Liverpool's win at Tottenham puts 'crisis' talk into perspective

When Jurgen Klopp took the reins, 'crisis' at Liverpool meant entering a third decade without a league title and just a League Cup to show for a dismal decade that cost four managers their jobs.

Nowadays at Anfield, a 'crisis' is maybe not lifting the Premier League title for a second year running after a six-game run without a win.

It's strange how a few seasons can distort any sense of perspective at a football club, but hopefully a resounding victory at Tottenham can put to bed any concerns that a dreary January was symptomatic of something deeper than just a blip in the form table in the most unusual of seasons.

The questions posed of Liverpool ahead of their trip to London were getting out of control.

Has Trent Alexander-Arnold forgotten how to cross a ball? Has Klopp lost the dressing room? Have Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane been replaced by sentient androids intent on delivering the title to Manchester? Have FSG just given up altogether because WHY ELSE WOULDN'T THEY SIGN A CENTRE-BACK!?!

Amidst all the noise, the message implied by Klopp was 'calm down, we'll be fine,' and that quiet self-assurance was carried over in a performance from his players that suggested that, if they were in crisis, then it may be a short-lived one.

The single-minded intensity that we have only seen in flashes since the turn of the year was back in force from the off. They had previously lacked a killer instinct, scoring just three goals in the six games since the statement win at Crystal Palace, but they were back into their attacking rhythm here.

Their first-goal was vintage Liverpool. Henderson to Mane to Firmino to goal, in about five seconds flat.

There was a noted improvement to Firmino's game, as there was to Trent Alexander-Arnold's, who delivered his best performance of the season with a goal of his own and an assist for Sadio Mane's clincher.

As a team, the Reds looked back in control, with a clearly executed gameplan that blew away Jose Mourinho's misjudged efforts to park the proverbial bus.

TL;DR - this was not the performance of a team in crisis, but of a team steadily finding their feet again after the sort of drop-off in form that does happen, regardless of what the past couple of seasons have led you to believe.

Given everything that has transpired since his appointment, it seems pretty crazy that it was ever in doubt that Klopp could get a reaction out of his players once things started to go awry.

He did so after heartbreaking defeats in European finals and masterminded what will be remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in modern sport, yet memories are short: one sustained run of bad form and, all of a sudden, he and Liverpool have lost it.

A confident, comprehensive win in the north of London should serve as a reminder not to get too bogged down in the here and now. Against the back-drop of the past two years, the Reds' current position might suggest a crisis.

But inject a bit of realism and perspective, and four points from the top of the Premier League.

It's not all that bad.