Liverpool 1-2 Manchester City

Goals:
Coutinho 24'
Kompany 31'
Negredo 45+1'

There's a bit to be angry about, a bit to be depressed over, and a bit to be encouraged by.

First, the good news. Liverpool played well, matched City step for step for the majority of the match, even looked better than City for spells. Everyone gets beaten by City at home – it's the first time that City have failed to win by at least two goals at home this season – and City will have to travel to every other top either team except Chelsea in the second half of the season. Arsenal, Everton, United, Tottenham, and Newcastle were bullied at the City of Manchester Stadium. Liverpool were assuredly not bullied today.

The bad news: Liverpool conceded two Charmin soft goals – a set play and a counter attack, both starring Martin Skrtel – and missed a couple of glorious opportunities to equalize in the second half. Bullied or not, Liverpool still lost. The thin margins between a deserved point and a painful defeat.

With Flanagan not fit and Martin Kelly not even in the squad, Aly Cissokho made his first appearance since the 4-0 win against Fulham in early November. And City tormented that weak spot early and often, doubling up on the stand-in left back with Zabaleta and Nasri as Coutinho provided little assistance. It seemed a matter of time before City took advantage.

But it didn't last. Liverpool increasingly, incrementally asserted themselves after a scary start, and probably should have opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Or, more accurately, should have been allowed the chance to open the scoring, with Suarez's throughball finding Sterling's dangerous run piercing City's back line, put one-on-one with a scrambling Joe Hart.



Everyone in the stadium but the linesman and Lee Mason saw that he was onside. Sigh. Four minutes later, Coutinho's glorious pass nearly put Allen in, but a heavy touch allowed Lescott in to block. Still, City couldn't stop the bum rush. Another Suarez throughball, this chipped over City's back line, falling perfectly for Sterling, rounding Hart before Coutinho took over, smashing in from a marginally better angle.

But just like that, the match seesawed back. City immediately burst back into life, burst into Liverpool's half. Skrtel's last ditch block denied Toure, requiring a last ditch block because three Liverpool defenders were initially caught flat-footed. And of course, because Liverpool remain Liverpool, City's inevitable equalizer came on a set play, the seventh goal Liverpool have conceded from a dead ball situation this season. Skrtel, again the scapegoat, more focused on wrestling with Kompany than out-jumping Kompany, beaten to a header which gave Mignolet no chance.

City kept up the pressure, but without control or result – despite periods of dominance, neither side ever seemed in control – Navas blasting well over and Nasri tamely shooting at Mignolet from the top of the box the best two chances. Then, a Liverpool break nearly resulted in the goal of the season, absolutely magnificent interplay between Suarez, Sterling, and Coutinho when Lee Mason played advantage ending with the Brazilian's shot from 12 yards out denied by Hart.

But just before halftime, Liverpool were caught with their pants down, aimlessly tripping over those downed pants as a laugh track played in the background. Cissokho's cross to no one led to a blitzkreig counter-attack, with just Skrtel and Sakho left in Liverpool's half. Skrtel couldn't decide which City attacker to mark, eventually charging way out of position to try to close down Navas, leaving Sakho scrambling and Negredo wide open. Mignolet could have, should have prevented the goal, getting fingertips to the toed shot from the top of the box, but as it trickled over the line, you couldn't help but be much more aggrieved with Skrtel's "defending".

The second half saw City revert to a defensive shell, a vastly more expensive version of what Liverpool did in its three 1-0 wins to start the season. Henderson toe-poked a shot high and wide from the top of the box, Kompany cut out Johnson's dangerous cross, Suarez blasted a no-angle shot directly at Hart with three players in the 18-yard-box to aim at, an offside Henderson unwittingly blocked a Suarez effort on goal, Johnson couldn't control a fortunate rebound that would have seen him with an eight-yard shot at an open near post. The worst was in the 73rd minute, when Sterling ballooned a close-range effort from Suarez's early whipped cross. It wasn't a sitter, trying to run onto and finish a fierce, bouncing cross, but it was a clear-cut opportunity.

You don't often get that many chances, even if most were half-chances, at Manchester City. Liverpool will obviously rue not being able to take at least one of them. Thin margins, and all that.

With a 2-1 lead, Manchester City brought on Milner, Dzeko, and Javi Garcia to try to protect the result. £70m+ worth of players, just waiting around to be used off the bench. Chasing the game, Liverpool brought on on-loan Victor Moses and £7m Iago Aspas. Neither Moses nor Aspas have played in a meaningful match since the former started in the loss at Hull, having been used as human victory cigars a couple of times this month. And that's after having to start on-loan Cissokho because three other fullbacks were unavailable. That's the difference between Manchester City and Liverpool at the moment, and it's a credit to both Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers that Liverpool were even in position to get something from today's match.

But the substitutions had little effect, Liverpool limited to a 35-yard Suarez free kick and three hopeful penalty shouts in an attempt to replicate the scoreline from both meetings last season. Lee Mason wholly unsurprisingly, ignored all three, as City did what Liverpool couldn't in the first half. Don't concede because you don't make mistakes. Sometimes, it really is that simple.

So yes, it's an annoying, if not entirely unexpected, result. Liverpool's charge towards finishing in the top four will most likely be decided by other matches, first and foremost Sunday's trip to Chelsea. But, even in defeat, Liverpool proved they belonged in the discussion, belonged in the battle. Despite the mistakes, despite disappointing performances from a few key players (*glares at Skrtel and Johnson*), despite the big names missing, despite the disparity in finances.

That's assuredly progress, even if it is small consolation.

Liverpool at Manchester City 12.26.13

12:30pm ET, live in the US on NBC Sports

Last four head-to-head:
2-2 (a) 02.03.13
2-2 (h) 08.26.12
2-2 (h; League Cup) 01.25.12
1-0 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 01.11.12

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-1 Cardiff (h); 5-0 Tottenham (a); 4-1 West Ham (h)
City: 4-2 Fulham (a); 3-1 Leicester (a); 6-3 Arsenal (h)

Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Suarez 19; Sturridge 9; Gerrard, Sterling 3; Coutinho, Flanagan, Henderson, Moses, Sakho, Skrtel 1
City: Agüero 13; Toure 9; Negredo 7; Nasri, Silva 4; Dzeko, Navas 3; Fernandinho 2; Kompany, Milner 1

Referee: Lee Mason

Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Kelly Skrtel Sakho Johnson
Lucas
Henderson Allen
Sterling Suarez Coutinho

Gerrard, Sturridge, Enrique, and most likely Flanagan are out for Liverpool. Agüero, Nastasic, Richards, and most likely Zabaleta and Jovetic are out for Manchester City.

The festive period. Match after match after match. Squads pushed to the limit. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Other than the probable absence of Jon Flanalahm thanks to a hamstring issue, I can't see any Liverpool changes. If it ain't broke, etc. There seems a small chance that Rodgers could rearrange things in an attempt to stifle City – change the center-back pairing or revert to three at the back – but he usually prefers to stick with a winning side, rotation and rest be damned. Given the way Liverpool have performed in the last two matches, I'd be surprised if it were otherwise.

And City will be difficult to stifle. They're the league's top scorers, the only club who've scored more than Liverpool, the only club with a better goal difference than Liverpool. They've won eight out of eight matches at home this season, scoring 35 while conceding just five. They've tallied six against Arsenal and Tottenham, four against United and Newcastle, and three against Everton at the City of Manchester Stadium. Yikes. To say the absolute least.

Pellegrini's side will line up in some variation of 4-2-3-1. Lately, it's been more of the 4-2-2-2 variety, with Negredo lurking off Dzeko or Agüero, Nasri and Silva wide, and Toure and Fernandinho taking turns bombing forward from midfield. And because of City's injuries, that set up seems likely tomorrow. Hart, returned to favor, in goal; Kompany and Demichelis at center-back, Toure and Fernandinho in midfield; Nasri, Negredo, and Silva in the attacking line of three; and Dzeko up top. With both Zabaleta and Richards missing, Clichy played at right-back, with Kolarov on the opposite flank, in the last match against Fulham. If the Argentinean is still unavailable, that'll probably be the case tomorrow as well.

Pellegrini could be slightly more conservative, playing either Negredo or Dzeko as the lone striker, bringing in Navas or Milner instead – Navas could pose a difficult challenge for whichever right-footed player lines up at left-back – with Silva lining up more centrally, or even pushing Toure further forward with Javi Garcia next to Fernandinho, but that seems the only potential change from last week's lineup.

It's been a Merry Christmas with Liverpool top of the league, something that hasn't happened in far too long, something that we should enjoy and celebrate after the torture and travails of the last few years. But it doesn't mean as much as we'd like given the next two matches to come. These two fixtures, starting with tomorrow's trip to Manchester, will go a long way towards deciding whether the league standing is a lie, whether Liverpool truly are contenders or pretenders.

Visualized: Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff

Previous Match Infographics: Tottenham (a), West Ham (h), Norwich (h), Hull City (a), Everton (a), Fulham (h), Arsenal (a), West Brom (h), Newcastle (a), Crystal Palace (h), Sunderland (a), Southampton (h), Swansea (a), Manchester United (h), Aston Villa (a), Stoke (h)

As always, match data from Stats Zone and Squawka.


Fairly standard fare. Liverpool dominated possession, tempo, and tenor, Liverpool made an early breakthrough thanks to Suarez's brilliance, Liverpool cruised. Fairly standard fare will suffice just fine at this point of the season.

Cardiff attempted and completed the fewest passes, with the lowest accuracy, of any Liverpool opponent so far this season. It's the second lowest passing total by a Liverpool opponent since Rodgers became manager, with Villa attempting just 211 passes, completing 146, in their 3-1 win at Anfield a year ago. That was also the only match where Liverpool had more possession in a single half than they did in the first half on Saturday, with 75.8% possession in the second half against Villa.

Wait. You're right. I shouldn't have mentioned that monstrosity of a match. I'm sorry.

Jordan Henderson tallied his fourth and fifth assists of the season, setting up both of Suarez's goals. Henderson has assisted at least one of Suarez's goals in three consecutive matches: Liverpool fourth against West Ham, the first goal at Tottenham, and the two goals on Saturday.

All 5 of Henderson's assists in 2013/14 have been for Suárez. No player has set up another for as many goals in the PL this season #LFC

— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) December 22, 2013

Liverpool's most frequent assist-scorer combination last season was Jose Enrique setting up Suarez. It happened four times. Henderson-to-Suarez has already surpassed that, in just 12 games.

It's been excellent to see the two increasingly on the same wavelength in the opposition half with Henderson playing a more influential, more attacking role in Gerrard's absence.



As hoped, the midfield performed almost as effectively as it did against Tottenham, with the difference most due to Cardiff's vastly improved organization. Henderson, Allen, and Lucas all know their roles, and mesh together excellently.



That Henderson's added a finishing touch – whether in his goal against Tottenham or the assists in both matches – has been the most important feature, or at least the feature that most worried me prior to these two matches, but all three midfielders continue to play the same harmonious tune.

Meanwhile, five of Cardiff's eight chances created came from set plays. It's good that Liverpool limited the opposition to just eight chances. It's quite good that they were limited to just three from open play. But it's bad that Cardiff created five chances from 10 set plays in Liverpool's defensive half, creating chances on three of the five corners and two of the five free kicks.

Six of the 19 goals that Liverpool have conceded so far this campaign have come from set plays. That's 31.6%. That's terrible. And that doesn't include goals by Everton and Hull which came after Liverpool failed to clear a free kick.

Saturday's consolation was especially abhorrent.



Where's Skrtel going? Why is Sakho left alone against two players at the back post? Liverpool conceded because of two mistakes: Skrtel broke the offside trap, someone forgot who he was marking. I assume the marking broke down because Kelly had just come on, changing the defensive assignments, but that's little excuse (if it's even correct). Regardless, these should be easily remedied mistakes. But we're still seeing far too many mistakes when defending set plays, and better sides will undoubtedly punish Liverpool for it.

Incidentally, after a 4-2 win over Fulham on Saturday where they scored from a corner and direct free kick, Manchester City now have 11 goals from set plays this season. Which is tied for the most in the league with Liverpool.

Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff

Goals:
Suarez 25' 45'
Sterling 42'
Mutch 58'

Another three points for Liverpool, a couple more records for Luis Suarez. It certainly wasn't all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, especially in the second half, but it was enough. And over the festive period, considering Liverpool's schedule over the festive period, enough is enough.

It took Liverpool a few minutes to get going, with Cardiff both pressing effectively and getting numbers behind the ball. And the away side were the first to threaten the opposition's goal, Noone dangerous on the counter, one-on-one with Sakho, but Mignolet denied his fierce left-footed shot. Thankfully, Suarez soon posted his "GENIUS AT WORK" sign atop Cardiff's penalty box, scoring twice and setting up one in a 20-minute span.

From the 18th minute until halftime, responding to Cardiff's counter-attacking chance, Liverpool were unbelievable. Three goals doesn't do that spell justice; Liverpool really were as good as they were against Tottenham over that period. And, once again, Suarez and Henderson were at the epicenter, linking up for all three goals. The first saw delightful interplay between Suarez, Henderson, and Allen: the two midfielders both getting forward, Allen's pass to Henderson at the top of Cardiff's penalty area, Henderson's delightful cross to Suarez posted just inside the box, volleyed into the ground and unsaveable.

Coutinho hit the foot of the post following Suarez's short corner, Skrtel skied a free header from a free kick, Flanagan was denied a goal in a second successive match by a goal-line clearance, two Liverpool throughballs in 30 seconds put Sterling and Johnson one-on-one with the keeper, but the former saw his shot saved, the latter's heavy touch allowed Marshall to come out and smother.

And with all those chances squandered and halftime imminent, you couldn't help but wonder how Liverpool would be punished after the interval. Ha. Five minutes left. Still time for two more goals. The first was a picture book blitzkrieg break: Henderson's toe poked long ball releasing Suarez, unselfishly squared for an apparently-just-onside-but-maybe-a-step-offside Sterling. Three minutes later, Suarez and Flanagan combined to charge down the left, Henderson's pressing ensured Liverpool kept possession despite Flanagan's off-target pass, and the midfielder's oh-lord-that's-clever back heel gave Suarez the bit of space to allow a science-defying curler from 20 yards. Two Henderson back heels leading to Liverpool goals in two consecutive games. That's so delicious it has to be fattening.

Also, Luis Suarez. 12 games, 19 goals, 5 assists. Wow. Just wow.

PL RECORD: Luis SUAREZ becomes the first player to score at least TWO goals in FOUR PL matches in a row. LIV 3-0 CAR (HT) #lfc

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) December 21, 2013

Luis Suarez becomes the first player to score 10 Premier League goals in a calendar month - and he's still got 2 more games after this one!

— Eurosport.com EN (@EurosportCom_EN) December 21, 2013

I have no words that'll suffice. None.

So, three-nil, game over. Much like the match at Palace, Liverpool seemed satisfied when hitting halftime up three. Which is somewhat understandable with City and Chelsea on the horizon, but still somewhat annoying, especially when Liverpool concede on a set play and Skrtel could have been called for two penalties.

Today's set play concession might have been a new low. To be fair, Liverpool had just made its first substitution, replacing Flanagan with Kelly and Johnson going to left-back, so defensive assignments may have gotten mucked up. But that's little excuse for absolutely no one marking Jordan Mutch, wide open at the back post, heading Whittingham's free kick past a helpless Mignolet. And Cardiff kept Liverpool on the back foot for the next 15 minutes, kept winning and threatening from free kicks and corners.

Mackay's halftime talk clearly raised Cardiff's game, Mackay's substitutions – Campbell and Kim for Odemwingie and Medel – made Cardiff more threatening. That he'll inevitably be fired before Cardiff's next match boggles the mind. But Liverpool did enough to prevent a second which would really get nerves jangling. And Liverpool finally got back on track by the 75th minute, denied a fourth when Suarez hit the post, fired wide, and had an effort saved by Marshall. No third hat-trick of the season for you. You'll have to settle for the 19 goals and five assists in 12 games, registering a goal or assist once every 45 minutes in the league this season. Which is more goals than 11 Premiership sides have scored in total.

As against Tottenham, Liverpool's midfield continued to impress with these players in this shape. And Henderson continued to be the standout, responsible for two assists in an advanced role, even though he's struggled in an advanced role against deep defenses in the past. Allen is a perfect foil, excellent at keeping possession and moving intelligently, smart with both passing and positioning. Sterling and Flanagan also stood out – surprise, surprise, young players get better and better with more, consistent match time. Skrtel frightened at times, Johnson remains underwhelming (to say the absolute least), Coutinho probably needs to stop shooting from distance, and Lucas has had better games, but Liverpool were still more than deserving of the win.

And Suarez remains first among equals. When he's in this form, few sides will stop Liverpool from running riot. Enjoy your new contract, Luis. It's worth every last cent.

Liverpool v Cardiff 12.21.13

7:45am ET, live in the US on NBC Sports

Last four head-to-head:
2-2 [3-2 on penalties] Liverpool (n; League Cup) 02.26.12
2-1 Liverpool (h; League Cup) 10.31.07
0-4 Cardiff (h) 12.19.59
2-3 Cardiff (a) 08.22.59

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 5-0 Tottenham (a); 4-1 West Ham (h); 5-1 Norwich (h)
Cardiff: 1-0 West Brom (h); 0-2 Palace (a); 0-0 Stoke (a)

Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Suarez 17; Sturridge 9; Gerrard 3; Sterling 2; Coutinho, Flanagan, Henderson, Moses, Sakho, Skrtel 1
Cardiff: Campbell 3; Caulker, Mutch, Whittingham 2; Kim, Gunnarsson, Odemwingie 1

Referee: Lee Probert

Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Johnson Skrtel Sakho Flanagan
Lucas
Henderson Allen
Sterling Suarez Coutinho

I'd be very surprised if Liverpool's XI looked any different than last Sunday's.

It worked to near-perfection, there have been six days since Liverpool's last match, and there will be four more before the Boxing Day trip to City. Gerrard, Sturridge, and Enrique are all still out injured, and will be for a few more weeks.

However, Liverpool will be facing a side completely different from Tottenham. There will be no high back line, no wide open spaces behind a broken offside trap. Caulker and Turner will sit far deeper, camped just outside their penalty box, supported by Medel nipping at Liverpool ankles across the length and breadth of Cardiff's half. Johnson will need to have a much more dynamic game getting forward from fullback, but the biggest test would be of Henderson. He's struggled in an attacking midfield role against deep defenses, and his runs almost certainly won't be as effective as they were on Sunday.

But Liverpool's performance against Tottenham merits another go-around – Rodgers often subscribes to the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' school of management – and will help prove whether it's a formation for the future or a one-off fluke.

Also, I will be incredibly disappointed in Suarez doesn't mark his new contract with at least one goal. Fair warning.

It seems a handy time to play Cardiff at Anfield, with the traveling side amidst self-inflicted turmoil. Malky Mackay is still the manager, for now, supposedly given an ultimatum by the owner to resign or be fired, but has been allowed to take charge of tomorrow's game. So either Cardiff implodes, or the players respond with a magnificent performance to support their embattled manager. Crap. It's probably going to be the latter, isn't it? Super. Maybe it's not a handy time to play Cardiff.

The "Dragons'" (read: Bluebirds') last two matches seem a decent guide as to how Cardiff will play tomorrow. Away to Palace, Cardiff lined up in a more defensive 4-4-1-1, packing the midfield with Medel, Kim, Whittingham, Cowie, and Mutch, with Campbell up front on his own. And Cardiff lost 0-2, conceding an early goal then unable to get back into the game.

In contrast, Mackey chose one of his most-attacking XIs in the next match against West Brom at home, and reaped a 1-0 win as a reward, a result which cost Steve Clarke his job. More a 4-1-3-2 formation, with Noone, Mutch, and Whittingham ahead of Medel, and both Campbell and Odemwingie up front.

Despite the poor result, I suspect Cardiff's XI will look more like the one which lost at Palace. More defensive, more compact, with the hopes of preventing the early goal which ruined the strategy at Palace. Especially since Liverpool thrives when Liverpool scores early. Which would make the XI something like: Marshall; Theophile-Catherine, Caulker, Turner, John; Cowie, Medel, Whittingham, Kim; Mutch; Campbell. Craig Bellamy is Cardiff's only injury doubt, perpetually struggling with the knee problems that have plagued him over the last few seasons, but knowing Craig, he'll probably do all he can to at least make the bench.

Only Crystal Palace have scored fewer goals than Cardiff this season, 11 to Cardiff's 12 (Sunderland have also scored 12). But five of Cardiff's 12 goals – 41.7% – have come from set plays, tied for the highest proportion in the league along with Sunderland. Liverpool have scored the most set play goals this season, but they only account for 28.2% of all goals. Whittingham is excellent on dead ball situations, either taking direct free kicks or crossing into the box. And Liverpool remain vulnerable on set plays, no matter who plays in defense. Five of the 18 that Liverpool have conceded (27.8%) have come from set plays, and that doesn't include goals by Everton and Hull which came after Liverpool failed to clear a free kick.

I'll be honest. Even though Liverpool will be at Anfield, I can't get the Hull performance out of my head. The home side cannot cannot cannot be complacent. Liverpool can't turn up expecting to win, can't already be thinking about Christmas dinner and the next two matches at City and Chelsea. The last time Liverpool underestimated Cardiff was the last time Liverpool faced Cardiff, needing extra-time and penalties to lift Liverpool's first trophy in six seasons.

It should go without saying, but these matches are just as important as the next two. Three points are three points are three points. Hopefully, the side will have learned something from the Hull debacle.

Timeline: Luis Suarez's Premier League Goals

Ben Pugsley of StatsBomb – a website you need to be reading and following on Twitter; this is not a suggestion, it's a requirement – published an excellent, excellent article on Suarez's scoring rate today. It (both the article and Suarez's scoring rate) is outstanding. There's little I can add to it.

However, being the visual learner that I am, I wanted another chart to emphasize just how much Suarez's scoring rate has improved during his Liverpool tenure. So I made one.


As usual, click to open larger version in new window

Holy wow.

After 44 league appearances, Suarez had 15 goals. After 88, he's got 55.

It goes without saying, but long may it continue.

(PS: If you haven't clicked on the link to that StatsBomb article yet, you're fired. Pack your desk and security will escort you out.)

Visualized: Liverpool 5-0 Tottenham

Previous Match Infographics: West Ham (h), Norwich (h), Hull City (a), Everton (a), Fulham (h), Arsenal (a), West Brom (h), Newcastle (a), Crystal Palace (h), Sunderland (a), Southampton (h), Swansea (a), Manchester United (h), Aston Villa (a), Stoke (h)

As always, match data from Stats Zone and Squawka.




I have no idea what Spurs' defense is doing here. Capoue's so far out of position he might as well be in the dressing room. Dawson's dropped behind every other defender, aware of Henderson's dangerous run, and makes the interception, but no one's in position to clear; everyone else was beaten all ends up by the throughball. And it leads to this.



Good luck with that, Kyle Walker.



Oh hey, 'sup, just taking out your entire unorganized defense with one long cross-field pass. Maybe someone thinks about marking Henderson? He keeps making all these runs from midfield. No?



And throughball. Oh look, there's Henderson again.



And throughball.



And throughball. Andre Villas-Boas, what do you think?



Yesterday's match was a story of a high line taken out by long passes over the top and throughballs, offside traps beaten like a red-headed step-mule who stole something. Enjoy the above infographic. Revel in the statistical dominance. But this biggest reason for this utter shellacking was Tottenham's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad defense. It is not a clever idea to play such a high line against the likes of Suarez and Liverpool, especially when missing your top three center-backs and top two left-backs, and using a defensive midfielder as a makeshift center-back. And now Villas-Boas is out of a job.

Believe me, that's not to downplay Liverpool's performance. Because that's the last thing I want to do. There's often too much "Liverpool only romped because the opposition was so bad" after the big wins over the last year. I'm guilty of it as well. It's one thing when demolishing a substandard Fulham or Palace, or when Suarez single-handedly disembowels Norwich. But yesterday was against a Tottenham side that's finished above Liverpool in each of the last four seasons, who's beaten Liverpool on this ground in each of the last six meetings. I don't care how much Villas-Boas side has struggled this season, how inane the defensive tactics were. That happened against Tottenham and that was marvelous.

No one outfield player dominated possession for Liverpool. Henderson attempted the most passes with 63, Sterling the fewest with 29, but every other outfield starter attempted between 35 and 55. It's evident in StatsZone's 'Player Influence' chart, where no name stands out. Compare that passing to, say, the big wins over Norwich, where the midfield troika monopolized the ball, or Fulham, where six players attempted at least 70 passes. Yesterday's win truly seemed much more of a team performance.

But, again, Suarez was the star of stars, primus inter pares. Two goals and two assists, as well as the shot which directly led to Henderson's rebound for Liverpool's second. Lost amongst the match's brilliance, lost amongst Flanagan's undeniably enjoyable first goal for the club, was just how good the finish for his second was. And he made it look routine, feel routine.

Liverpool have scored 34 goals since Suarez became available after missing the first five matches through suspension. 34 goals in 11 matches. He's been directly involved in 21 of them, with 17 goals and 4 assists, but there's another five goals he set up but doesn't get statistical credit for: his shot yesterday rebounding for Henderson's goal; deflected shots that led to Amorebieta and Demel's own goals and Coutinho's opener against Everton; winning the penalty against Newcastle. Add those five, and that's a direct, tangible contribution to 76.4% of Liverpool's goals in the matches he's played in. That's a staggering total.

There were 24 passes, over a little more than a minute, prior to Liverpool's fifth goal. Every Liverpool player touched the ball at least once, everyone aside from Johnson and Suarez got it back at least a second time. 21 of those passes came in Liverpool's half before Sterling's speedy dribble into the final third, a fortunate cross-field pass, Suarez's jink and throughball, Sterling wide open and able to pass it into the back of the net. Skrtel and Coutinho each received and played four passes in the build-up, Henderson and Flanagan three. Yes, Spurs were thoroughly, thoroughly beaten by this point, but that only makes it a little less enjoyable. It was a fitting capstone to the day's proceedings. Death by football spelled out to the last letter.

In addition to putting none of their nine shots on target – as written in yesterday's match review, for the first time at White Hart Lane since Opta starting collecting data in 2006-07 – Tottenham only created five chances, by far the lowest total of the season. They'd been averaging 13.7 per match prior to yesterday. Like Liverpool in 2011-12, creating chances hadn't been the problem, it's converting them. And yes, that's meant to be the damning comparison it seems. But they couldn't do either yesterday, thanks in large part to Liverpool's midfield and defense.

Meanwhile, none of Liverpool's 14 chances created came from out wide. All were clustered through the middle, most in front of the box, another indictment of Spurs' defending. But part of the reason was also Liverpool's woefulness from set plays. That looks to be the biggest thing Liverpool will miss during Gerrard's absence, and could well be very important against teams that defend better than Spurs did.

Liverpool 5-0 Tottenham

Goals:
Suarez 18' 84'
Henderson 40'
Flanagan 75'
Sterling 89'

That was unexpected. And it's one way to avenge all the woe at White Hart Lane over the last five years.

Considering the opposition, that's almost certainly the best Liverpool performance I've seen since Rodgers became manager, but I also might be a little biased at the moment. Because Liverpool deserved every inch of that.

Liverpool's formation and tactics wholly blunted Tottenham's threat on Tottenham's ground. Liverpool's midfield blunted the best part of Tottenham's team. Henderson, Allen, and Sterling each played their best match for the club. Suarez was Suarez, in all his bomb-throwing, mustache twirling glory. That was Liverpool's first clean sheet in five weeks and just the second away clean sheet this season, since beating Villa 1-0 in the second match of the season. Spurs registered zero shots on target today. Zero.

0 - This was the first time since Opta started full collection in 2006/07 that Spurs have failed to have a shot on target at home. Bleak.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 15, 2013

Well then.

What Liverpool lost on set plays with Gerrard absent was more than made up by the vastly improved work rate in the center of the park. Sure, Liverpool didn't create a single chance from a set piece, but Henderson, Allen, and Lucas' open play ability was fair compensation. The inverted triangle worked to perfection, with Henderson and Allen pressing Spurs into mistakes, keeping Sandro and Dembele from setting the tone, constantly testing Tottenham's unfathomably high back line. Spurs simply could not get a foothold in the match. At all. Those three will have to do it more than once before it's confirmation that Liverpool are a better team without Gerrard, but that was a hell of a start.

Liverpool took the game to Tottenham from the opening whistle, given a platform for dominance by the incredibly impressive midfield. Once again, an early goal set the tone. Once again, it came from Suarez, well-supported by Henderson and Sterling. But it was a back-to-front team goal. Skrtel won Spurs' hoofed ball from their own half in the air; Johnson, Allen, Sterling, and Suarez – especially Sterling – kept possession down Liverpool's right, continuing the constant torment of Tottenham's left-back Naughton before Suarez's attempted throughball for Henderson. Dawson intercepted, but Henderson kept up the pressure, winning the ball back before a clever lay-off to Suarez, charging into the box, stepping around Walker's rash diving tackle, coolly placing a left-footed shot past Lloris.

Tottenham then had a couple of chances when getting play out wide and crossing into the box, but Liverpool defended its area admirably; the only truly threatening moment was when Holtby – on in place of Sandro through injury – placed a shot wide just before Liverpool's second goal. Again, Henderson, Sterling, and Suarez were central to it: Suarez holding up play, Sterling's wonderful pass over the top destroying Spurs' high back line, laid off to Henderson by Coutinho. Lloris made two immaculate saves, denying Henderson and Suarez, but couldn't prevent the second rebound, well-placed just inside the post after Henderson refused to give up. Liverpool more than merited its 2-0 halftime lead, which could have been more had Coutinho's 28th minute strike not rebounded off the crossbar.

And Liverpool started the second half the same way they finished the first, denied another goal by the goal frame as Sakho headed a point blank shot onto the post from Sterling's cross. But from there, Tottenham grew into the game. Grew into the game without threat, but grew into the game nonetheless. And one of Villas-Boas' remedies did work to an extent, as bringing on Zeke Fryers for Naughton limited Liverpool down the dominant flank. Tottenham still failed to test Mignolet, Liverpool continued to do well to deny shots from dangerous positions, but the home side did boss possession for the first 18 minutes of the half.

But frustration continued to mount, in the stands and on the pitch. And it boiled over through Paulinho, karate kicking Suarez in the chest after the Uruguayan nipped the ball out of his reach. Jon Moss was perfectly placed and Jon Moss is not Howard Webb, so Paulinho walked, rightfully shown an immediate red card.

And that was the end of the game as a contest. Villas-Boas couldn't even shift into damage control having already made three substitutions. The next 30 minutes were sheer exhilarating enjoyment, highlighted by Flanagan's first goal for the club, a wonderful first time shot from Suarez's cross, again released by Henderson, with the woodwork making some amends by directing the blast down and over the line. But Suarez and Sterling also added further gloss: Suarez with a sumptuous chip over Lloris set up by Luis Alberto, Sterling breaking through Tottenham's offside trap yet again thanks to Suarez's throughball.

A 5-0 win seems fitting vengeance for the 0-4 shellacking Liverpool suffered on this ground in September 2011, an exhaustive exorcism of all White Hart Lane's demons. It's going to be incredibly hard for Liverpool to improve on today's performance, but I'd certainly settle for replicating it. That was the absolute best possible way that Liverpool could have started the festive period.