevent Jürgen Klopp’s men from taking home three important points.
