Gary Neville claimed Liverpool will never win any success with their current defensive problems because their back line and goalkeeper “always kill them”, following Sunday’s heavy 4-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

The former Manchester United defender was on commentary duty for the Wembley Stadium encounter that was over as soon as it started, with Harry Kane needing fewer than four minutes to open the scoring before Son Heung-min doubled the lead in the 19th minute.

The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, subsequently removed Dejan Lovren on the half-hour mark and re-jigged his entire team to try and stem the flow of the repeated counter-attacks from Spurs, but while Mohamed Salah pulled one goal back for the visitors, a third from Dele Alli on the stroke of half-time and Kane’s second strike secured a one-sided victory.

Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings <b>Tottenham:</b> Hugo Lloris - 7 His hesitation allowed Salah to score Liverpool’s first but he more than made up for it in the second half with a stupendous save from Coutinho. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Davinson Sanchez - 7 Has slotted into the centre of Tottenham’s defence with ease. Exudes class. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Toby Alderweireld - 7 Not overly troubled too often but maintained a high level throughout. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 7 Unlucky not to score Tottenham’s fourth after his shot was blocked on the line but can probably claim an assist after Kane tucked home the rebound. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Kieran Trippier - 7 Helped kick things off for Spurs with the assist for Kane’s early opener. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Harry Winks - 7 Understatedly good. Keeps things ticking over in the middle of the park and allows others to grab the headlines. Could be the long-term answer to England’s deep-lying midfield problems. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Christian Eriksen - 7 Outshone Coutinho in a battle of two of the Premier League’s best playmakers. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Serge Aurier - 8 Deployed at left wing-back to match Mo Salah’s pace and marshalled him well. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Dele Alli - 8 Yet to hit the heights of last season but was superb in a slightly deeper role today and scored Spurs’ third. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Son Hueng-min - 7 Always runs himself into the ground. Scored Spurs’ second and almost had a third minutes later when his well-struck effort cannoned off the crossbar from a tight angle. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Harry Kane - 9 Scored two and assisted another. He’s frighteningly good. Does anybody still think he’s not world class? Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings <b>Liverpool:</b> Simon Mignolet - 4 Might’ve done better for Kane’s opener and was fully at fault for his second after flapping at a cross. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Joe Gomez - 5 Was asked to fill in at centre-back for the last hour of the match. Wasn’t great but wasn’t solely responsible for any of Liverpool’s goals, unlike some of his teammates. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Joel Matip - 4 Suicidal defensive header allowed Alli to score Spurs’ third goal in first-half injury time. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Dejan Lovren - 1 One of the worst individual performances you’re ever likely to see. At fault for Spurs’ two early goals and hooked – without an injury – after half an hour. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Alberto Moreno - 5 He’s one of the few improved players in Liverpool’s defence this season. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Emre Can - 4 A poor day at the office for Can after a good start to the season. He was subbed late on just minutes after Alli had nut-megged him with a sublime piece of skill. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Jordan Henderson - 6 Liverpool’s best midfielder on the day and his pass for Salah’s goal was fantastic. As always, you can’t fault his work rate. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings James Milner - 5 Couldn’t deal with Son’s pace for Spurs’ second goal. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Philippe Coutinho - 5 He was quiet on a day when Liverpool could’ve done with a moment of magic to spark them into action. Was denied a second-half goal by a superb Lloris save. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Mohamed Salah - 6 Scored Liverpool’s only goal of the game but sometimes his one-footedness really counts against him. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Roberto Firmino - 5 Came up with a brilliant goal-line clearance but it ended up counting for nothing as Kane tucked home the rebound. Offered little at the other end of the pitch. Getty Tottenham vs Liverpool player ratings Substitutes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 5

Daniel Sturridge N/A

Marko Grujic N/A Getty

Lovren was partially at fault for the opening two goals, while goalkeeper Simon Mignolet did not cover himself in glory for Kane’s second, and Neville criticised Liverpool’s entire defensive line as well as the Belgium international for not being at the required level to match the club’s star-studded attack.

“This team can be scintillating, but the centre backs and goalkeeper will always kill them, they are not good enough, they will always let you down,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

While Neville’s rivalry with Liverpool has been well documented over the years due to his career-long stint with United, a former Anfield favourite in Jamie Redknapp was equally as damning of Klopp’s side.

The former Liverpool midfielder was frustrated with the repeated individual mistakes that Liverpool’s back-four make over the course of a season, and suggested that the rest of the team may be getting frustrated that their hard work in attack is being punished by their own teammates, before again highlighting the club’s failure to sign adequate replacements in the transfer window last summer.

Lovren was hauled off after 30 minutes (Getty)

“Going forward Liverpool are as good as any (team), but if I played in this team it would drive me mad with the individual mistakes this back four makes,” Redknapp said.

“These are individual mistakes, time and time again, and that's why the manager wanted to buy a centre back in the summer.

Premier League round-up: Koeman and Bilic put under more pressure