Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday fought back from two goals down to hold Manchester United to a 2-2 draw as Newcastle United closed in on a UEFA Champions League berth with a 4-1 thrashing of Everton.
Spurs were smashed 6-1 by Newcastle on Sunday to bring Cristian Stellini’s four-game reign as interim manager to an end and things threatened to go from bad to worse in caretaker Ryan Mason’s first match in charge as United stormed into a 2-0 lead by halftime.
Jadon Sancho smashed home the opener after just seven minutes, before Marcus Rashford turned on the afterburners to race past Eric Dier and fire in his 29th goal of the season.
Photo: Reuters
“I don’t think we were that good across the 90 minutes,” Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said. “After halftime we had to score another goal.”
Manchester United fans taunted the home support with chants of “Harry Kane, we’ll see you in June” amid interest from the Red Devils in Spurs’ all-time top goalscorer, but Tottenham finally showed some fight to boost their chances of qualifying for Europe next season.
Pedro Porro reduced the arrears with a thumping strike, before Kane crossed for Son Heung-min to level 11 minutes from time.
“I thought in the second half we were outstanding, and the character we showed after last Sunday and going two goals down,” Mason said. “I hope the fans can see that we were a team today and we ran for each other. In the second half we could have scored a lot more.”
A point edges Spurs back up to fifth, but they remain six points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, who have two games in hand.
Newcastle opened up an eight-point cushion on the chasing pack for a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League next season as Callum Wilson scored twice at Goodison Park.
Eddie Howe’s men struggled to find their rhythm before halftime, but led thanks to Wilson’s predatory finish after Jordan Pickford parried Joelinton’s drive.
Newcastle then cut loose in the final 20 minutes as Joelinton headed in, Wilson found the top corner and then a sensational run from Alexander Isak teed up Jacob Murphy.
“Second half you saw us at our very best and we were very clinical in front of goal,” Howe said.
“Confidence was there and that was evident in the second half. We had to earn the right to get to that point,” he said.
Dwight McNeil’s corner that crept in was scant consolation for Everton, who remain rooted in the relegation zone.
Only Southampton are keeping the Toffees off the foot of the table and they are now six points adrift of safety after a 1-0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth.
Marcus Tavernier scored the only goal at St Mary’s to take the Cherries up to 14th and seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Southampton thought they had snatched a dramatic 89th-minute equalizer, but Che Adams’ effort was ruled out for offside following a video assistant referee review, pushing the Saints closer to the Championship next season.
“I don’t think we were good enough,” Southampton manager Ruben Selles said.
“Until we conceded the goal we weren’t in the game,” he said.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS