PREMIER League, APRIL 27 2025
Díaz (16)
Mac Allister (24)
Gakpo (34)
Salah (63)
Udogie OG (69)
Solanke (12)
Liverpool sealed the Premier League title in style on a day of raucous celebration at Anfield. Needing just a point to be crowned champions with four games to spare, Arne Slot’s Reds thrashed a poor Tottenham to put the seal on a record-equalling 20th English league title. It was something of a double celebration, given that fans weren’t present to celebrate the club’s 19th championship, which had been won when Covid restrictions meant empty stadiums. And so a 35-year wait to witness a Liverpool league title was ended by Anfield’s 2024/25 vintage.
Former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke threw a temporary spanner in the works by scoring an early opener for Tottenham. From then on, it was virtually one-way traffic, as the players in red lined up to get their share of the glory. Indeed, Liverpool wasted good opportunities to score more goals, looking to tee up teammates in worse positions, to get in on the act. It mattered not, as the result – in this game and for several weeks the title race – was never really in doubt.
How the managers saw it
“The only moment I was emotional today was when we arrived at the stadium,” said Slot. “To see what it meant for the fans, what it meant for these people. For us to have a chance of winning it felt really special but immediately it also felt like: ‘We still have to do it.’ But I think everybody who was inside that bus felt that if the fans are with us, like they are, then it’s impossible for us to lose this game of football.”
“I thought we started the game well and sort of made things difficult for them,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou. “Even apart from the goal, I thought just in general we had decent territory. But once they got in front, with the atmosphere inside the stadium, fair to say it was going to be difficult for us to claw them back – and that’s how it proved.”
Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have picked out the tactical highlights from Liverpool’s coronation…
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SHOTS / ON TARGET
7/3
58%
POSSESSION
42%
23
ATTACKS INTO AREA
18
3.09
EXPECTED GOALS (XG)
0.56
Liverpool’s right inside channel
From Liverpool’s initial 4-2-3-1 shape, centre-forward Luis Díaz often moved to the left inside channel. In doing so, he created space for movements inside Tottenham’s left-back Destiny Udogie. There, Mohamed Salah made runs inside, as well as receiving wide and driving inwards with the ball, attacking the space. Ahead of Liverpool’s double pivot, number 10 Dominik Szoboszlai supported Salah’s play inside. Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold’s late overlapping runs complimented this inside right-channel play (below).
With their attacking waves, Liverpool put numbers between Tottenham’s lines. The home side formed an adapted front line of four, with Szoboszlai repeatedly joining the attack. This was too much for Tottenham as Liverpool continued to exploit the space inside Udogie, not least with their opening goal. Salah’s dribbles inwards worked the ball into dangerous areas, with Szoboszlai adapting his positioning to run beyond to receive (below), when appropriate. Szoboszlai’s low driven cross found Díaz to convert, as the central rotations and movements in the right inside channel helped Liverpool to repeatedly attack. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister also made forward runs, rotating when Szoboszlai dropped toward the ball.
In the second half, Liverpool found their spare central midfielder with increasing ease, against Spurs’ out-of-possession 4-4-2. When Szoboszlai was the spare player, Liverpool’s right side worked frequent attacks, with Salah probing. The right winger duly cut inside to score the fourth after combining with Szoboszlai, while Udogie’s own goal when defending Salah close to goal provided a fifth. Even when Spurs got players back, Salah’s work in the right inside channel, supported by Alexander-Arnold wide right and Szoboszlai just inside, helped create attacks. Díaz and Gakpo then attacked the box, supported by the double pivot (below).
High-pressing hosts
As well as their attacking play, Liverpool’s high press limited Tottenham’s build, while creating dangerous moments from higher regains. Where possible Díaz pressed from in to out, showing the away side to their right. From there, an aggressive jump towards the touchline locked Spurs in, with Liverpool’s midfield three aggressively marking their direct opponents. As Tottenham attempted to build away from this trap, naturally they tried to open their left side. Salah then pressed inwards, often leaving his full-back opponent, ready to jump on to Tottenham centre-back Ben Davies. Alexander-Arnold was then ready to press behind Salah (below), as Liverpool’s back line swung across the pitch.
This press continued in the second half; even in moments when Gakpo and Díaz swapped roles during the attacking phase, the press remained the same. After half-time, Liverpool placed more pressure directly on Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, usually starting from their left side. This allowed Salah to continue his inwards press to limit passes to Davies. With Liverpool’s midfielders still player-oriented in their marking – especially on those closest to Vicario – and Alexander-Arnold ready to jump behind Salah, high regains created additional attacks (below).
Vicario was under significant pressure on the ball, as were those around the Tottenham goalkeeper, as Liverpool nullified Spurs’ attempts to build. Liverpool were so confident in their press that Vicario was occasionally double-pressed – Liverpool’s front line jumped him from either side, rushing the goalkeeper as opposed to cutting passing lanes. Alexander-Arnold moved permanently high when defending, with Tottenham forced to play aimless balls forward (below). Liverpool’s back line dealt with these fairly easily, especially when Solanke was replaced on 67 minutes.
Slot made his own raft of substitutions, giving Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Wataru Endo and Darwin Núñez the chance to take part in Liverpool’s day of celebration. The Dutch coach has become the first manager from the Netherlands to win the Premier League title. He also follows Matt McQueen (1923), Joe Fagan (1984) and Kenny Dalglish (1986) in winning the league in his first season as Liverpool manager. Perhaps most impressively, though, he has already put a silver lining on his succession to the feted Jürgen Klopp.
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