Sports Buzz

Tag: goal keeper

  • Liverpool held in Premier League thriller as $114m star’s epic blunder sparks title race twist

    Liverpool held in Premier League thriller as $114m star’s epic blunder sparks title race twist

    Liverpool have dropped points and handed rivals Arsenal the chance to narrow the gap in the title race with a thrilling 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa.

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    The Reds mustered 17 shots, but only three were on target, as they led and also came from behind in an enthralling 90 minutes at Villa Park.

    Arne Slot’s side now sit eight points clear of the Gunners, but with a game in hand, Arsenal can reduce the margin to five points with victory at home to West Ham on Saturday.

    Villa, who along with Liverpool are in the Champions League Round of 16, looked destined to spring an upset when they needed only two shots on target to yield two goals in the opening half.

    Midfielder Youri Tielemans levelled the scores in the 38th minute with a tidy volley, seizing the opportunity of the ball spilling to his feet as Liverpool failed to clear it after Marcus Rashford swung a free kick into the box.

    Villa Park then erupted ten minutes later when talisman Ollie Watkins headed home his 12th goal of the season.

    Defender Lucas Digne picked Watkins out in the box and the Reds complained of a handball earlier in the build-up, but the referee was not interested as the home side headed into the sheds with the lead.

    After the half time break, Villa could have easily made it three with Rashford almost opening his account in his first start for his new club.

    The loanee from Manchester United beat Reds goal keeper Alisson, who went rogue by coming a long way out from goal, in a race to the ball, but backtracking defender Ibrahima Konate headed clear Rashford’s shot.

    A huge slice of luck then went Liverpool’s way with Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring the decisive equaliser in the 61st minute courtesy of a massive deflection off Villa defender Tyrone Mings which deceived goal keeper Emiliano Martinez.

    Villa fans may have felt like justice stepped in the 70th minute to level the fortune stakes when $114m (AUD) Reds substitute Darwin Nunez, who replaced Diogo Jota up front, skied what should have been a tap in into a near empty net.

    A disallowed goal from Villa substitute Jacob Ramsey, who was a long way off-side, added more drama in the 81st minute.

    Earlier in the half, Mohamed Salah off loaded the ball to Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the box, as unsurprisingly the Egyptian star was a pivotal figure for the visitors.

    Salah opened the scoring in the 29th minute when an error from Villa defender Andres Garcia gifted the ball to Jota, who put it on a platter for the golden boot leader to bury it into an empty net.

    As has been the case on several occasions recently for Salah, who has 24 league goals this campaign, it was another record-setting goal.

    It was his 15th away goal of the Premier League season, the most by a Liverpool player in a campaign, breaking Luis Suarez’s previous mark of 14 set it in the 2013/14 season.

    The goal and assist also took his tally of goals and assists to 39 for the season, bettering Cristiano Ronaldo’s best ever season in the Premier League, and becoming the first player since Eden Hazard in 2018/19 to score 15 or more goals, and provide 15 or more assists.

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  • Ange safe for now… as ‘embarrassing’ Spurs’ rescue plan revealed, replacements touted – UK View

    Ange safe for now… as ‘embarrassing’ Spurs’ rescue plan revealed, replacements touted – UK View

    Ange Postecoglou’s job is seemingly safe for now — though Spurs’ reported rescue package for their Australian manager is meagre.

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    Reports out of the British press suggest that Tottenham are sticking with the Australian as they focus their energies on signing “at least one player” before the January transfer window is shut.

    It appeared as if Postecoglou’s time may have been up after their 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Leicester City, who had lost seven straight matches coming in, on Sunday.

    Spurs sit a lowly 15th on the Premier League table, winless in their last seven matches and picking up just four points in their last ten league fixtures.

    The faithful are growing restless with Postecoglou stopping to express his displeasure at one fan who repeatedly shouted “we’re going down with you” as he headed down the race with boos echoing after the full-time whistle.

    Postecoglou then responded to a question about whether he thinks he will still be at the helm when Spurs’ plethora of injured stars return to the park, with “who knows”.

    It was the first time the former Socceroos and Celtic boss and publicly showed the writing may be on the wall, especially given Tottenham’s history of discarding managers.

    Chairman Daniel Levy has had 16 managers in his 24 years in charge.

    But with Tottenham’s injury crisis showing few signs of improving, Levy is reportedly changing tack and giving Postecoglou more time than he afforded the likes of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte when things went pear shaped.

    Tottenham’s injury list has been in double digits for several weeks with Postecoglou unable to fill his entire bench against Leicester as James Maddison joined the casualty ward.

    Goal scorer Richarlison also should have come off at half time with a groin issue, while the manager admitted Pape Sarr should not have played after picking up an injury in their mid-week Europa League victory against German outfit Hoffenheim.

    With the medical team working over time, the lack of activity in the current transfer window has been perplexing.

    Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky arrived from Slavia Prague for £12.5 million to cover for first-choice shot stopper Guglielmo Vicario who fractured his right ankle in Spurs’ 4-0 win at Manchester City in November.

    But Kinsky is the only January signing so far, despite Postecoglou crying out for more outfield talent, especially in defence.

    The most frustrating thing for Tottenham fans is that they have the money to chase new signings.

    The Mirror’s Conor Mummery wrote that “Spurs have one of the lowest wages to turnover ratio in the league at 42 per cent. They have the biggest PSR [profit and sustainability rules] headroom in the league.

    “And Daniel Levy and Co have sat on their hands all month and watched their club slide down the league table, picking up more injuries along the way with Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Yves Bissouma joining the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario on the sidelines.”

    Ange Postecoglou’s fiery fan interaction | 00:20

    Those figures are why the fans have turned on Levy, and it appears he believes he would do further damage to his reputation by sacking another manager at this point in time.

    Football.London’s Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold shed light on how strained the relationship has become between the owner and the fan base.

    “It’s embarrassing no doubt for Levy to hear the loudest chants yet in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – his crowning glory – from thousands of supporters for him to leave his position at the helm of the club. The post-match music was cranked up loudly – Spurs fans have heard that before – but it could not drown out the chants during the match,” Gold wrote.

    “It’s embarrassing that the club are currently in danger of repeating those two critical transfer-less windows that sucked the life out of the club and the manager in Mauricio Pochettino’s final full season, seemingly learning not a single lesson from a period that ended their hopes of building on what the Argentine had created and they’ve been flailing since. Recent reports detailing the far lower percentage Spurs spend on salaries compared to revenue in relation to all of their rivals, which will only have dropped further this season, have not exactly screamed ambition from the owners to the fanbase.

    “It’s embarrassing for the club to see those couple of banners in the south stand. One read: “24 years, 16 managers, one trophy – time for change”. Another proclaimed: “Our game is about glory, Levy’s game is about greed”. That video footage appeared to show stewards trying to take down the first banner is equally embarrassing.”

    In an attempt to ease some of the tension, Tottenham are reportedly showing heavy interest in a highly touted 18-year-old who has burst on the Premier League scene this season, and a 24-year-old Manchester United academy product who has found his way in France.

    But neither deal may be done until the summer.

    “Southampton winger Tyler Dibling and Lille midfielder Angel Gomes are two players Spurs have held talks over as they attempt to set up deals for the summer window, and they are also trying to secure at least one new outfield signing this month,” Matt Law, football news correspondent for The Telegraph, wrote.

    “While Postecoglou has been relatively calm about Tottenham’s lack of business so far, it is understood there is frustration from staff behind the scenes that outfield players have not been brought in earlier to try to alleviate some of the Australian’s problems.

    “Tottenham have been desperate to avoid rushing into a decision on Postecoglou’s future and the focus has been trying to support him, but pressure is growing following successive defeats by Everton and Leicester, and with his team stuck in 15th place, eight points above the relegation zone.

    “It is understood that Spurs are understanding of the injury crisis Postecoglou has faced and believe that changing the manager again would leave the club in a difficult position as they attempt to build something lasting.

    “Furthermore, the prospect of having to finish a third season with Ryan Mason in caretaker charge would be hugely embarrassing and provoke more criticism towards Levy.”

    The allure of some much-needed silverware is seemingly also keeping Postecoglou safe in the short-term.

    Mid-week fixtures are undeniably hurting Tottenham’s depleted squad’s ability to back up time and time again for league encounters, but they remain alive in the League Cup, FA Cup and Europa League.

    In fact, they lead Liverpool 1-0 after the first leg of their League Cup semi-final with the second leg to be played at Anfield next month.

    They are sixth on the Europa League with a win at home against Swedish side IF Elsborg on Friday morning Australian time in their final league phase match guaranteeing them automatic passage to the Round of 16.

    Meanwhile, an FA Cup fourth round tie away at Aston Villa also awaits next week.

    Three opportunities remain for Postecoglou to fulfill his proclamation that he always wins a trophy in his second year in charge of a team.

    He did it in the A-League. He did it with the Socceroos. He did it in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos. He did with Scottish giants Celtic and despite things looking so bleak in North London, he remains optimistic that he can do it again.

    Around the world, he has trophies in the bank and is not interested in trying to assure others that he can manage a football team

    “It doesn’t really come into my consciousness about trying to convince people. I have been around long enough to know that some will just judge on where we are at at the moment and rightly so in some respects. It’s not good enough,” Postecoglou explained after the loss to Leicester.

    “If people want to put context to that, they can. If not, so be it. From my point of view, I’m still very much stuck on the fact that the players are just giving everything they can.

    “Even one more player coming in, just in the short term, will give us an opportunity at least to navigate these last 10 days to two weeks of what’s been a really hard slog for this group of players.

    “They did on Thursday night (against Hoffenheim), they did today. There are probably at least two who shouldn’t have been out there. They were just desperate to try to turn our fortunes around.

    “Hopefully over the next 10 days to two weeks we should get some significant players back which I think will help this group a lot. It will give them the boost they need.

    “We have still got some fantastic opportunities this year to make an impact in the second half of this year and I’m sure that will happen.”

    Whenever Postecoglou’s time is up at Tottenham, things may look brighter.

    The Mirror’s football writers identified Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Fulham’s Marco Silva as potential replacements for Postecoglou at Spurs, but they would just be getting themselves onto the same merry-go-round.

    Moving on from Spurs has reaped rewards for previous managers with The Guardian’s Jonathan Wilson writing that Postecoglou may have more success elsewhere to look forward to.

    “The good news for Ange Postecoglou is that it seems relatively straightforward to recover from being Tottenham manager: his two immediate predecessors, Antonio Conte and Nuno Espírito Santo, are top of Serie A with Napoli and third in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest respectively,” Wilson wrote.

    “As the banner unveiled on Sunday by Spurs fans during the defeat by Leicester read: “24 years, 16 managers, one trophy”. Nobody really looks at Tottenham any more and thinks the problem is the manager.

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  • PL ‘farce’ Ange can’t solve as four-word revolt exposes true villain of Spurs crisis

    PL ‘farce’ Ange can’t solve as four-word revolt exposes true villain of Spurs crisis

    As Tottenham slumped to lowly 15th place on the Premier League table with their 12th loss of the season, one person felt the wrath of Spurs’ fans and it was not Ange Postecoglou.

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    There is no denying that the Australian is under the pump, but the travelling fans who took the train north to Liverpool to watch their side concede three goals in the opening half to Everton, who had only scored 15 goals in 20 league games prior, knew the mess was not entirely Postecoglou’s fault.

    The former Socceroos boss admitted to making tactical blunders post-match as Tottenham started the game with a change of formation, a 3-4-3, that was unstuck by positioning issues and defensive errors.

    For the second half, Postecoglou changed the shape of the team to 4-2-3-1 with Richarlison coming off the bench to play alone in front of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevki and Son Heung-min, while the defence was bolstered with Djed Spence and Pedro Porro playing as full backs either side of Archie Gray and Ben Davies.

    But Postecoglou was merely moving deck chairs on the Titanic, as the saying goes.

    Postecoglou: ‘Spurs need reinforcements’ | 01:11

    With first choice goal keeper Guglielmo Vicario, and three of Postecoglou’s preferred back four in Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, sidelined with injury, things were always going to be difficult.

    Proven goal scorers Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson as well as midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are also in the casualty ward.

    Postecoglou did not even have the likes of much-maligned forward Timo Werner and defender Destiny Udogie, who signed for €20 million back in 2022, to call upon.

    So, where were the reinforcements?

    That question is why Tottenham chair Daniel Levy copped the wrath of Spurs fans, not Postecoglou.

    The away end at Goodison park sung ‘we want Levy out’ and the Sky Sports cameras panned to the English businessman after every Everton goal and nervy moment for Spurs.

    Levy has been the boss at Tottenham since 2001, making him the longest serving chair in the Premier League.

    During his time in charge, the 62-year-old, who made his fortune in property development and investment banking, has become renowned for sacking managers and a reluctance to spend big in transfer windows.

    Levy has sacked 13 managers during his 24-year stint, including the likes of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Harry Redknapp, Glenn Hoddle and Nuno Espirito Santo, who is now in charge of this season’s fairytale team, Nottingham Forest.

    But Levy has changed his tune on managers in recent times, publicly declaring the need for stability during Postecoglou’s tenure, but he has been quiet recently despite reports he was recently spotted meeting with former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri.

    The change fans are most desperate for however is to bring in some new signings this January transfer window.

    Tottenham have been linked to Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho, Barcelona winger Ansu Fati, who had a loan spell at Brighton last season, 17-year-old Irish prodigy Mason Melia and PSG centre back Milan Škriniar.

    Postecoglou admitted they were interested in Juventus-bound, on loan, PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani.

    But with the clock ticking, the only signings Spurs have to show so far is 21-year-old Czech goal keeper Antonin Kinsky and 18-year-old South Korean forward Yang Min-hyeok, who actually put pen to paper in July but waited until January to join the club after the K-League season.

    They are crying out for defensive support, but are yet to see them.

    According to Deloitte, Tottenham generated €631.5 million in revenue last year which was the eighth most of any football club in the world, and fourth most in the Premier League behind Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.

    But one of their star players, Romero, expressed his frustrations last month that Spurs are not spending like those clubs.

    “Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results. Those are the things to imitate,” he said.

    “You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they [the board] realise it.

    “The last few years, it’s always the same – first the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.

    “Hopefully they realise who the true responsible ones are and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.”

    Postecoglou said after the Everton loss that he expected the closing days of the transfer window to be action-packed for Tottenham.

    “There will be urgency but it doesn’t need me to say it, everybody can see that,” he told Sky Sports.

    “I have no issues with how the club are going about it, they are working hard and trying to find solutions. These players need help that is for sure and hopefully over the next 10 days or so we’ll find a solution. It is really tricky, we’re not the only ones in the market. The club are trying hard.”

    But fans are expecting more reluctance from Levy to spend money, and miss out on players that go on to shine at other clubs.

    Newcastle’s Alexander Isak is one such example in recent times.

    The Swede has scored 15 goals this campaign to sit third in the golden boot race, three behind leader Mohamed Salah, and former Tottenham scout Bryan King told Tottenham News that the club could have had Isak.

    “It is the same with Isak – Tottenham could have signed Isak when he was at AIK Fotboll,”

    King said.

    “I spoke to scouts at Spurs who had put dossiers together on Isak. Again, the recruitment staff at Tottenham at the time obviously ignored the possibility that Isak could be a successful player in the Premier League.

    “Borussia Dortmund then came in and paid good money for him – around £6 million. I was at Aston Villa and sat with people at Tottenham who were watching him, as I was. You might have thought he was a bit lightweight, but he was a good size, very quick and as far as I knew, Tottenham were far more interested than Aston Villa were.”

    To avoid Deja vu, Spurs fans will be hoping Levy adapts his strategy to support their spiralling Premier League campaign in the short-term.

    The League Cup, in which they lead Liverpool 1-0 after the first leg of the semi-final, the Europa League and the FA Cup remain Postecoglou’s great white hopes, but without reinforcements Tottenham will go down in flames in those competitions as the current crop of players are stretched beyond their limits.

    Therefore, there is a lot to play out in the coming days in north London.

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  • Worst in 103 years: Man Utd boss’ historic horror show as minnow stuns Chelsea — PL Wrap

    Worst in 103 years: Man Utd boss’ historic horror show as minnow stuns Chelsea — PL Wrap

    Manchester United suffered yet another Old Trafford humiliation with a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United, while relegation-threatened Ipswich Town shook up the top four race with a stunning 2-0 upset of Chelsea.

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    The Red Devils have lost three consecutive home Premier League matches as they languish in 14th on the table with 22 points from 19 games at the halfway mark of the season.

    Manager Ruben Amorim is having a nightmare start of historic proportions, becoming the first United manager in more than a century to lose five of his first eight league matches in charge.

    United legend Gary Neville said on Sky Sports pre-match that his former club’s play had been “torrid” in recent times and it was more of the same early against the Magpies, who scored twice in the first 20 minutes to set up a fifth consecutive win in all competitions.

    Newcastle now sit three points shy of the top four in fifth place, and the looked like a top outfit from the outset.

    The prolific Alexander Isak headed home his 12th league goal of the season, only Mohammed Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more, in just the fourth minute of the match.

    Twenty-year-old left back Lewis Hall had plenty of space down the left, was picked out with a brilliant cross-pitch pass by Guimaraes, whipped in an excellent cross to find the Swede at the back post, who was never going to pass up such a golden opportunity to bury the ball into the bottom right corner.

    Fifteen minutes later, United’s lacklustre defending was on display again when Joelinton also headed the ball into the back of the net to double Newcastle’s advantage.

    The attack once again came from the left but this time it was winger Anthony Gordon dinking a cross to the near post with the Brazilian steering the ball into the bottom left corner.

    Shortly after United goal keeper Andre Onana had to make back-to-back saves from successive corners – they conceded from corners in their previous two Premier League matches – to leave hearts in mouths around Old Trafford.

    In the 30th minute, Isak put a spectacular shot past Onana into the top right corner of the net, but United were saved by the linesperson’s flag.

    A minute later Tonali hit the post and it looked like Newcastle could put up a cricket score.

    Amorim changed things up with the curious decision to sub off attacker Joshua Zirkzee for midfielder Kobbie Mainoo.

    The sight of the fourth official holding up the substitute’s board received massive cheers from the home fans, who thought that perhaps Marcus Rashford, who was recalled to the squad for the first time in five matches would be coming on.

    Rashford was unused however as the saga between the England international and the club continues.

    Zirkzee was eventually applauded by the home fans, but it was a humiliating moment for the Dutchman who headed to the dressing room to take solace before making his way to the bench.

    The move did disrupt the momentum however, as United managed to create a couple of chances of their own before half time through Rasmus Hojland and Casemiro to at least show some signs of life.

    In the second half, United put in a more respectable display but the damage was done as the string went out of the contest.

    The fact the game fizzled out almost added insult to injury for the Old Trafford faithful who left early in droves as they cursed a miserable finish to the year that, apart from winning the FA Cup against rivals Manchester City, contained a lot of disappointment.

    RELEGATION BATTLERS STUN CHELSEA

    Chelsea travelled to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town with the carrot dangling in front of them of a return to second place if they could head back to London with the three points in tow.

    But the now 18th placed Ipswich had other ideas as they were clinical in attack despite hardly having any of the ball to pick up just their third win since being promoted to the top flight.

    Chelsea had 11 more shots, had the ball for 76% of the match, completed almost 500 more passes than their opponents, but failed to score.

    Ipswich on the other hand, took only 12 minutes to find their first goal when Liam Delap converted from the spot.

    Delap himself was the player fouled as he received minimal contact from goal keeper Filip Jorgensen, but VAR ruled that it was sufficient for a penalty to be awarded.

    VAR also stepped in shortly after to aid the home side as Joao Felix found the back of the net in the 24th minute but it was ruled out for off-side.

    After half time, a former Chelsea player came back to haunt the Blues as Omari Hutchinson doubled Ipswich’s lead after a brilliant run and assist from Delap to capitalise on Axel Disasi coughing up the ball in the middle of the pitch.

    Hutchinson made the controversial decision of celebrating against his former club with a spectacular backflip, much to the outrage of the Chelsea fans, after drilling an excellent finish past Jorgensen.

    It was Ipswich’s first home Premier League victory since 2002 and part-owner Ed Sheeran was regularly shown in the stands lapping up a euphoric night at Portman Road.

    The Tractor Boys move one point behind Wolves, who are above the drop zone.

    Chelsea meanwhile remain in fourth and are winless in their last three matches following a 0-0 draw to Everton and a 2-1 loss to Fulham at home either side of Christmas.

    VILLA SLIP UP LATE IN TOPSY TURVY CLASH

    In the other match on Monday evening, Aston Villa came from behind to hit the lead before Brighton found an equaliser in the 81st minute to leave Villa Park with a 2-2 draw.

    Tariq Lamptey’s first-time rocket crashed into the bottom corner for the levelling goal, and the sensational finish proved to a be a stunning way to cap off a thrilling encounter between the mid-table sides.

    Brighton’s Simon Adingra opened the scoring in the 12th minute after pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area, but after the early hiccup it appeared Villa had wrestled back control.

    Ollie Watkins converted from the penalty spot in the 36th minute and two minutes into the second half Watkins assisted Morgan Rogers, who fired home from the edge of the box, to hand Villa the lead.

    The home side would be kicking themselves with conceding late in the game however as they squandered a chance to stay in touch with the top four.

    A win would have moved them to seventh, level on points with sixth-placed Manchester City, and only four points shy of fourth placed Chelsea.

    Instead, they sit ninth at the halfway mark of the campaign, one place above Brighton who are two points in arrears.

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  • ‘We had no choice’: Deflated Ange’s big revelation as Spurs’ crisis deepens

    ‘We had no choice’: Deflated Ange’s big revelation as Spurs’ crisis deepens

    Falling behind early, hitting the lead, missing a penalty, conceding late, more injury blows, boos from the fans, it has became an all too familiar tale for Tottenham.

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    The ever-repeating script played out once again in a 2-2 draw at home to relegation-threatened Wolves as the scrutiny on Ange Postecoglou intensifies.

    The visitors, who are unbeaten with two wins and a draw since Vitor Pereira took over as manager, opened the scoring in the seventh minute with Hwang Hee-chan curling home a superb strike from the top of the box after a brilliant set play from a free kick.

    To add to the moans and groans of the home fans, the first goal created an unwanted slice of history for Spurs.

    It was the 15th time in 2024 they have conceded the opening goal of a Premier League game at home, the most ever in a calendar year.

    Things looked back on track as Rodrigo Bentancur header from a corner and Brennan Johnson’s classy finish from a pass from Dejan Kulusevski put Tottenham in front at half time.

    It could have been a two goal advantage however, as Johnson was brought down in the box minutes before his goal but Son Heung-min’s penalty was saved, and it proved to be costly.

    Tottenham looked spent in the second half and they paid the price in the 87th minute when Strand Larsen smashed the ball into the roof of the net from a ridiculously tight angle to equalise, and create more unwanted records for Spurs.

    They are now winless in five straight home Premier League matches, the first time since October 2008 when they failed to win eight straight times at home before manager Juande Ramos was sacked.

    Reds hammer West Ham in 5-0 rout | 00:45

    At present, Tottenham sit 11th on the table with 24 points from 19 outings.

    They have won once in their last seven matches, and a dealing with an injury crisis at the back.

    All those factors are why The UK Telegraph’s football news correspondent Matt Law wrote that “watching Spurs should come with a health warning even for the club’s young fans”.

    Meanwhile, The Times’ James Gheerbrant believes Postecoglou is now stuck in an awkward position in his Tottenham tenure.

    “Right now, they either win in style or fold under duress, an unhappy binary for any team, and one which leaves them in the bottom half at the year’s end, and their head coach Ange Postecoglou in an uncomfortable limbo,” he wrote.

    “At the start of 2024, Tottenham were fifth in the Premier League, Postecoglou’s win rate stood at 60 per cent, and the energy around his project felt buoyant. The past 12 months have featured a slowdown in results and a dissipation of that positivity.

    “A significant cluster of injuries and absences has hurt them this season, providing some partial mitigation for their poor form, and what must be beginning to feel to Postecoglou like a relentless inundation of bad news…”

    Postecoglou made the bold call to play Radu Dragusin despite the centre back clearly not being match fit after sustaining an ankle injury in Spurs’ Boxing Day loss at shock second-place sitters Nottingham Forest.

    It is an example of things going from bad to worse with Postecoglou justifying the decision to send the Romanian onto the pitch by saying “we had no choice. If Radu doesn’t play I don’t know who plays”.

    First choice centre back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have been sidelined with injury for Tottenham’s past six matches in all competitions, while other option Ben Davies has been out of action since their trip to Bournemouth earlier this month.

    As a result, 18-year-old Archie Gray, who has mainly been a midfielder or right-back during his young career, has been trying to hold the fort in the central defensive positions alongside Dragusin, and even with the support of midfielder Yves Bissouma when Dragusin went down at Forest.

    To add further pain, left back Destiny Udogie also picked up a hamstring injury and Bentancur’s late booking rules him out of Saturday’s match at home against Newcastle.

    The selection headaches make for “fragile foundations”, as Postecoglou famously said of the club after their fans were cheering for their side to lose to Manchester City in the penultimate match of last season to prevent rivals Arsenal from winning the league, that only grow the Australian’s frustrations.

    Souttar ruptures achilles in big blow | 02:40

    “It doesn’t feel like we’re getting a smooth run at anything,” Postecoglou said post-match. “As soon as we get one back we lose one. We have to get through it. There’s still a hell of a lot for us to play for. With what’s on the horizon, we have to give the players all the support we can to perform at their best.”

    Speaking on Sky Sports post-match, former Tottenham and England striker Darren Bent expressed his belief that most of Tottenham’s issues stem from what is happening at the club during the week, rather than on match day.

    Bent, who scored four goals from 13 appearances at international level, is adamant that Spurs’ current playing group’s conditioning is not at the level required for Postecoglou’s high octane style of play.

    “The medical department, surely Ange is saying ‘what is going on here?’ because I do feel for him in that regard, that he’s getting so many injuries, but they’ve got to look at that,” Bent said.

    “You can’t keep having the same players breaking down with the same injuries.

    “When you look at the way that they play, the intensity that they play at, clearly they’re not training at the same level that they’re playing at cause that’s where the injuries come from.

    “Usually, if you train a lesser tempo and you’re expected to go out on a Saturday and play at this Angeball pace that’s 100 miles an hour, you’re going to break down all the time.

    “Also, the recovery situation. They have players that keep getting the same injury has got to be a concern as well, van de Ven, we know how quick he is. He changes the whole dynamic of the back line, but you can’t keep having the same injury, hamstring, over and over and over again. At some point, someone’s got to go. You know what, he may be ready now but let’s give it another two weeks, three weeks, just to make sure.”

    In the same panel discussion on Sky Sports, former Tottenham midfielder and manager Tim Sherwood agreed with Bent that more of the heat needs to be directed towards Spurs’ medical staff.

    Arsenal keep pressure on Liverpool | 01:27

    Sherwood, who captained Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995, also believes that Postecoglou needs greater support from the club in the form of spending more money to build greater squad depth in the upcoming January transfer window.

    “He’s going to stick to what he’s doing. What he knows best and that’s playing this way. He just needs a little bit of help in the transfer market in January, I’d suggest,” Sherwood said.

    “I’m not sure what sort of quality of players they can bring in, or get some players back. Udogie gets injured today, another hamstring, so something must be happening.

    “I thought in the world of sports scientists, that was all eradicated but it seems to be increasing. I don’t think they’re overtrained, players these days, I think they’re undertrained.

    “I don’t know what goes on day-to-day at the training ground, but to continually pick up muscle injuries, there must be something they need to look at.”

    As for how Postecoglou is managing this incredibly difficult stretch, Sherwood believes he is simply doing what he can.

    “I don’t think he’s running out of ideas because he’s got clear ideas of how he wants to play. I think what he is struggling with is the depth of the squad. He’s not being able to rest his squad,” Sherwood said.

    “I made a point during the game of, they’ve got the two centre backs missing, Micky van de Ven and Romero, and Vicario, the goal keeper.

    “Other than that, it’s a full strength side.

    “What the problem is, is when he wants to make the changes, he doesn’t have the quality off the bench to make the changes, and everyone is having to play all of the minutes, all of the time.

    EPL powerhouses fail to fire | 02:11

    “He’s trying to rest them. He’s trying to juggle it up to keep them fresh.

    “Talk about sharpness in the final third, they haven’t got a problem scoring goals. We all know they can score goals. It’s trying to keep the opposition out.”

    Tottenham fans have recently protested against club chair Daniel Levy for his reluctance to spend more to build a deeper squad.

    It will fascinating to watch in the January transfer window how proactive Spurs are, but before any reinforcements can be brought on, Levy will be demanding better from the existing troops.

    “Levy had a face like thunder in the stands and may well fear the worst ahead of a run of games that include Newcastle United next, Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and a trip to Arsenal,” the UK Telegraph’s Matt Law wrote.

    “The way things are going, Spurs might not even be particularly confident about their FA Cup trip to Tamworth.”

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  • ‘Crazy’: Ange tactics slammed as ‘unserious’ after Reds ‘could’ve got 10’ in Spurs smash-up

    ‘Crazy’: Ange tactics slammed as ‘unserious’ after Reds ‘could’ve got 10’ in Spurs smash-up

    Ange Postecoglou has threatened to stop answering a certain type of question from reporters after Tottenham were battered 6-3 at home by Premier League leaders Liverpool.

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    The Australian manager never shies away from this attack-first philosophy, a cornerstone of which is his side’s high defensive line, despite recent criticism and an injury-hit, fatigued defence.

    Postecoglou made no changes to the starting XI that overcame Manchester United 4-3 in a thrilling Carabao Cup quarter-final with first-choice goal keeper Guglielmo Vicario as well as centre back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven still on the sidelines.

    Arne Slot’s side meanwhile was full strength, and there was a sense of the inevitable before kick-off when Postecoglou joked on Sky Sports that “it’s got all the hallmarks of a 0-0, mate”.

    Liverpool came out ruthless as they routinely capitalised on Tottenham’s defensive frailties as they produced 24 shots on goals with Luis Diaz and Mohammed Salah scoring braces, while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai also got on the score sheet.

    “Spurs stayed high, caution to the chill wind. Liverpool simply ran through them,” The Guardian’s David Hytner wrote at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

    It was such a dominant display that Reds’ legend Jamie Carragher declared on Sky Sports that they “could’ve got ten” into the back of the net on Sunday.

    ‘Painful one for us’: Ange dejected | 01:06

    The insistence from Postecoglou to stick to his guns despite being regularly exposed, as they also conceded four goals in a home loss to second-placed Chelsea earlier this month, has copped widespread criticism.

    When he was asked yet again by the BBC whether Spurs’ injury woes were to blame for their issues at the back, Postecoglou responded in fiery fashion, showing that he is fed up with condemnation.

    “I’m just going to stop answering these questions,“ he said.

    “If people can’t see the obvious I‘m not going to point it out. Make of it what you want, yes we’re conceding goals.

    “If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and left-back and that hasn’t coincided with what we’re doing… I don’t know what to say anymore.

    “I think people make up their mind in their own way. They either think what I’m doing is good or bad, and that’s fine.

    “It’s fairly significant [losing injured players]. If you took out Liverpool’s goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back – or any team other than Liverpool – they’d find it tough going as well.”

    Slot defends Postecoglou despite loss | 00:59

    Not everyone agrees with the injury struggles being the root cause of the fact Tottenham will sit 11th on the Premier League at Christmas Day despite scoring more goals than anyone else in the league.

    Carragher said post-game that “nobody has ever won anything playing like that”.

    “Not that I expect Tottenham to win the Premier League but nobody has ever won anything playing like that,” the Sky Sports pundit said after the game.

    “It was almost Kevin Keegan-like. The other team I could associate with that was almost Brendan Rodgers with Liverpool, where it was just end-to-end, 6-3, 5-4, and at the end of it they just come a little bit short.

    “You’ve got to respect the opposition, you’ve got to respect the defensive side of the game.

    “I get the idea. It’s not about a style of play. If everyone’s fully fit and he wants to do things slightly different – every manager who comes in has got a little different way of doing things.

    “You’ve got to have something that’s a little bit different, that makes you special, that makes you start off in Australia and get yourself to the Premier League. It’s a brilliant journey he’s been on, and he’s got a way about that.

    “But when you’ve got your best team, not when you’re down to the bare bones.”

    EPL Wrap: Cherries spark Man United | 01:15

    One of the key points of conjecture in Tottenham’s defensive set-up has been goal keeper Fraser Forster.

    The 36-year-old has never been particularly comfortable playing out from the back, as Postecoglou, likes to do and it led to Forster making two absolute howlers to concede goals against Manchester United mid-week when the Spurs’ defenders passed the ball back to him.

    Forster’s confidence was clearly rattled as in the third minute of the game, he passed the ball straight to Salah but that was one of the chances that went unpunished, and supports Carragher’s “could’ve got ten” view.

    The former England shot stopper found himself an ally in legendary Manchester United goal keeper Peter Schmeichel, who slammed Postecoglou post-match.

    “It’s on [Ange Postecoglou]. He’s playing to his principles. Today it was crazy, the high-line, the space they left behind, they’re not playing with a ‘keeper who’s comfortable cleaning up behind. You can’t play a system the players can’t play because of principle. For that they’ve conceded three on Thursday [in the League Cup] and six today,” Schmeichel said.

    “When you look at the table, they’re not on the front page, they’re on the second page. Tottenham are not supposed to be on the second page, it’s because of the way they play.

    “The stubbornness of wanting to play that way, they got what they deserved and it could have been a lot worse.”

    Man City’s top 4 dreams take ANOTHER hit | 03:29

    The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew was similarly scathing of Postecoglou, and Tottenham as a club more broadly.

    He labelled them “unserious” on a day when Spurs’ fans protested against club chair Daniel Levy.

    “Tottenham are not serious about this. They win spectacularly, and then they lose spectacularly, and it doesn’t really matter because over the past couple of years they have engendered a culture in which progress is basically divorced from outcomes,” Liew wrote.

    “League positions are of no consequence. Champions League qualification is not a target, because the entire success of this multi-billion-pound operation is geared around whether a middle-aged Australian man feels his ideas have taken root this week or not.

    “There are clear and tangible advantages to this approach. Most importantly, it’s a lot of fun. This is expressive football with no compromises, a young and essential energy, and occasionally the ultimate rush. When it destroys the quadruple champions or puts seven past Manchester United in two games, it feels like total vindication, and who doesn’t love one of those? This is the entertainment business, there are Tunnel Club packages to be sold, and being the Premier League’s top scorers is a pretty persuasive pitch if you’re not really fussed about who wins.

    “But there are also disadvantages to being an unserious team, and perhaps you glimpse them most sharply when you come up against a serious team. A team that don’t take a weird solace in denying their rivals the league, or entertain bizarre superstitions about maybe winning the FA Cup when the year ends in a one. A coach who believes his job is to make his players look good, rather than the other way around.”

    Not all in the British press have been as brutal.

    The UK Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt wrote from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that it would cruel to judge Postecoglou too harshly given the fact he has a second-choice goal keeper in Forster, 18-year-old right-back Archie Gray and 22-year-old back-up Radu Dragusin as his centre back pairing, as well as the forgotten Djed Spence at left back.

    While Spurs supporters might be tearing their hair out, neutral observers are getting value for money, as evidenced by Postecoglou jokingly asking “are you not entertained?” in a post-match interview after their Carabao Cup win against Manchester United.

    “There must be sympathy for Ange Postecoglou, especially given how bravely he continues to demand his team play, but it does lead to criticism of its own. They give up simple goals at times and so it proved,” Burt said.

    “The fact Gray, at 18, is playing at centre-half highlights how stretched Spurs are, of course, but no-one can deny their spirit – they never take a backward step – and desire to score and they claimed two goals as firstly Kulusevski volleyed in after a fine link-up with Dominic Solanke and then Solanke also guided the ball home from a header by substitute Brennan Johnson.

    “But it only served to annoy Liverpool as they swiftly bewildered Spurs again for Salah to slip a pass through to Diaz who finished with a powerful angled shot. And with that there was a thumbs-up from Slot who took the pair off. It showed just how ruthless they can be and their work was done. And, yes, we were entertained.”

    The rollercoaster will roll on for Spurs with more crunch fixtures to come either side of New Year’s.

    A Boxing Day trip to the feel-good story of the season, fourth-placed Nottingham Forest will be difficult.

    They then face relegation-threatened Wolves and seventh-placed Newcastle at home, before hosting Liverpool once again in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on January 6.

    That will be a fascinating test of how they can change in a short-space of time, but Postecoglou will not shy away from his attacking philosophy.

    He never has, and he has always been up front about the fact that he is not going to.

    “I’ve been really patient the last 18 months, answering the same questions over and over again,” he said post-match.

    “If people want me to change my approach, it’s not going to change.

    “We’re doing it for a reason, we’re doing it because we think it’ll help us be successful.”

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  • ’Not acceptable’: Ange’s whack for Spurs star as struggles continue; Man Utd’s stunning comeback

    ’Not acceptable’: Ange’s whack for Spurs star as struggles continue; Man Utd’s stunning comeback

    Dejan Kulusevski equaliser and a stunning stop from Fraser Forster saved Tottenham’s blushes as Ange Postecoglou’s side drew 1-1 with Rangers in their Europa League clash in Glasgow.

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    The result takes Spurs to 11 points from six games, and they sit ninth, only on goal difference out of the top eight, who automatically progress to the knockout rounds, with two league phases matches to come in the new year.

    A draw means Tottenham remain winless in their last three Europa League contests, and they have only won once in their last eight matches in all competitions, but for much of the night, things looked like they would play out much worse.

    “It’s fair to say we’re in a bit of a struggle,” Postecoglou said post-match.

    The Australian manager has been under intense scrutiny this week after back-to-back Premier League losses, and the former Celtic boss’ heart must have been in his mouth when Rangers were through on goal in the 86th minute.

    Cyriel Dessers barged his way past several defenders to get a shot away, but Forster stayed big and pulled off a brilliant piece of goal keeping, not for the first time in the match, to tip the ball wide and deny the home side.

    Only a minute later, the Ibrox descended into raptures as Dessers found the back of the net this time, but the celebrations were short-lived as the linesperson’s flag was up, and replays showed he was well offside.

    Those chances for Rangers were brewing all night, whereas Kulusevski’s equaliser seemingly came from nowhere.

    Spurs were patiently playing the ball around at the back for more than a minute before attacking down the right and Kulusevski took matters into his own hands to score in the 75th minute.

    The Swede cut back, found fellow substitute Dominic Solanke in the box, continued his run, received the ball back from Solanke and slotted it home with a left foot, first-time shot from near the edge of the penalty area.

    Things were looking dire for Tottenham before Kulusevski’s brilliant run as they went unpunished for their sloppiness in the first half, but it took less than two minutes after the break for Rangers to finally capitalise on yet another Spurs error.

    They coughed up the ball in midfield, and right back James Tavernier broke down the right-hand side, whipped a beautiful, curling ball in the box to pick out front man Hamza Igamane in the box, and the Moroccan slammed the half-volley into the bottom corner.

    The third-placed side in the Scottish Premiership looked more threatening for most of the evening, and the home supporters relished watching their team take it up to an English side.

    It was the first time Spurs has travelled north to face Rangers in a competitive fixture since the 1960s, and the last time the blue half of Glasgow hosted a Premier League outfit, they were humiliated 7-1 by Liverpool.

    That was in a Champions League contest in 2022 when Mohamed Salah came off the bench to score a stunning six minute hat trick, and it was arguably the most disastrous night of decades of heartbreak against English opposition in European competition, having not beaten a team from south of the border since getting the better of Leeds United in 1992.

    For most of the freezing cold evening, it appeared as if that streak might be broken but Rangers ultimately did not make the most of the 15 shots they took, six of which were on target.

    Both sides looked like they would be made to pay for their sloppiness with the ball throughout the first half as they each had threatening opportunities on the counter attack, but lacked the poise to finish.

    It was a back-and-forth, end-to-end contest with Tottenham having more of the ball but their makeshift defence looked incredibly vulnerable at times.

    Teenager Archie Gray, who typically plays right back, started alongside Ragu Dragusin as a central defender due to Spurs’ injury woes but it was goal keeper Forster who repelled Rangers’ attacks best with two excellent first half saves.

    The former Celtic shot stopper was booed and jeered extensively by the home fans, but kept his cool to tip a bullet from Nedim Bajrami over the bar in the 10th minute before ensuring they headed to the sheds deadlocked with an excellent save with his feet from a Vaclav Cerny shot in the final minute of the half.

    Rangers came out hard and finished the opening stanza the better of the two sides, while Tottenham controlled the middle period of the opening half.

    The home side lost centre back John Souttar, who is the brother of Socceroo Harry, in the 34th minute to a groin injury and it appeared as if a change at the back might open things up for Spurs.

    They had their chances but only one of their six first half shots was on target, and that was a tame shot from Son Heung-min, who started up front with Timo Werner, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson sitting behind him, in a change of formation from Postecoglou.

    The much-maligned Werner was benched at half time for goal scorer Dejan Kulusevski, while Johnson last an hour before making for Dominic Solanke, and Postecoglou took the unusual step of publicly expressing his frustrations with Werner post-match.

    “He wasn’t playing anywhere near the levels he can. It’s not acceptable to me. I told him that. He’s a senior international, a German international,” he said.

    “In the moment we’re in now, I need everyone to be at least going out there and giving the best they can. What he produced wasn’t acceptable. I expect more from the senior players like him.”

    Spurs seem to be in a funk in attack, and with a trip to Southampton, a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United and a visit from Premier League leaders Liverpool before Christmas, they will need to break it fast to get back to winning ways.

    Chelsea down Astana in Conference League | 00:42

    SUPER SUBSTITUTE INSPIRES MAN UTD COMEBACK

    Second-half substitute Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United fought back to earn a 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.

    The hosts took the lead shortly after half-time, but Hojlund levelled on 62 minutes, six minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford, when the Danish striker tapped in Amad Diallo’s deflected shot.

    Two minutes from time, he beat Plzen goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka again with a clinical finish, turning around his marker after United captain Bruno Fernandes had found him inside the box with a clever free-kick.

    Matej Vydra, a former Watford, West Brom, Reading, Derby and Burnley forward, opened the scoring for the hosts with a close-range finish three minutes after half-time.

    Pavel Sulc found Vydra facing an empty net after he had intercepted United goalkeeper Andre Onana’s pass inside the box.

    Hojlund double guides United to victory | 00:58

    The goal was a wake-up call for United manager Ruben Amorim, who made three replacements in its wake, including Hojlund.

    “It was not a great game,” said Amorim, before praising the substitutes. “They changed the game. They are there to do that so I’m pleased with that.”

    He added he was happy with the outcome: “It was important not to give up so that is a great message.”

    The former Sporting Lisbon boss replaced the sacked Eric ten Hag in November, but the chilly evening in Plzen showed United still have some way to go.

    Both teams came into the match with nine points from five Europa League games, and they took time to find their pace.

    Fernandes had the first shot on target half an hour into the game, but Jedlicka parried his low right-footed effort from the edge of the box.Onana watched Cheick Souare’s shot curl just past the top corner of his goal two minutes before the break.

    United substitutes Mason Mount and Antony were denied by Jedlicka in the second half, with Mount failing to beat the ‘keeper twice from close range.

    But Hojlund turned the match on its head to put United in a strong position for direct qualification to the last 16.

    “We didn’t have so much time to work on this type of game. We were controlling the game but didn’t have the pace (in the first half),” said Amorim.

    “We want to improve and we want to improve really fast,” he added. United next face Rangers at Old Trafford on January 23.

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  • Liverpool late heart break in six-goal thriller; Man City break their slump as maestro returns – PL Wrap

    Liverpool late heart break in six-goal thriller; Man City break their slump as maestro returns – PL Wrap

    League leaders Liverpool played one of the game’s of the season at Newcastle, while Manchester City returned to winning ways as two of England’s biggest clubs locked horns in London in a massive mid-week slate of Premier League matches.

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    A 90th minute equaliser from Newcastle’s Fabian Schär ended Liverpool’s seven match winning streak in all competitions, as the Reds’ trip north ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

    Mohammed Salah continued his rich vein of form as the Egyptian scored twice in the second half to give Liverpool the lead, but goal keeper Caoimhín Kelleher had a moment to forget during a set piece in the dying minutes that pathed the way for Schär’s equaliser.

    The Irish shot stopper misjudged the ball, which was whipped in to the box by Bruno Guimarães from a free kick, and let it go over his head, thinking it would sail beyond the touch line, but the Magpies centre back slid in at the back post to squeeze his shot home from an incredibly tight angle.

    St James’ Park was sent into raptures by the celebrations but the drama was not over as fans ranged when the full-time whistle was blown after six minutes of stoppage time.

    Newcastle was seemingly on the break to create another attacking opportunity, but the game was drawn to a close with both sides have justifiable arguments for who let an additional two points slip, and who snatched a point.

    Obviously, the hosts levelled things up at the death, but Liverpool came from behind twice earlier in the night.

    Salah was voted player of the match for his performance that jumped him ahead of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in the golden boot standings with 13 goals so far this campaign, and he has scored nine times in his last seven Premier League outings.

    His 68th minute and 83rd minute goals were both assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold who came off the bench and picked out Salah at the near post for the first before finding the Egyptian in the centre of the box to give him a brace.

    Salah assisted Liverpool’s first goal of the game when he delivered a low cross to Curtis Jones who smashed it into the roof of the net in the 50th minute.

    Alexander Isak’s first half rocket from outside the box gave Newcastle the early advantage as the Magpies caused Arne Slot’s side headaches with their tenacious high press.

    With Alexander-Arnold resting on the bench, and the injured Ibrahima Konate also not on the park, Liverpool looked unusually vulnerable at the back early, an issue vividly illustrated as Jacob Murphy smashed a fierce shot off the far post from an acute angle.

    It was a warning Liverpool failed to heed as Isak opened the scoring in the 35th minute.

    Surging into Lewis Hall’s pass, Isak took a clever touch that wrong-footed Virgil van Dijk 20 yards from goal, opening space for a blistering strike that flashed into the roof of the net.

    Gordon should have doubled Newcastle’s lead after Joe Gomez’s miscued clearance, but the forward’s hesitant shot was straight at Kelleher.

    Liverpool were ragged and Slot threw his arms up in frustration after another Gomez mistake allowed Murphy to blast narrowly wide.

    Yet in the blink of an eye, Liverpool conjured an equaliser five minutes after half-time.

    Anonymous in the first half, Salah burst into life with a superbly measured cross towards Jones, whose run was perfectly timed to meet the Egyptian’s delivery with an emphatic close-range finish.

    Newcastle were back in front after 62 minutes as Isak’s deft pass sent Gordon galloping into the area and he cut back inside before planting a composed finished beyond Kelleher from 10 yards.

    But Liverpool’s resolve was unshaken, thanks in large part to the presence of the sublime Salah, as well as Slot’s decision to send on Alexander-Arnold.

    Dropping points for the first time since a 2-2 draw at Arsenal on October 27, Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table is down to seven points.

    After impressive 2-0 wins against Real Madrid and Manchester City last week, Slot’s men were hailed as champions elect in England and leading contenders for the Champions League.

    Failing to kill off spirited Newcastle won’t change that status, but Slot will have noted the flaws in his injury-hit defence ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park.

    DE BRUYNE MASTERCLASS GETS MAN CITY BACK TO WINNING WAYS

    Manchester City snapped a seven-game winless streak as Kevin De Bruyne played a starring role in a 3-0 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

    The Belgian created Bernardo Silva’s opening goal and then scored the second before Jeremy Doku rounded off a much-needed victory for the English champions.

    City’s barren run included six defeats to leave them 11 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool before kick-off.

    However, De Bruyne’s return to the starting line-up for the first time in nearly three months helped resume normal service at the Etihad Stadium.

    City move back into the top four and within nine points of Liverpool after their 3-3 draw at Newcastle.

    Pep Guardiola had to shoot down suggestions of a rift with De Bruyne on the eve of the game after bedding him back into action slowly with a series of substitute appearances.

    The 33-year-old showed what City have been missing as he rolled back the years and could well have had more than just one goal.

    Guardiola reacted to Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool by making four changes as Josko Gvardiol, Doku and Jack Grealish also came into the team.

    It took just eight minutes for City to make the breakthrough. Ilkay Gundogan’s cross was headed back towards goal by De Bruyne and Silva was in the right place to tap home from centimetres out.

    Guardiola claimed pre-match that Ederson remains his number one goalkeeper but the Brazilian was again benched in favour of Stefan Ortega.

    The German made a big save to deny Morgan Gibbs-White before Forest missed a glorious chance to put the Etihad crowd back on edge.

    Chris Wood’s fine goalscoring form has been the catalyst to a fabulous season so far for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

    But the New Zealander was wayward as he fired wide with just Ortega to beat. De Bruyne settled City nerves on 31 minutes when he collected Doku’s pass inside the area and coolly slotted into the top corner.

    Erling Haaland has now failed to find the net in his last three Premier League games.

    But the Norwegian did play a part in the third goal with the assist for Doku, who cut inside and fired into the far corner.

    De Bruyne saw a free-kick curl just wide and was then denied a second by his international team-mate Matz Sels.

    He was given a standing ovation when he departed 15 minutes from time. City spectacularly collapsed from 3-0 up to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord in the Champions League eight days ago.

    However, there was never any sense of a repeat as they controlled the closing stages to add a clean sheet to an all-round restorative night for Guardiola’s men.

    Defeat leaves Forest still in sixth but now four points off the top four.

    ARSENAL CLOSE GAP ON LIVERPOOL

    Arsenal worked their set-piece magic to beat Manchester United 2-0 on Wednesday, ending Ruben Amorim’s unbeaten start to life in the Old Trafford hotseat and closing the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool.

    United frustrated the home side and kept the crowd quiet at the Emirates in a cagey first half but Jurrien Timber broke the deadlock from a corner after the break and William Saliba repeated the feat.

    The win leaves Arsenal in third place in the Premier League, behind Chelsea on goal difference and seven points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 3-3 draw at Newcastle.

    Amorim made six changes from the team that brushed Everton aside 4-0 at the weekend, dropping in-form Amad Diallo and Marcus Rashford from his starting line-up.

    Gabriel was a significant absence from Arsenal’s defence, joining Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori on the injury list.

    Amorim travelled to London with two wins and a draw from three matches in all competitions, keenly aware that Arsenal would be his biggest test yet.

    The Gunners hogged possession in the opening moments and had the ball in the net in the fourth minute through Gabriel Martinelli, only for it to be ruled out for offside.

    Mikel Arteta’s men should have been ahead just minutes later when Thomas Partey skewed his header wide from a corner.

    Martinelli flashed just wide from another corner midway through the first half as Arsenal continued to look dangerous from set-pieces.

    United were content to bide their time when they had the ball but they looked blunt in attack.

    The visitors could have gone in ahead at half-time had Diogo Dalot not steered just wide with a right-footed shot in the 43rd minute.

    The two teams, both in goalscoring form, produced a combined five shots in the opening 45 minutes, with none on target.

    – Corner routine –

    The game picked up tempo at the start of the second half, with Diallo replacing Tyrell Malacia for United.

    Feeding off a more vocal crowd, a re-energised Arsenal put United under pressure, finally breaking the deadlock when Timber headed his first goal for the club from a Declan Rice corner.

    Amorim reacted quickly, bringing on forwards Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee and handing French teenage defender Leny Yoro his United debut.

    Diallo won a free-kick after fine work on the right in the 66th minute and Arsenal were grateful to goalkeeper David Raya, who pushed away a powerful Matthijs de Ligt header from Bruno Fernandes’s free-kick.

    Arsenal doubled their lead from a Bukayo Saka corner in the 73rd minute when Partey’s shot hit Saliba and beat Andre Onana.

    Arsenal have scored more goals from corners — 21 — than any other side in the Premier League since the start of last season.

    Onana got down well to save a Kai Havertz shot as Arsenal threatened to cut loose.

    United just about managed to keep them out but Amorim will know that he has a big job on his hands.

    BIG WINS FOR CHELSEA, EVERTON AND ASTON VILLA

    Second-place Chelsea put bottom of the table Southampton to the sword with a 5-1 rout at St Mary’s, while Everton geared up for the weekend’s Merseyside Derby with a 4-0 home thumping of Wolverhampton.

    Chelsea looked like they were going to have a battle on their hands when Joe Aribo equalised for the Saints in the 11th minute after Axel Disasi’s seventh minute opener, but it quickly turned into a romp.

    The Blues shared the goals around with five individual goal scorers as Disasi (7th minute), Christopher Nkunku (17th minute), Noni Madueke (34th minute), Cole Palmer (76th minute) and Jadon Sancho (87th minute) all got themselves on the score sheet.

    Chelsea now sit seven points behind league leaders Liverpool, level with Arsenal but they possess a superior goal difference which benefited from the trip to the south coast, and they have won their last three Premier League matches.

    Everton meanwhile picked up a much-needed win to give themselves some breathing distance from the relegation battle.

    Ashleigh Young became the fourth oldest goal scorer in Premier League history as the 39-year-old scored with a stunning free kick in the 10th minute to get the ball rolling for the Toffees.

    Orel Mangala (33rd minute) and Craig Dawson (49th minute and 72nd) also put the ball into the back of the net to move Everton into 15th place, five points clear of the drop zone.

    Wolves languish in 19th with just nine points from 14 games.

    Aston Villa kept themselves in touch with the top four with a 3-1 win at home to Brentford.

    They scored three times in the first half with Morgan Rogers (21st minute), Ollie Watkins (28th minute, penalty) and Matty Cash (34th minute) doing the damage.

    Villa are in seventh on 22 points, four points behind fourth placed Manchester City, after a five-match winless run before Wednesday night’s match.

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  • ‘Truly blessed’: England icon lifts lid on ‘mindblowing’ Ange revelation in stunning speech

    ‘Truly blessed’: England icon lifts lid on ‘mindblowing’ Ange revelation in stunning speech

    Former England goal keeper Joe Hart heaped praise on current Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou in a BBC 5 Live discussion, hailing the Australian’s tactical nous which “blew my mind” during their time together at Celtic.

    Hart made his name for himself in the Premier League with 266 appearances for Manchester City and earlier this year he retired from professional football after a three-year stint at Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

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    The four-time winner of the Premier League golden glove award headed to Glasgow at the same time as Postecoglou in 2021, and despite his wealth of experience, Hart found their time together to be a real eye-opener and an immense learning experience.

    He had little experience playing in a formation with three at the back during his 75 international caps for England or his time in the Premier League and Serie A, so adapting to the aggressive tactics of ‘Angeball’ changed his perspectives on the game.

    “My last three managers in England, David Moyes, Sean Dyche, [and] Jose Mourinho. All top, top managers in their own right and have done incredible things,” Hart said.

    “But they are very much [about] hard work, dedication, learning what you need to do and going out and performing.

    “Then I went and had three years [at Celtic] – two of them with Ange Postecoglou and one of them with Brendan Rodgers. Ange Postecoglou blew my mind because he really opened me up.

    Spurs sink four goals in impressive win | 02:26

    “I always thought playing out from the back, does that mean I have to do [Johan] Cruyff turns, pick passes? No, it doesn’t; it means I need to stand on the ball and make sure my centre halves are on either side of me; my six is showing.

    “I’m not playing out for the sake of it. I’m playing out to score. If that full press comes and all I see is opposition players next to mine, I’m given that clarity in my mind that there’s a little dink into the striker’s chest.

    “All these things come together, and it’s a totally different game and a totally different thought process.

    “I feel truly blessed because I would honestly feel out of my depth sat here three years ago trying to have this conversation [about playing out from the back].”

    Chelsea spoil Man United homecoming | 00:50

    Australian football fans have been well versed in Postecoglou’s attacking mentality since his days coaching South Melbourne in the defunct National Soccer League, his record-breaking ‘Roarcelona’ team in the A-League and, of course, the Socceroos.

    Postecoglou’s eye-catching style and use of three defenders at the back on several occasions as often been controversial, but has famously reaped trophies around the world.

    Celtic fans quickly fell in love with the Australian as he guided them to a treble winning season in 2022/23, and Tottenham supporters are now infatuated with him as they have scored the most goals in the Premier League so far this season.

    Spurs’ hunt to end their trophy drought remains well and truly alive this season as they have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign with three wins from three games, while they are due to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

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  • ‘We’re going to win the league’: Fans revel in former PL powerhouse’s shock revival

    ‘We’re going to win the league’: Fans revel in former PL powerhouse’s shock revival

    Chants of ‘we’re going to win the league’ ringing around Nottingham Forest’s home, the City Ground, would have been unthinkable weeks ago.

    The chorus of singing may be a bit tongue in cheek but the two-time European champions are lapping up their first tastes of success in decades and are daring to dream of pulling off football’s latest miracle.

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    Forest demolished West Ham 3-0 at home on Saturday to move to third place on the Premier League – heights they have not reached for 26 years.

    In fact, not since August 1998, when a 2-1 win over Southampton left them second on the table, have they sat so high.

    They may be leapfrogged by Aston Villa and Chelsea – who face away days at Tottenham and Manchester United respectively on Sunday – by weekend’s end but regardless of other results, Forest are flying.

    Their win against the Hammers – who played with ten men for more than a half courtesy of Edson Alvarev’s second red card of the season – was their third in a row in the Premier League after toppling Leicester City 3-1 and Crystal Palace 1-0 in recent matches.

    It is the first time they have won three on the bounce in England’s top flight in more than a quarter of century, and it has all been underpinned by stellar defending.

    Only league leaders Liverpool have conceded less than the seven goals scored against Forest in ten matches so far.

    It is a remarkable turnaround for a team who let in 67 goals last season – only four teams conceded more – and battled miserably to defend set pieces.

    Serbian centre-back Nikola Milenkovic has been superb since he joined from Fiorentina for £12m, while Matz Sels is firmly establishing himself as the number one goal keeper has been crucial after the Belgian was one of three keepers Forest used last season.

    Former Premier League goal keeper Ben Foster even dared to ask the question ‘are they the best defence in Europe?’ on his podcast after Forest defeated Liverpool on match day four.

    Meanwhile up front, it has all been about a Kiwi.

    United appoint Amorim as new head coach | 01:16

    New Zealander Chris Wood has led the charge as he sits equal second in the race for the golden boot alongside Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, three behind Manchester City’s goal scoring Erling Haaland.

    Wood headed home his eighth goal of the season against West Ham – Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina also got their names on the score sheet – and he is well on track to have a career-best campaign having never scored more than 14 goals in an entire Premier League season.

    But the six foot three striker’s desperation at the other end of the pitch received the most praise from Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo.

    In first half stoppage time, Hammers attacker Lucas Paqueta’s attempt on goal from the edge of the box was cleared off the line by Wood.

    “Did you see that? Wow,” Nuno said. “There’s no better example. Wow. You cannot thank them enough. He’s been huge for us, huge. I hope he continues. The way he leads, the example, the voice, the belief that his teammates have in him.”

    On the pitch, it makes sense that stoic defending and clinical finishing leads to strong results.

    But it makes little sense that Forest are doing so well considering their issues off the pitch.

    On the final day of last season they avoided relegation with a 2-1 win at Burnley – Wood scored both goals – after they were hit with a points deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

    The drama surrounding the club has continued this season.

    Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis is not even allowed in the stadium at the moment.

    He was handed a five-match ban last month for spitting on the floor as match officials walked past in the tunnel following a 1-0 loss to Fulham last month.

    Meanwhile Nuno was still banned from the touchline for Saturday’s match after he was shown a red card for swearing at match officials during their 2-2 draw at Brighton in September.

    The players have not been distracted however.

    “It is a positive moment. We worked very hard this week, this is what we are focused on. We have to work and work hard and improve much more,” Nuno said after the win.

    “Nothing has changed since the beginning, we have to keep on going. Believe me, there is no other way. If you get distracted, football doesn’t forgive you.

    “I think the longer the team is together, the better the players will know each other, the options we have coming back, the group should be stronger and as time goes by the bond will grow. This is my belief.”

    Forest may not stay on cloud nine for long – away trips to title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal await in their next four matches – but their fans are daring to dream.

    Supporters at the City Ground on Saturday were treated to celebratory fireworks after the final whistle, and talk of the good old days of 1979 and 1980 when they famously won back-t0-back European Cups is filling the streets on the south side of the river Trent.

    They could follow in the footsteps of another proud club with a storied history Aston Villa who leapt into the top four last season to return to European football.

    They may dare to dream of being another shock title winner like Leicester City in 2016.

    It may all be a flash in the plan, but regardless of how the remainder of Forest’s campaign plays out, it is refreshing to have someone different rubbing shoulders with the behemoths at the top of the table.

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