Mohamed Salah struck twice in the first half as Liverpool secured their first away win in the Premier League this season with victory at Tottenham.

Liverpool had lost their two previous league games to struggling Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, so manager Jurgen Klopp will be delighted with this win at Spurs, who are shaping up as rivals for a place in the top four.

Salah was the inspiration, sweeping home a sharp left-foot finish from Darwin Nunez's pass after 11 minutes, then cashing in on Eric Dier's misplaced headed back-pass to double Liverpool's advantage with great composure five minutes before the break.

Spurs, without the injured Son Heung-min, were never out of the game as Ivan Perisic hit the woodwork either side of half-time before Harry Kane pulled one back with 20 minutes remaining.

But they failed to complete one of the comebacks that have become their trademark this season.

Tottenham once again made life difficult for themselves by falling behind early when Liverpool took advantage of the wide open spaces on the home team's right flank, which had been exposed several times even before they went behind.

In the final reckoning, however, it was Dier's mistake that left them with a hill that was too steep to climb, even in a season when they have been comeback specialists.

This was not a Spurs side that only showed up in the second half, as has happened before this season, because they had responded well to Salah's early goal before Dier made his ill-advised attempt to head the ball back to keeper Hugo Lloris. Instead, he only diverted it off his shoulder and into the path of the unmarked Salah, with inevitable results.

Spurs also had a clear case for a penalty, their frustration increasing when referee Andy Madley awarded a free-kick for an almost identical incident shortly afterwards.

Even without the injured Son, Spurs dominated most of the second half but could not take advantage of the opportunities they created, with Dejan Kulusevski showing what they have been missing when he returned from injury to set up Kane's goal moments after coming on.

Spurs showed plenty of heart and character, but ultimately paid the price for gifting Salah the goal that meant Liverpool were always able to stay just out of reach.

Manager Conte started his press conference by reopening old wounds after Klopp had criticised his style of football following their draw back at Anfield last season.

"Before I answer your question, Jurgen was happy for the way we played tonight? Yeah? No, because it was important to know his opinion," he said.