In the limbic depths of the Premier League, or so it must seem from Chelsea’s viewpoint, Sunderland’s great escape must still somewhat wait. Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are entangled in a resplendent dogfight for the three remaining Champions League tickets, the gateway to club football’s most prestigious club competition.

In the minutiae of the intriguing sub-top narrative, with a 127 possible permutations, Liverpool-Tottenham Hotspur was another deciding 90 minutes. In a splendidly, old-fashioned season, full of unpredictability, Liverpool were holding the crisis baton, intermittently exchanging it with Arsenal in recent weeks, but they recovered from their recent regression with an empathic win against Tottenham, reasserting their position in this game of snakes and ladders that will last until the final day of the season.

Indeed, what crisis at Liverpool, what nosedive? This Liverpool outfit were not “bathing in self-pity”, but a barn-storming steamroller, a refreshing example of how to combine panache and pedigree, as they did with so much verve at the start of the season.

Last week against Hull, Liverpool were inept: The space in-between the lines, the timing of the passing, the counter-pressing, and overall performance, it was all wrong. In Carlo Ancelloti speak, the defeat was another “bad moment”. But that was all forgotten with a formidable 45 minutes against Tottenham.

‘Gegenpressing’ at its finest

From the first minute, it was gallery play from Liverpool – pace at precision, football, the modern way. They suffocated Tottenham with electric passing, one or two-touch passing, and electric finishing, courtesy of Sadio Mane. Back from the African Cup of Nations, the Senegalese was a constant scourge on the left channel for Tottenham defender Ben Davies, who capitulated, like a Padawan facing Darth Vader.

In the 16th minute, the Brazilian Philippe Coutinho dispossessed Victor Wanyama in midfield, Georgino Wijnaldum played a fine trough pass for Mane, who left Davies in his wake with an angled run, and struck the ball high into the next. Two minutes later, Eric Dier dithered on the ball, Mane robbed him. Hugo Lloris saved Adam Lallana’s attempt, the Frenchman then blocked Roberto Firmino’s rebound before Mane swiveled and smashed it in.

This was unrelenting from Liverpool. Tottenham scarily left their own half – not that they sat back, that is not Mauricio Pochettino’s philosophy, but they were simply forced to retreat. Moussa Dembele and Wanyama were sucked out of the match, with little time in possession. They had to back off.

And so the despondency surrounding Liverpool’s poor results evaporated. For much of 2017, it seemed as if Jurgen Klopp had squeezed the last drop of quality out of his squad, one perhaps devoid of that exact trait, sugar-coated by a blistering start to the season.

Another twist in the dogfight for Champions League spots

It is a fallacy that Liverpool are a superb team. At the start of the season Liverpool were blasting teams away, with a dynamic front four creating plenty of goals, often out of nowhere. But as the season progressed, teams dropped deeper and deeper. Liverpool have kept struggling against deep-sitting defences, not competent enough to play through them.

Liverpool are at their finest when playing in transition and when pressing. In the second half, Pochettino’s team responded by opting for the long ball, a cure for their midfield inferiority. The game became cagey and evenly balanced, with referee Adam Taylor handing out plenty of yellow cards, including a very rare one for Tottenham’s stalwart central defender Toby Alderweireld. Liverpool were content with the scoreline, and Tottenham, who brought on Harry Winks and their flopped Dutch striker Vincent Janssen, remained impotent. The visitors showed little urgency and found it difficult to pick a way through the red rearguard as Liverpool maintained their energy levels, with bodies charging at both ends.

And so, at the end of the 90 minutes, Chelsea and Antonio Conte could not suppress a smile. Their closest rival had been very generous again, succumbing so meekly at Anfield Road with two errors in the first half and little resistance in the second. For the remainder of the Premier League season, three maxims remain: Chelsea will finish top, the all-mighty dogfight for Champions League spots will intensify with five clubs separated by just three points, and oh yes, Sunderland’s great escape is still on. The Black Cats were pummelled 0-4 by Southampton.