Premier League wrap: Relief for Postecoglou as Spurs beat United; Liverpool edge Wolverhampton
Tottenham won the battle of the Premier League’s underachievers to ease pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou, while Liverpool escaped with a victory against relegation contenders Wolves.
Tottenham won the battle of the Premier League’s underachievers 1-0 on Sunday to inflict another dismal result on Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.
James Maddison scored the only goal on 13 minutes as Spurs moved above United in the table into 12th thanks to a third win over the Red Devils this season.
Victory eased the pressure on under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou after exiting both domestic cup competitions this month to go with their lowly league position.
United now find themselves down in 15th, but do enjoy a 12-point cushion over the bottom three.
Tottenham’s first home league win since November came amid a spirit of revolt among their support.
Before kick-off Spurs fans again vented their frustration towards owners ENIC and chairman Daniel Levy.
A huge banner read “24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy – Time for change” as a sizeable contingent of the home crowd joined a protest calling for Levy to go.
However, the mood for Postecoglou was lifted even before kick-off as he was able to welcome back a host of first-team regulars who have been sidelined by injury.
Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made his first appearance since November along with Maddison in the starting line-up, while Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert were on the bench.
United had their own injury troubles with Amad Diallo joining Lisandro Martinez on the sidelines for the rest of the season and Kobbie Mainoo ruled out for a month.
Amorim had to name eight teenagers among his nine substitutes, forcing Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee to start together up front after both were overlooked for United’s last league game, a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Hojlund had the first chance when he fired too close to Vicario before the Italian flew to his left to deny Alejandro Garnacho.
Instead it was Spurs who got the opener when Andre Onana could only parry Lucas Bergvall’s shot into the path of Maddison, who tapped into an empty net for his 10th goal of the season.
United should have been at least level by half-time as Garnacho blazed over a glorious opportunity with just Vicario to beat after being picked out by Bruno Fernandes.
Vicario continued to frustrate Garnacho with another fine save after the break.
Zirkzee wasted a huge chance to equalise 20 minutes from time when the Dutch international headed Noussair Mazraoui’s cross wide with the goal gaping.
But United’s inability to put the ball in the net comes as little surprise. Only the bottom three plus Everton have scored fewer than United’s 28 goals in 25 league games this season.
At the other end, Onana kept the visitors in the game by parrying Dejan Kulusevski’s powerful effort.
But even Spurs’ makeshift backline could not be breached by Amorim’s men to allow Postecoglou to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
NERVY REDS SEE OFF WOLVES
Arne Slot hailed Liverpool’s fighting spirit as the “fatigued” Premier League leaders survived a tense 2-1 win against Wolves on Sunday.
Slot’s side moved seven points clear of second-placed Arsenal thanks to Luis Diaz’s early opener and a Mohamed Salah penalty before the interval at Anfield.
It wasn’t easy for Liverpool despite that strong start as fourth-bottom Wolves hit back impressively.
Matheus Cunha’s blast reduced the deficit and Liverpool had to hold on in the closing stages before they could celebrate a first win in three games in all competitions.
Indebted to Alisson Becker for some crucial saves, Liverpool boss Slot said: “This one is big. We needed to fight and we needed Alisson.
“Wolves took a lot of risks. In a season where you want to achieve something, you need to have wins like this as well.
“It’s never the game-plan never to create anything at all. They got better and better, we got worse and worse.
“We had to show a different mentality and got it over the line. If this is what it takes to win a game then I’m happy the players could do that again.” Slot admitted Liverpool were running on fumes at times after Wednesday’s emotionally draining 2-2 draw at Merseyside rivals Everton, which featured a stoppage-time equaliser for the Toffees, and last weekend’s embarrassing FA Cup exit at second tier Plymouth.
“Fatigue comes from running a lot and a bit of mental fatigue a lot. We were mentally tested today. We thought we’d scored a third and then a penalty for the third but both were correct from the referee,” he said.
“Maybe it did lead to us being a bit tired. I did see for the first time this season that players were more tired than they have been.
“If you want to achieve something it is not only about bringing the ball out from the back or Mo scoring goals, it is also about defending.”
Liverpool’s ability to grind out a fourth win in their last five league matches kept Arsenal at bay in the title race.
Chasing a record-equalling 20th English title and their first since 2020, Liverpool are 13 games away from the trophy.
They face significant clashes with Aston Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle in their next three league games.
And Slot knows Arsenal -- who have finished runners-up for the last two seasons -- will do everything they can to take the race to a dramatic conclusion.
“If you look at the last few seasons it has mostly been a battle between two teams. As things stand now it mostly looks like between us and Arsenal,” he said.
“You can never breathe in this competition. I saw Arsenal’s 15-game unbeaten run and the gap has always been the same so that shows that we do.
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“If you want to compete for something special then you have to win a lot of games in this league.” Slot was able to sit on the bench against Wolves despite being charged with abusive behaviour towards the match officials after being sent off at the end of the stormy Merseyside derby.
The Dutchman could eventually face a suspension and he said: “It is an ongoing process, it is not smart to talk about it.
“We’ve seen the comments from the referee and now we can say our part. It’s down to a panel to decide if I get a ban.”
Originally published as Premier League wrap: Relief for Postecoglou as Spurs beat United; Liverpool edge Wolverhampton
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