Sadio Mane’s sizzling speed proved to be too much for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, as Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners on the night, effectively ending the capital club’s slim chances of challenging for the Premier League title.

With leaders Chelsea not due to play till Sunday, Spurs had a golden chance to decrease the deficit to six points. And against a side that were winless in 2017, they were fancying their chances despite a bit of a injury-crisis in their defence.

And that uneasiness in the back four was ruthlessly exploited by the fleet-footed Mane, who scored two goals in a span of two first-half minutes to leave Spurs shellshocked.

He opened the scoring as early as the 16th minute, latching on to Giorginio Winjaldum’s smart through ball, before finishing emphatically beyond a Hugo Lloris to up the mood at a sombre Anfield.

After being winless in the Premier League since defeating Manchester City in December and exiting two domestic cups since then, the Reds were in sore need of a positive result against a direct rival.

And when Mane scored the game’s second in the 18th minute, Anfield was roaring once again. Eric Dier was dawdling with the ball in his own half and Mane picked his pocket and sped off towards the goal before squaring for Adam Lallana. The English midfielder’s shot was saved by Lloris and Roberto Firmino’s follow up too was saved but finally Liverpool broke through on the third attempt and it was Mane who volleyed home from close range to score his 11th league goal of the season.

While Spurs were forced to shift to a back four after some injury issues to starters Danny Rose and Jan Vertongen, the blame cannot be shifted for what was an insipid all-round display.

They never truly recovered from the early hammer blows dealt by the home side, with Ben Davies in particular enduring a torrid time on the left flank, clearly unable to cope with Mane’s speed.

If the final scoreline didn't give an accurate description of the home side’s dominance, it was down to the brilliance of the visiting team’s captain, Hugo Lloris. The French custodian denied Mane a hat-trick on several occasions and even as his defence folded spectacularly, he put up a defiant showing. 

On the other end, Spurs created just the one meaningful chance, with Son Heung-min drawing a fine save from Simon Mignolet. The fact that Liverpool managed to keep a clean sheet will raise a few eyebrows but perhaps the fact that their goalkeeper had to make just the one save is a damming statistic for Mauricio Pochettino’s side which boasts of talents such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

Should Chelsea win their game in hand against Burnley on Sunday, they will stretch their lead to  a massive 12 points and that will prove for the second year in a row, the Lilywhites do not have the temperament to sustain a title challenge.

For the Reds, the win comes at the perfect time, as arch-rivals Manchester United had temporarily overtaken them in the league standings with a routine win over Watford. They move up to fourth place on 49 points, one ahead of Manchester City, who have played a game less.