Troubled Spurs snatch late draw at Liverpool, Man Utd boost top-four bid
Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko scored in the closing stages to seal Michael Carrick's seventh win in nine games as Manchester United boss (Oli SCARFF) 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. - 'A good feeling' - 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.