Tottenham were thrashed 6-3 by league leaders Liverpool in another chaotic and riotously entertaining game from Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Trailing 2-0 to goals from Luiz Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister, James Maddison halved the deficit for the hosts in the 41st minute, only for Dominik Szoboszlai to restore Liverpool’s cushion in first-half stoppage-time.
A Mohamed Salah double put Arne Slot's side firmly in control at 5-1 up after the break but goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke gave Spurs hope.
Diaz then scored again five minutes from time to seal the points for the rampant Reds.
Here are three Spurs talking points from the match...
Hard to draw firm conclusions from Spurs’ drubbing
Spurs were shredded in their biggest defeat of the season (before today, all seven of their league defeats had been by a single goal) on another wild night for Postecoglou’s side.
Their rally at 5-1 down was spirited and might even have led to a dramatic finale if they had scored again but, equally, Liverpool could have hit double figures, with Fraser Forster beaten six times but making several fine saves.
In many respects, though, this game felt like the inverse of Spurs’ 5-0 win over bottom club Southampton last weekend.
Just as it was difficult to draw many firm conclusions from their stroll at St. Mary’s, so it was hard to come away with any definitive takeaways from a 6-3 drubbing by the league leaders.
Spurs went into the game with eight first-team players unavailable and Destiny Udogie not fit to start for the second game running, leaving Postecoglou forced to name an unchanged side from Thursday night’s 4-3 win over Manchester United.
Archie Gray, 18, played out of position at centre-back again and Djed Spence filled in at left-back on his second Premier League start – up against Salah.
Liverpool, by contrast, made seven changes from their own Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Saints and had a day’s more rest than Postecoglou’s side. It showed.
Spurs struggled to match the intensity of their impressive first-half displays against big-six rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and United, and looked increasingly jaded at the start of their second half as Liverpool racked up the goals.
Nine of their XI were starting for a third time in a week (while Pedro Porro played the majority of the game against Saints after an early injury), and it was perhaps no surprise that Yves Bissouma – suspended last weekend – and the tireless Kulusevski were their standout players.
There are, of course, always questions of Postecoglou’s unique approach but a heavy defeat to Liverpool felt primarily like a consequence of an exhausted Spurs side facing the best attacking side in Europe at the moment.
The win over Southampton did not prove Spurs are ‘back’ but neither does this indicate that they are finished.
Better to judge Spurs with a fit squad in the New Year – if they ever get to that point.
Spurs’ game management plays into Liverpool hands
That said, it is entirely reasonable to question how Spurs managed the game at times, particularly at the end of the first half.
Maddison halved the deficit with a really smart finish in the 41st minute and if Spurs had gone in at the interval at 2-1 and with a degree of momentum, they might have been able to make more of a game in the second half, perhaps even nicked a quick equaliser in front of the South Stand and put the wind up Liverpool.
Postecoglou demands his side never stop attacking but could they have just sat on Maddison’s goal for five minutes and made it to the break?
Instead, they kept pushing and Szoboszlai’s goal in first-half stoppage-time restored Liverpool’s cushion, and set up their romp into a 5-1 lead after the break.
Postecoglou believes demanding his side play his way at all times will eventually benefit the club but their approach at times must be deeply frustrating for supporters, who would take a dull five minutes if it meant more of a chance in the second half.
No one is asking Spurs to sit in a low block for an hour or wind down the clock in the first half, but simply try to take the sting out of the game, if possible.
Perhaps that is easier said than done against this Liverpool team but if Spurs had slowed the game down and taken stock of the situation at 2-1, they may have found themseles in a stronger position at the start of the second half.
Harsh lesson for Spurs’ makeshift back four
For the third game running, Radu Dragusin, Gray and Spence lined up in a cobbled-together Spurs defence in front of back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
If there was encouragement to take from the way they played against Southampton and even for long periods of the win over United midweek, this was a chastening night for Spurs' back-up defenders.
Liverpool’s brilliant front line, led by Salah and supported by a brilliant trio midfield runners, tore through Spurs repeatedly, and only wasteful finishing and some smart saves by Forster kept the visitors’ goals to six.
Dragusin particularly struggled, losing a crucial header against Szoboszlai on the halfway line ahead of Liverpool’s crucial third goal, while, for Spence and Gray, this was easily the toughest night of their short careers.
Spurs hope to welcome back Ben Davies in the next game or two but the sooner Udogie, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven can return, the better for Postecoglou.