The Athletic's Liverpool reporter James Pearce has said that it was a ‘huge lift’ for Jurgen Klopp’s side to secure victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Lowdown: Nail-biting finish

The Reds made the trip to the capital and earned a 2-1 win thanks to a first-half double from Mohamed Salah, with a Harry Kane goal on 70 minutes not enough for the hosts to claw back a point.

Antonio Conte’s men were pushing for a late equaliser, taking 11 shots after half-time compared to the visitors' four, but the Reds managed to hold their own to take all three points back to Merseyside and see out a first domestic away win of the season.

The Latest: Pearce’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Pearce was impressed with how well Liverpool shut up shop in the closing stages and suggested that the result, which could represent a significant "step forward", was much-needed after suffering back-to-back league defeats.

He wrote: “FT: Spurs 1 #LFC 2: Huge lift for Liverpool after their recent struggles domestically. Defended bravely and rode their luck to survive a late onslaught from the hosts after Kane had pulled one back. Salah's first half double proved enough to secure a big 3pts. Step forward.”

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The Verdict: Moving in the right direction

Whilst Liverpool are effectively out of the title race due to already being 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal, their main aim now has to be a top-four finish, and this victory was a huge step in the right direction.

Nottingham Forest and Leeds, who inflicted those two defeats in late October, are teams that the Reds should be beating, so to bounce back with a decent, gritty performance against a team in the top four was just what the doctor ordered.

With a place in the Champions League round of 16 confirmed, Klopp’s team are still more than capable of competing for big prizes, but they need to remain consistent if they are to be in the reckoning for silverware come the business end of the season.