Liverpool kept their slim hopes of Premier League glory just about alive with a gripping 4-2 win over top-four outsiders Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
The tie was ostensibly a foregone conclusion when strikes from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott flew into the back of the net in the opening hour, in which Spurs were nothing short of appalling.
However, after threatening a late turnaround in their North London derby defeat to Arsenal, Spurs belatedly began to play and cut the deficit in half through Son Heung-min and Richarlison, but once again, their efforts came too little too late.
While the third-placed Reds are still in with a shot of finishing first, they have likely only delayed the inevitable, as either Arsenal or Manchester City need only win one more match between them to officially eliminate Jurgen Klopp's side from contention.
Meanwhile, Tottenham's failure to capitalise on Aston Villa's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion leaves them seven points below the Lions in fifth place with one game in hand, forcing Ange Postecoglou to reflect on a fourth straight defeat as their Champions League hopes diminish further.
Salah back with a bang in dominant first half
Both Klopp and Postecoglou opted for just a solitary change from their recent disappointments, and the former well and truly buried the hatchet with Salah after his touchline row with the Egyptian, introducing the attacker back into his first XI.
In contrast, Postecoglou kept James Maddison in reserve and opted for Rodrigo Bentancur in a conservative 4-3-3 shape, a move which initially seemed to pay dividends as Spurs enjoyed the better of the opening five minutes.
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However, Liverpool turned the game on its head in a flash and handed Guglielmo Vicario his first scare in the eighth minute, when Salah's trivela cross-cum-shot clipped the bar before Spurs survived an episode of penalty-box pinball.
Two more moments passed before Vicario brilliantly denied Salah and then witnessed a well-positioned Cristian Romero stop Elliott's goal-bound rebound, but it was seemingly only a matter of time before the Reds' pressure paid off.
True enough, the hosts had their warranted opener in the 16th minute, when Salah - untracked by the ball-watching Emerson Royal - glided across to the back stick to meet Gakpo's delivery and managed to power a header into the net off of Vicario's fingertips.
In terms of a Tottenham response, there was not one, as a rampant Liverpool continued to pepper Vicario's goal with shots - some wayward, some saved and some blocked - but the insurance goal would arrive on the stroke of the break.
Salah was unsurprisingly involved again, forcing a save from Vicario after Robertson's layoff, but the Scottish left-back was on hand to tap in the rebound from a yard out.
The Reds could and possibly should have had more in the opening period, while Tottenham pair Emerson and Romero - the latter of whom played a red shirt onside for both goals - were involved in a verbal altercation as the teams trudged off, forcing Vicario to calm the Argentine down.
Salah makes Premier League history with Elliott assist
Harvey Elliott, what a strike! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8QDMajeSMH
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 5, 2024
Emerson and Romero's nightmare afternoon continued just five minutes into the second period, as the former was caught dilly-dallying close to his own goal and was robbed of the ball by Elliott, whose cross was on the money for Gakpo to head home without too much of an aerial challenge from Romero.
Klopp's side were not in any sort of merciful mood, though, and the pick of the bunch arrived from Elliott on the hour mark, as Salah teed up the surging England Under-21 international, who drove infield and unleashed a phenomenal 20-yard curler into the top corner.
Klopp could hardly have had a bigger smile etched across his face as Elliott's thunderbolt flew in, and the 20-year-old's strike was also a historic moment for Salah, who became the first player in Premier League history to score at least 10 goals and assist at least 10 in three straight seasons.
The German sported an emotionless expression when Spurs pulled one back in the 73rd minute, though, as Richarlison found himself in acres of space inside the box to deftly finish from Johnson's delivery.
At the very least, the Brazilian's consolation gave the gloomy Spurs crowd something to cheer and extended Liverpool's wait for another clean sheet, but hopes of an improbable turnaround were heightened in the 77th minute, when another well-worked move saw Son coolly find the bottom corner after being teed up by Richarlison.
The Tottenham captain's strike saw him register for the fifth Premier League game in a row against Liverpool, emulating a feat that only Jamie Vardy had previously achieved, and his helper Richarlison nearly engineered an unbelievable third in the 88th minute, but Joe Gomez produced an astonishing acrobatic clearance to hook his cross away from Johnson.
A second for Salah was ruled out in added time for offside, but there was no raining on the Reds' parade in Klopp's penultimate home game in charge; his last away match as Liverpool boss comes at Villa on May 13.
Two days before that encounter, an out-of-sorts Spurs must at least take a point away from their clash with Burnley if they are to stand a chance of pipping Villa to the fourth and final Champions League spot.
Ben Knapton
