‘Best team won’ – Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold hits back at Mourinho after Premier League victory

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has hit back at Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, who claimed his side deserved to win after they lost 2-1 to the Reds on Wednesday.

The defending champions earned all three points through Roberto Firmino’s 90th-minute header, after Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in the first half and Son Heung-Min equalised for Spurs minutes later.

Despite having just 24 per cent possession and two shots on target compared to Liverpool’s 11, Mourinho still felt Spurs deserved to win.

Speaking to Amazon about a post-match meeting with his counterpart Jurgen Klopp, Mourinho said: “I told him the best team lost and he disagreed, but that’s his opinion.”

Alexander-Arnold was clearly alerted to Mourinho’s comments and he quickly responded on Twitter with a post that simply said: “Best team won.”

Klopp also responded to Mourinho’s claim after the game, saying he thought the Spurs boss wasn’t being serious.

“It was not heated at all,” Klopp told BBC Radio 5 Live of the exchange. “He wasn’t happy because he told me the better team lost – and I thought he was joking! But he wasn’t. So that’s it.”

Klopp was told that Liverpool had 200 passes in the final third compared to 19 for Tottenham, and had a subtle dig at his opponents in response to the stat.

“If you ask me now, I can’t remember the 19,” Klopp added. “That’s how it is. It’s fine. Different approaches, different ways to play.”

Klopp did have plenty of praise for Spurs, who dropped to second place after the loss, three points behind Liverpool in first place.

“It’s the respect the boys deserve, or earned, that you think, ‘OK, sit deep against them like this.'” Klopp said of Tottenham’s strategy. “We have to deal with that. Of course they had chances, they are a world-class team, they are outstanding.

“They will be top of the table until the end of the season because they are really good, but to play against them is a proper challenge and to play like us, is pretty special.”

Liverpool are now three points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with 28 to Tottenham’s 25.