Before kick-off, Elvis Presley's rendition of 'If I Can Dream' boomed out across Anfield. Liverpool's title aspiration can no longer be confined to mere slumber.
On a weekend when their rivals in the battle for the Premier League crown both slipped up, Brendan Rodgers' side had to take full advantage and seize the opportunity they did.
Tottenham were little more than house guests as the home crowd generated a party atmosphere. Moving two points clear at the table's summit in the final third of the season tends to have such an effect, particularly when the wait for a title creeps towards a 24th year.
"The dream is for our supporters, they want to win the title. It has been a long time but it's not in my thinking," said Rodgers.
"We just need to prepare and do well and if we do that, we will win games. We have won eight games in a row and we will enjoy that. It's just about going back to work next week and we have a tough game against West Ham next.
"We just want to concentrate on the next game and that is what we will focus on."
For a club that, according to several of their former players, have sold Elvis and bought The Beatles, the only semblance of a fab four for Tottenham was in the scoreline.
Bill Shankly once declared that opposing teams were frightened of visiting Anfield and the proneness to error of Tim Sherwood's side against the backdrop of a vociferous ambiance suggests those claims may once again carry plenty of weight in the long-run.
It was the famous old ground's atmosphere at its finest. It has been a while since those words were last uttered. The array of flags and banners that have forged the tapestry of some of the stadium's most memorable occasions were out in force.
From the first whistle to the last, the Kop's voice never waned. They know that the title is within their grasp. An unenviable run-in could still see this latest bid condemned to the annals of underwhelm alongside the seasons of 1996-97, 2001-02 and latterly 2008-09.
Yet unlike his predecessors, there is something different about Rodgers' Liverpool. The hype generated at the beginning of each of those failed attempt campaigns was a constant factor. Their status as predominantly unfancied challengers this term has served them well.
"We were seventh last year so the expectation wasn't there at the start of the season. Now we are up there at the top of the league with that pressure," said Rodgers.
"Today we answered the question about pressure. We like to dominate the ball and you saw that today. The movement, confidence and composure was good. We fight as a team to get the ball back and overall I was very proud of the team.
"That is eight wins in a row and that takes some going at this level."
At the start of the first half, a message was relayed to supporters over the PA system in a bid to discourage persistent standing. Watching a Liverpool side that has stormed its way into this season's title race has fast become a spectacle that is best experienced from the edge of seats.
With barely two minutes on the clock, Spurs found themselves on the back foot. Younes Kaboul turned a Glen Johnson cross into his own net and the party mood commenced henceforth.
Sherwood elected to observe his team's performance from the directors' box. The north Londoners' head coach previously had fond memories of this stadium when he lifted the title as Blackburn Rovers captain in 1995 but it has rapidly turned into an increasingly unhappy hunting ground.
And true to narrative, it was a player that he passed up signing that compounded that misery further as Luis Suarez doubled the advantage. Sherwood declined the chance to lure the mercurial Uruguayan to White Hart Lane from Ajax while he was a member of Harry Redknapp's scouting team.
That decision came back to haunt him on 25 minutes, when Suarez capitalised on poor defending between Kaboul and Michael Dawson before executing a pacy finish reminiscent of Robbie Fowler - the man whose club Premier League record he has now overtaken.
Tottenham were restricted largely to potshots, typified by Nacer Chadil's ambitious long-range shot. Gylfi Sigurdsson offered a slightly more realistic chance but his header was saved comfortably by Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool could and should have been ahead by further far sooner. Daniel Sturridge teed Suarez up for a header that Hugo Lloris somehow managed to keep out while, after the interval, Jordan Henderson spurned a golden opportunity when he skied a Raheem Sterling cut-back from close range.
But their continued ascendancy paid dividends as Jon Flanagan fed Philippe Coutinho for the Brazilian to unleash a low-driven shot that nestled into the far corner of Lloris' net.
After Henderson finally recorded his name on the score sheet with a free kick that evaded the clutches of all and sundry in the penalty area, the travelling Spurs fans became mutinous. 'Where is our manager?', they repeatedly chanted. Sherwood remained motionless in the directors' box.
The reaction as Phil Dowd's final whistle confirmed Liverpool's place as league leaders was one not witnessed for several years. Rodgers and his players were roared off by a stay-behind Kop as they applauded the supporters. The once impossible dream is now in their hands.
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Mignolet; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Flanagan; Gerrard (Lucas 70), Henderson, Coutinho (Allen 63); Sterling (Moses 83), Sturridge, Suarez
Subs not used: Jones, Aspas, Sakho, Cissokho
Goals: Kaboul OG (2), Suarez (25), Coutinho (56), Henderson (75)
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Naughton, Kaboul, Vertonghen (Dawson 24), Rose; Bentaleb (Dembele 60), Sigurdsson; Lennon (Townsend 60), Chadli, Eriksen; Soldado
Subs not used: Friedel, Sandro, Winks, Kane
Booked: Kaboul, Sigurdsson
Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire)
Attendance: 44,672
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Source : http://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/liverpool-fc-news/1220991-match-report---liverpool-fc-4-tottenham-hotspur-0.html
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