Liverpool just six games away from the title after Spurs win

Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0. Liverpool are the new leaders of the Premier League after brushing aside an inept Spurs at Anfield on Sunday. With neither Chelsea nor Manchester City managing to win on Saturday, the Reds knew they had a wonderful opportunity to get their noses ahead in the title race and they did so in spectacular style.

Liverpool now lead Chelsea (who suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace) by two points and are four clear of City, though the Sky Blues remain slim favourites to lift the title as they have two games in hand on their rivals. Nonetheless, their 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Saturday evening has handed the initiative back to Liverpool in what promises to be a fascinating climax to the season.

The equation for the Anfield faithful is now a simple one. If Liverpool win their remaining six games they will win the title. However, those games include home matches against Chelsea and, before that, Man City, in what now looks like the title decider on 13 April.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"To perform like we did from the first minute was immense," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, reflecting on another convincing victory. "We have won eight games in a row and we will enjoy that. It's just about going back to work next week and we have a tough game against West Ham next."

But the Hammers won't stand a chance if Liverpool continue their rich vein of form. They were one up after two minutes when Spurs defender Younes Kaboul put the ball into his own net and Luis Suarez made it 2-0 midway through the first half. Philippe Coutinho added a third goal ten minutes into the second period and the fourth came courtesy of a Jordan Henderson free-kick.

"We have played a number of systems this season, the last four games we played a diamond - today it was 4-3-3," explained Rodgers. "We have got flexibility and that is what we are trying to develop and the players are comfortable with that."

The defeat leaves Tottenham in sixth spot, four points adrift of Everton and with the Toffees having the added advantage of a game in hand. They now have Arsenal in their sights with the Gunners travelling to Goodison Park next Sunday for a game that will have a huge bearing on who finishes fourth and qualifies for the Champions League.

For Liverpool, however, it's first not fourth that is the target, and even Rodgers dispensed with his customary caution in the wake of Sunday's dominant display. "Today we answered the question about pressure," he declared. "We like to dominate the ball and you saw that today, the movement, confidence and composure was good. We fight as a team to get the ball back and overall I was very proud of the team."

Asked what he thought about the possibility of guiding Liverpool to their first title since 1990, Rodgers replied: "The dream is for our supporters, they want to win the title. It has been a long time but it's not in my thinking. We just need to prepare and do well and if we do that, we will win games."