Tag: Tottenham Hotspur

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Premier League finale: West Ham relegated and Spurs stay up as Guardiola, Salah make emotional exits

West Ham was relegated and Tottenham survived on an emotional final day of the Premier League season when Pep Guardiola and Mohamed Salah made tearful exits after record-breaking spells in English soccer.

West Ham beat Leeds 3-0 but that wasn’t enough to climb out of the relegation zone because fourth-to-last Tottenham also won, 1-0 at home to Everton, to stay two points clear of its London rival.

That meant West Ham’s 14-year stay in the Premier League was over and Tottenham, which won three of its last five games under recently hired coach Roberto De Zerbi, will be in the top division for a 49th straight season.

“We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in but we’ve found ourselves in it and we’ve not done enough to stay up,” West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen said. “Hurt is the only thing.”

Guardiola’s decade-long tenure at Manchester City — which has included six Premier League titles among 17 major trophies — ended with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa that featured a mid-match guard of honor for first Bernardo Silva and then John Stones, two of Guardiola’s stalwarts.

Guardiola wept on the sideline as Silva left the field and was given his own guard of honor by players and staff after the match.

“We lived an incredible period,” Guardiola said. “If I had energy, I would stay here (but) a new person has to do this job.”

Salah started and was given a standing ovation — before he kissed the Anfield turf — during his second-half substitution in his 442nd and last game for Liverpool, in which he grabbed an assist in a 1-1 draw with Brentford. The Egypt winger finished his nine years with the Reds with 257 goals and received his own post-match guard of honor, which he walked through in tears.

Arsenal had already clinched the title in midweek and closed its first championship-winning campaign since 2004 with a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace. The players finally got their hands on the trophy about an hour after fulltime at Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium, with coach Mikel Arteta and the team wearing jerseys with “Champions 2026” on the back for the occasion.

In the final shake-up for European qualification, Bournemouth and Sunderland finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to get into the Europa League and Brighton was eighth to reach the Conference League.

Brighton lost 3-0 at home to Manchester United, for whom Bruno Fernandes scored and got a record-setting 21st assist of the season.

Sunderland, which beat Chelsea 2-1, will be in Europe for the first time in 53 years — a remarkable achievement for a team in its first season back in the top division and which was in the third tier as recently as 2022. The team’s players huddled around a cell phone to see their Europa League qualification confirmed and broke away in delight.

Chelsea, on the contrary, missed out on European competition entirely after finishing in 10th place — 10 months after winning the Club World Cup.

Add 2026 to 2003 and 2011 as years when West Ham lost its Premier League status.

The big difference this season is that the team is now playing its home matches in the vast Olympic Stadium, so that 68,000-capacity arena will be staging games in the second-tier Championship against the likes of Wrexham and the two clubs that had already been relegated from the Premier League before Sunday — Wolverhampton and Burnley.

“This club deserves to be in the Premier League,” said Bowen, who scored and set up a goal against Leeds. “Our aim now is to get this club back into the Premier League.”

A top-flight ever present since 1978, Tottenham was heading out of the Premier League before the club hired De Zerbi in what has proved to be an inspired appointment.

Three wins and two draws later — along with two losses — and Spurs have managed to avoid dropping into the bottom three in what would have been the most unlikely relegation since the Premier League was founded in 1992.

Joao Palhinha scored Tottenham’s winner against Everton in the 43rd minute, forcing in a rebound after initially heading against the post, and Spurs defended stoutly to stop Everton scoring the two goals that would have kept West Ham up.

“After a bad season like this one, we showed up as a collective and had amazing support from the fans,” Palhinha said.

“The club will grow up with this season and we know what we have to do in the future.”

Tottenham, one of the biggest clubs in Europe and the Europa League champion last season, has now finished one place outside the relegation spots in successive seasons. (JapanToday)

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Chelsea beats Spurs to leave rivals in ’embarrassing’ relegation danger

Chelsea beat Tottenham 2-1 on Tuesday to leave Roberto De Zerbi’s men in danger of relegation from the Premier League with one game left of the season.

Enzo Fernandez opened the scoring in the 18th minute, curling home from outside the box, and Andrey Santos doubled the home side’s league midway through the second half.

Tottenham gave themselves hope in the 74th minute when Richarlison converted from close range after Pape Matar Sarr’s backheel.

Spurs poured forward in search of an equaliser but could not find another goal.

The result gives renewed hope to West Ham, who are 18th in the table, two points behind Tottenham.

Spurs, who have not been relegated since 1977, face Everton in their final match on Sunday with a draw realistically good enough for survival given their superior goal difference.

“We have to give everything for the club, for the badge, for the fans,” said Spurs midfielder James Maddison.

“It’s a bit embarrassing that we’re in this position.”

The Hammers must beat Leeds to have any chance of extending their 14-year stay in the Premier League.

Burnley and Wolves have already been relegated.

Chelsea’s win at Stamford Bridge was their first in the English top division since early March and lifts them to eighth in the table. (JapanToday)

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Spurs draw with Leeds for priceless point in Premier League survival fight

Tottenham Hotspur took a small and potentially crucial step towards retaining its Premier League status after drawing at home with Leeds United 1-1 on Monday.

Spurs, just above the drop zone, moved two points clear of relegation rival West Ham.

Tottenham went ahead in the 50th minute with a lovely strike by Mathys Tels.

However, Tels’ foul on Ethan Ampadu with 15 minutes left led to a Leeds penalty that Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted with aplomb.

Spurs takes on Chelsea away and Everton at home in their last two games, while West Ham is away at Newcastle before facing Leeds at home on the final day of the season.

One of the two will join the already relegated Burnley and Wolves in next season’s Championship.

Spurs came into the game on a high after two consecutive victories but though they dominated the first half in terms of possession and shots on goal they didn’t break the deadlock until five minutes into the second half.

Pedro Porro’s corner kick was cleared to an unmarked Tels, who coolly struck into the far corner of the net from 20 meters out. It was the center forward’s first goal since Jan. 7.

Tels, however, turned villain 24 minutes later when his high foot was adjudged to have made contact with Ethan Ampadu’s head inside the box.

The referee pointed to the spot and Calvert-Lewin, who was denied a first-half penalty after a video review, confidently dispatched the spot kick.

Both sides suffered through an edgy last few moments and a remarkable 15 minutes of added time but there were no more goals and Spurs, for whom goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was outstanding. They will content themselves that their destiny remains in their hands.

“We played a good game but there was big pressure,” Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi said. “We didn’t play calmly. We wanted to win immediately without passes. When you are fighting for relegation you can’t play every game calmly.

“Leeds played a good game and we hope they play like that against West Ham in the next game.”

Spurs have taken eight out of a possible 12 points since De Zerbi’s debut defeat at Sunderland on April 12.

“We deserve to stay up,” he said. “We will fight until the end. . . . Even if we had won today it wouldn’t have been finished yet.”

Hull will play Southampton or Middlesbrough in the Championship playoff final after second half goals from Mo Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt gave it a 2-0 win over Millwall in London.

Belloumi’s 64th-minute strike with his left foot broke the deadlock in the second game of the two-leg affair and Gelhardt made sure with a low shot that squirmed past the Millwall goalkeeper.

The win means Hull have one match to secure a place in the Premier League for the first time since it was relegated in 2017. (JapanToday)

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Forest takes big step to ensuring Premier League survival by drubbing Sunderland

Nottingham Forest took a huge step toward ensuring its Premier League survival in a stunning 5-0 win at Sunderland on Friday.

Less than a week after beating Burnley 4-1, Forest rose eight points clear of the relegation zone and sent shivers down the spine of Tottenham Hotspur fans. Spurs occupy the third relegation spot, two points behind West Ham.

With Burnley and Wolves already relegated, Spurs or West Ham are now the most likely candidates to join them.

“It gives us some breathing room and puts pressure on the two chasing behind,” Forest’s New Zealand striker Chris Wood said. “Back-to-back wins do that for you.

“We built on the second half from last week, that is what we wanted to do. We want to build and get better and show what we are capable of. We started fast and what we did today was fantastic.”

Sunderland had the best defensive record in the league at home after Manchester City and Arsenal, but that defensive solidity disappeared during a woeful first half.

Forest looked quicker and hungrier from the off and took the lead after 16 minutes when Igor Jesus’ header went in off Trai Hume following a neatly worked short corner.

Disaster then struck for Sunderland as goalkeeper Robin Roefs gifted Forest a second. His sloppy pass went straight to Morgan Gibbs-White, who fed Chris Wood to give the big New Zealander, recently back from a long injury layoff, his first league goal since the opening day of the season.

Gibbs-White made it 3-0 three minutes later when he drilled home a low shot after Jesus’ superbly cushioned header gave him time and space.

Jesus got Forest’s fourth three minutes later as Sunderland crumbled.

Sunderland’s Dan Ballard had a goal chalked off after a video review in the second half and if there was any doubt the home side was all out of luck it came in stoppage time when Elliot Anderson made it five and confirmed Sunderland’s heaviest ever defeat at the Stadium of Light.

“It is hard to explain straight after the game,” Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka said. “What I can say is that we apologise to our fans. They were easy goals we conceded today. Three set-pieces and the coach has just said in there that if you drop 1% of your maximum then you are dead. You get punished and we got punished at home.” (JapanToday)

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Man Utd beat Chelsea as Spurs stunned by Brighton equaliser

Matheus Cunha fired Manchester United towards the Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday, while Tottenham remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton.

Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defence ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins.

United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under Michael Carrick.

Cunha swept home Bruno Fernandes’ cross just before half-time to open up a 10-point gap between the Red Devils in third and Chelsea in sixth.

At the other end of the table, Spurs sank ever closer to dropping out of the top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years.

In Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game in charge, Tottenham were heading for their first win in 15 league matches until Georginio Rutter’s strike five minutes into stoppage time.

Pedro Porro’s header was quickly cancelled out by Kaoru Mitoma’s spectacular volley in first-half stoppage time.

Xavi Simons’ stunning strike 13 minutes from time sparked an outpouring of joy around the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Yet, the home fans were silenced in added time when Jan Paul van Hecke outmuscled Kevin Danso and squared for Rutter to blast high into the net.

Spurs edge to within one point of West Ham in the battle for survival.

But the Hammers have a game in hand and could stretch that advantage when they travel to Crystal Palace on Monday.

“Everyone of us knows it’s a tough moment, it’s a difficult situation, but we have another five games, 15 points,” said De Zerbi. “And this team is able to win five games in a row.”

Brighton’s equaliser also saved Wolves from being officially relegated.

But their eight-year stay in the top flight is coming to an end after a 3-0 defeat at Leeds.

Fresh from a first league win away at fierce rivals Manchester United since 1981, Leeds all but secured their top-flight status.

Two goals in two first-half minutes from James Justin and Noah Okafor put the home side in control before Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty in stoppage time rounded off the scoring.

Tottenham’s woeful campaign has been compounded by an impressive return to the top flight by Sunderland and Leeds, to buck the trend of recent seasons.

For the past two years all three promoted sides have gone straight back down.

However, Daniel Farke’s men not only look set for survival, but could reach a first FA Cup final since 1973 should they beat Chelsea in next weekend’s semi-finals.

Bournemouth piled more pressure on Newcastle manager Eddie Howe with a 2-1 win at St James’ Park.

The Cherries showed no ill effects from the news that Andoni Iraola will depart as boss at the end of the season.

Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert struck for the visitors to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to 13 matches.

Bournemouth climb to eighth and within four points of the Champions League places.

Newcastle, by contrast, remain in 14th with their hopes of European football next season all but over.

Brentford missed the chance to leapfrog Chelsea into the top six after being held to a 0-0 draw by west London rivals Fulham.

Leaders Arsenal travel to Manchester City in a clash that could decide the destiny of the title race on Sunday.

The Gunners hold a six-point lead, but City have a game in hand and home advantage when the top two clash at the Etihad Stadium. (JapanToday)

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Man City closes in on Arsenal in Premier League title race with 3-0 win over Chelsea

Manchester City issued a huge statement of intent in the race for the Premier League title with a 3-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s team moved to within six points of leader Arsenal ahead of next weekend’s top of the table clash between the two teams. City also has a game in hand.

Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku all scored in a blistering second-half performance at Stamford Bridge as City took full advantage of Arsenal’s shock defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday.

“We know that we still have everything in our hands,” Doku said.

Tottenham’s survival fight took another blow after a 1-0 loss to Sunderland left it rooted in the relegation zone.

In coach Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge, Spurs fell to a 16th league loss of the season. Its 14-game winless run in the league dates back to Jan. 1.

Nordi Mukiele’s deflected shot sealed the game at the Stadium of Light and plunged Tottenham’s campaign deeper into crisis.

Tottenham is two points adrift of safety with six games to go. Its plight wasn’t helped by relegation-fighting Nottingham Forest drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa.

Crystal Palace came back from 1-0 down to beat Newcastle 2-1 at Selhurst Park.

While Arsenal’s form has hit a slump at the worst possible time, City made it three statement wins in a row after rolling over Chelsea.

Victory followed triumph against Arsenal in the English League Cup final and the 4-0 rout of Liverpool in the FA Cup last week.

While those three results all came in different competitions, City’s charge has an ominous feel about it after twice chasing down Arsenal’s lead to win the title in 2023 and ’24.

Second-placed City has the chance to cut the gap at the top to three points with victory against Arsenal at the Etihad. Guardiola called for respect for Arsenal when looking ahead to that title showdown.

“They have been the best team in this country, in Europe, so far. Beating Arsenal once is so difficult, imagine beating them twice in a few weeks,” Guardiola said. “I would like to say to my fans — respect Arsenal a lot, they are an extraordinary team. Come to join us from minute one because the players will do the maximum.”

Rayan Cherki was the inspiration at Stamford Bridge — setting up goals for O’Reilly six minutes after halftime and Guehi in the 57th.

Doku rounded off the win in the 68th.

The result didn’t help Chelsea’s bid to qualify for the Champions League, leaving it four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool.

Liam Rosenior’s team has won just one of its last seven league games.

Now on its third coach of the season, it’s more than three months since its last league win and just one point from a possible 24. This was a seventh defeat in eight games.

If the hope was that De Zerbi would provide an immediate bounce in form after replacing Igor Tudor, it didn’t come in a typically toothless display at Sunderland.

While the new coach could point to bad luck, given the nature of Mukiele’s 61st-minute winner, which took a wicked deflection off Micky van de Ven, his team rarely looked like finding a way back into the match — even during 11 minutes of added time at the end.

An injury to Cristian Romero made a bad day worse for Spurs, which next faces Brighton, one of De Zerbi’s former clubs.

Forest moved three points clear of Spurs after a draw at the City Ground. Neco Williams’ long-range shot leveled the game after a Murillo own-goal gave Villa the lead. (JapanToday)

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Man City dominates Arsenal to win English League Cup

The first major domestic trophy of the season is Manchester City ‘s. And after a dominant 2-0 win against Arsenal in the English League Cup final on Sunday, it may not be the last.

Manchester-born Nico O’Reilly sealed victory with both goals in the second half at Wembley Stadium. The win could also have delivered a psychological blow in the race for the Premier League title as Pep Guardiola aims to chase down Arsenal’s nine-point lead at the top of the standings.

“(It’s an) unbelievable feeling to win a final and to beat this team. We know how good they are,” O’Reilly told Sky Sports. “We need to build on it now, it’ll give us momentum.”

This was serial trophy-winner Guardiola flexing his muscles. It was his 16th major trophy as City manager and a record fifth League Cup. He has won 34 career titles as a manager including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

And, once again, he was stamping out Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s own ambitions, having twice beaten his former assistant to the league title in recent years.

“I’m really pleased because I know the opponent we played. Mikel created a team that is almost unbeatable,” Guardiola said. “Every time you win a title it looks more difficult than in the past. It is really difficult for many reasons.”

Arsenal remains favorite to be crowned league champion this season for the first time since 2004, given its big lead. But with second-place City having a game in hand and the teams still to play each other in Manchester at the Etihad Stadium, the picture could look very different in the coming weeks.

City’s win also ended Arsenal’s bid this season for an unprecedented quadruple of major trophies by an English team – including the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

“I’m very sad. It is a very hard one to take, especially for our players and our supporters because we know how much it means to them and how much we want that,” Arteta said. “We will manage that energy in the right way and we have to go through that pain and disappointment. It’s normal and it’s part of football.”

The 21-year-old O’Reilly, who came through City’s academy, was the unlikely hero with both goals from left back.

He took advantage of Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s fumble to head City in front on the hour. And he headed in a second four minutes later to effectively kill off the match.

“My whole family came down today (to watch) … I know they’ll be buzzing and I can’t wait to see them,” O’Reilly said.

Arteta said he had no regrets about selecting Kepa — who had played in previous rounds — rather than first-choice David Raya.

Tottenham’s Premier League survival fight was plunged deeper into crisis with a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, one of three league games played on Sunday.

The relegation six-pointer left Spurs one place and one point above the drop zone and raised further questions about the future of coach Igor Tudor.

“The season is tough, especially in this moment. Another very bad (result) for us,” said Tottenham captain Cristian Romero. “The situation is tough, but most important thing is play (every game) like a final now.”

Fellow relegation-fighting Forest climbed above Spurs to 16th in the standings. The only positive on another miserable day for Tottenham was defeat for West Ham at Aston Villa to keep it in the bottom three.

Tottenham – one of English soccer’s most iconic teams and a founding member of the Premier League – is still without a win in the top flight in 2026. Its last win was Dec. 28 and it has lost six of its last seven games.

Igor Jesus’ header just before halftime gave Forest the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Morgan Gibbs-White added a second just after the hour mark.

Taiwo Awoniyi completed Forest’s first league win under coach Vitor Pereira in the 87th to leave home fans fearing the end of its ever-present stay in England’s top division since the inception of the Premier League in 1992.

Tudor was hired last month to try to turn Spurs’ season around, but has lost five of his seven games in charge in all competitions and seen his team eliminated from the Champions League.

Tottenham remains one point above 18th-place West Ham, which lost 2-0 to Villa.

Villa boosted its chances of Champions League qualification and took advantage of all of its immediate rivals dropping points.

Villa is fourth, one point behind Manchester United and five points above fifth-place Liverpool.

Brian Brobbey struck in the 90th minute to give Sunderland bragging rights in the Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle.

Brobbey’s close-range effort sealed a 2-1 comeback win at St. James’ Park and saw Sunderland complete a league double over its fiercest rival.

Earlier, the game had been halted due to a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd towards Sunderland’s Lutsharel Geertruida.

Before kickoff, there had been tense scenes between fans outside the stadium. Northumberland police said one arrest was made. (JapanToday)

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Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern and Atletico reach Champions League quarterfinals

Barcelona hit Newcastle United for seven to reach the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Galatasaray in their last-16 tie and both Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid advanced to the next round.

Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both scored twice as La Liga leaders Barcelona tore apart Newcastle at the Camp Nou, winning 7-2 in the second leg of their last-16 encounter to progress 8-3 on aggregate.

A spectacular match saw Anthony Elanga twice score for Newcastle inside the opening half-hour to cancel out goals by Raphinha and Marc Bernal.

However, the Catalans went back in front when Lamine Yamal converted a penalty deep in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-2 on the night, and they never looked back.

Fermin Lopez ran through for 4-2 early in the second half before Lewandowski added a quick-fire double either side of the hour mark, and Raphinha completed the scoring in the 72nd minute.

“The confidence that we got in the second half was good to see,” said Barca coach Hansi Flick.

It was a chastening defeat for Newcastle and just the third time since 1955 that an English team has conceded at least eight goals on aggregate in a European tie — one of the other occasions was this week, when Chelsea lost 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain.

“When the game was effectively over we didn’t react well to that, so it became a very difficult second half,” said Newcastle coach Eddie Howe.

It was also just the third time Barcelona have scored seven in a Champions League game, and Flick’s side can now look forward to an all-Spanish quarter-final next month against Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s men lost 3-2 on the night to Tottenham Hotspur in London, but progressed 7-5 on aggregate thanks to their 5-2 victory last week.

Randal Kolo Muani headed in on the half-hour to give Spurs the lead on the night and suggest a stunning comeback in the tie was possible.

A superb Julian Alvarez strike just after half-time doused the home side’s hopes, even if a fine Xavi Simons effort put Tottenham back in front.

David Hancko headed in Atletico’s second on the night, before Simons converted a last-minute penalty for his second of the game as Spurs rescued some pride by ending a run of eight matches without a win.

Liverpool were too good for Galatasaray, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against the Turkish side with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s side went ahead on 25 minutes through a lovely first-time finish at a corner from Dominik Szoboszlai.

Mohamed Salah then had a poor penalty saved in first-half stoppage time, but the Egyptian made up for that in style after the break.

He laid on two goals in the space of three minutes, one for Hugo Ekitike and the other for Ryan Gravenberch.

Salah then scored the fourth himself just after the hour, curling a superb effort into the far corner from the edge of the area from a Florian Wirtz lay-off.

It was his 10th club goal this season was also his 50th in the Champions League, and it sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory which takes the Reds through to a quarterfinal against PSG.

That will be a repeat of a last-16 tie a year ago which PSG won on penalties — the French club have won four knockout ties against English opponents since the start of 2025.

“We could (have) won 10-0, but we did a good job. We can be proud,” said Ekitike.

Bayern’s progress against Atalanta was never in doubt after their 6-1 win in the first leg in Italy, and they followed that with a 4-1 success in Munich.

Harry Kane opened the scoring with a retaken first-half penalty — his initial effort had been saved — and then added a brilliant second on 54 minutes.

The brace took the Englishman to a half-century of Champions League goals, as he joined Salah and Thierry Henry on that overall mark — Kane has done it in 66 games compared to 97 for Salah.

Teenager Lennart Karl got Bayern’s third and Luis Diaz the fourth, with Lazar Samardzic pulling one back as the Germans progress 10-2 on aggregate — they now face Real Madrid in a heavyweight showdown.

“We don’t fear anyone,” Kane told DAZN when asked about the prospect of that tie. (JapanToday)

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Troubled Spurs snatch late draw at Liverpool; Man Utd boosts top-four bid

Troubled Tottenham rescued a 1-1 draw at Liverpool thanks to Richarlison’s late leveller, while Manchester United bolstered their bid to qualify for the Champions League with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Igor Tudor’s relegation-haunted side trailed to Dominic Szoboszlai’s first-half free-kick at Anfield.

But Brazil striker Richarlison netted in the 90th minute to spare Tottenham from a sixth successive Premier League defeat.

In grave danger of playing into the second tier for the first time since 1977-78, Tottenham are without a victory in their last 12 league matches — their worst winless run for 91 years.

However, their first point under interim boss Tudor, who had lost his four previous matches in all competitions since replacing the sacked Thomas Frank, offered a glimmer of hope in their desperate fight for survival.

Tottenham arrived on Merseyside in crisis after suffering an embarrassing 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last-16 first leg in midweek.

Tudor had substituted goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after just 17 minutes after he made a pair of costly mistakes.

He opted against doing the same to Guglielmo Vicario after his weak attempted save allowed Szoboszlai’s free-kick to elude him in the 18th minute.

Tottenham could have crumbled after that, but to their credit they hit back in a spirited second half.

Richarlison ensured they didn’t finish empty-handed when he steered a close-range finish past Alisson Becker after Andrew Robertson and Virgil van Dijk made a hash of dealing with Randal Kolo Muani’s flick from Vicario’s long punt.

With eight games left to save themselves, Tottenham remain in 16th place, one point above both fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest and third-bottom West Ham.

They face a crucial clash with Forest in north London in a week’s time.

Lacklustre Liverpool were booed off at the final whistle after a result that left them in fifth place, likely to be the final Champions League slot, two points behind fourth-placed Villa.

At Old Trafford, United took the lead through Casemiro’s 53rd-minute header before Ross Barkley hauled Villa level in the 64th minute.

Michael Carrick’s side finished strongly, with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko scoring in the closing stages to seal Carrick’s seventh win in nine games since taking over as interim boss.

Sitting third in the Premier League, United are three points clear of top-four rivals Villa.

United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe this week praised Carrick’s “excellent” work, but stopped short of committing to the former Old Trafford star on a long-term basis.

But Carrick is making a strong case to earn the job on a permanent basis after stabilizing United, who lost at Newcastle last week, following Ruben Amorim’s sacking.

“We looked a good team. It was a big game coming off the defeat. The boys reacted incredibly well,” Carrick said. “It’s a good feeling and something we want to keep getting used to. We are in a good position at the moment.”

Bruno Fernandes now has 16 Premier League assists this term, moving the United captain past David Beckham’s previous club record of 15 in 1999-2000.

He has 100 assists for United in all competitions since signing from Sporting Lisbon in 2020.

“He’s proven over a period of time how impactful he is in the big moments. He’s there all the time, he puts himself forward in training and games,” Carrick said.

Spluttering Villa have lost their last three league games and have just one win in seven top-flight matches, leaving them three points above sixth-placed Chelsea with eight games left in the battle for European places.

Nottingham Forest climbed out of the relegation zone after a 0-0 draw against Fulham at the City Ground.

Still waiting for their first win under Vitor Pereira, fourth-from-bottom Forest, who have had four managers this term, are above third-from-bottom West Ham on goal difference.

Ten-man Leeds held on for a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace despite Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s missed penalty and a red card for Gabriel Gudmundsson. (JapanToday)

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Tottenham loses again and faces fight for Premier League survival

Tottenham’s Premier League survival hopes took another blow on Thursday with a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace.

Spurs — one of the richest teams in Europe and a founding member of the Premier League — is just one point above the relegation zone and without a domestic win in 2026.

The latest defeat was the fifth in a row and the third under new coach Igor Tudor, who was tasked with the responsibility of turning the season around.

He watched as Spurs capitulated in front of a home crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — conceding three goals in the first half, having taken the lead and then gone down to 10 men when Micky van de Ven was sent off.

Palace took full advantage by scoring three times in seven minutes before the break.

Ismaila Sarr scored twice — one from the penalty spot — with Jorgen Strand Larsen getting the other for the visitors.

That was after Dominic Solanke had given Spurs lead in the 34th minute. Van de Ven was red-carded four minutes later for bringing down Sarr in the box. (JapanToday)