Sakho praises Reds' focus and mentality
Mamadou Sakho lauded the steel and determination of his Liverpool teammates after they emerged with a crucial three points from Tuesday night's end-to-end encounter with Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds moved to within a point of their top-four rivals, Spurs, in the Barclays Premier League on a night when Mario Balotelli had the final say, coming off the bench to win the game 3-2 in dramatic fashion.
Tottenham, buoyed by their recent fightback against rivals Arsenal, refused to sit back and soak up pressure at Anfield, setting up to attack a Liverpool side that was equally offensive by its very nature.
Sakho and co had kept four consecutive clean sheets in the league; however, Harry Kane brought that run to an end when he cancelled out Lazar Markovic's opener by firing beyond Simon Mignolet.
Steven Gerrard restored Liverpool's lead, but Moussa Dembele pegged them back. Both teams traded blows as the two defences were called upon to stave off intense pressure until the Reds were finally able to forge a winner.
Adam Lallana fed Balotelli, who prodded home from close range to seal the win - and as the final whistle sounded in L4, Sakho ran to his defensive partners Martin Skrtel and Mignolet to celebrate a crucial victory.
"It was a very good game for the team," he told Liverpoolfc.com afterwards. "We were very strong mentally and we stayed focused on our objective.
"I think altogether we worked for this and tonight I think the team stayed focused and we demonstrated a good mentality."
Emre Can was once again a star performer for Liverpool, operating calmly and decisively as part of a back-three alongside Sakho and Skrtel, while taking every opportunity to venture further forward up the field.
"Today he played very, very well," commented Sakho, when asked for an appraisal of yet another accomplished display from the 20-year-old. "I just want to say congratulations to him.
"But, for me, the most important thing is that all the players think to give 100 per cent for the team, because the most important thing is that we're a club."
For Balotelli, it was a first league strike for Liverpool - his third overall since joining the club last summer - and Sakho expressed his delight at the fact that his teammate produced the finish which settled such an important encounter.
"It's great news for him, for the team and for the club," said the central defender. "I hope he will score many goals for the team because he is a very good man and I know every day he works hard in training. I'm happy for him."