Liverpool title setback: Drawing with Spurs aids City’s bid

May 7, 2022, 3:33 AM | Updated: 3:36 pm
Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp, right, gestures during the English Premier League soccer match be...

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp, right, gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

(AP Photo/Jon Super)

              Brighton and Hove Albion's Leandro Trossard, center right, celebrates scoring their side's third goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
            
              Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick, right, on the touchline during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
            
              Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson fails to save the ball as Tottenham's Son Heung-min, center, scores his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
            
              Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, center, reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
            
              Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp, right, gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — There was frustration from Jürgen Klopp at dropping vital points but no moaning.

His Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with a tactically disciplined and defensively robust Tottenham handed Manchester City an even greater initiative in the English Premier League title race.

The damage would have been greater had Luis Diaz’s deflected strike not canceled out Son Heung-min’s tap-in for the fifth-placed visitors.

“I’m really proud of the performance,” Klopp said. “The mentality we showed.”

It’s the mentality that might yet propel the Champions League and FA Cup finalists, who have already collected the League Cup, to a treble.

A quadruple of trophies could soon become out of reach.

Liverpool is back in first place in the league but City can pull three points clear with three games remaining by beating Newcastle on Sunday.

“The boys are more disappointed than I am,” Klopp said.

It’s a testament to Liverpool’s recovery this season that the title race is going this close to the wire. Being held by Tottenham was only the second time in 14 matches that Liverpool has dropped points, and the other time was against City.

While Tottenham is the only team unbeaten against City and Liverpool this season — with eight points from a possible 12 — drawing at Anfield also hurts Spurs’ bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Arsenal in fourth place can pull four points ahead of Tottenham by beating Leeds on Sunday ahead of a north London derby meeting on Thursday.

But the performance against the 2020 champion will galvanize Tottenham for the run-in.

“This was perfect in our game plan, good team play,” Son said. “But we should have got more.”

The moment to take the lead was seized with a flowing attack in the 56th minute when Harry Kane laid the ball off to the left flank where Ryan Sessegnon squared for Son to finish simply into an unprotected net.

Changes to double the lead were minimal before Díaz’s shot in the 74th deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

UNITED EMBARRASSED

It’s five straight away losses for Manchester United — with 16 goals conceded in that run — after a 4-0 loss to Brighton for another low in Ralf Rangnick’s interim spell as manager.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime after Moises Caicedo’s long-range strike, United conceded three goals in 11 minutes from the 49th as Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard scored for a rampant Brighton team with little to play for at the end of the season.

The best United can realistically hope for is a sixth-place finish and a spot in the Europa League.

The season will end with United’s fewest points since 1991, before the Premier League era launched. It’s a challenging situation for incoming manager Erik ten Hag to inherit.

CHELSEA COLLAPSES

Todd Boehly certainly got drama after taking his seat at Chelsea as a prospective part-owner, just not what he was hoping for as the west London club collapsed to draw against Wolverhampton 2-2.

Boehly appeared to live the emotional rollercoaster of the match — from the early VAR calls disallowing two Chelsea goals, to the double from Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, to the equalizer by Wolves defender Conor Coady in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.

“We are disappointed not to give the first win for him,” Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta said of Boehly.

A consortium fronted by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ part-owner agreed on terms for the 2.5 billion-pound ($3.1 billion) purchase of Chelsea. The takeover needs Premier League and government approval.

Third-placed Chelsea is still not certain of securing Champions League qualification for the first full season of Boehly’s reign. The team is four points ahead of Arsenal, which plays Leeds on Sunday.

WATFORD RELEGATED

Roy Hodgson couldn’t keep Watford up in perhaps the final job of his long coaching career.

Watford’s immediate return to the Championship was sealed by a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace, for whom Wilfried Zaha scored a penalty.

When Hodgson — the 74-year-old former England manager — was hired in January, Watford was in next-to-last place and the team is still there with three games remaining. Time has run out, though, with Watford on 22 points — 12 from safety.

Burnley might yet join Watford and already-relegated Norwich in the Championship after losing at home to Aston Villa 3-1 for its first defeat under interim manager Mike Jackson.

It left Burnley two points clear of third-to-last Everton, which has two games in hand — the first at Leicester on Sunday.

Brentford, though, can start preparing for another season in the Premier League after beating Southampton 3-0 in its first top-flight campaign since 1947.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]
29 days ago
Joe Jarzynka...
Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]
29 days ago
FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...
Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]
29 days ago
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...
Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]
29 days ago
FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...
Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]
29 days ago
FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...
Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]
29 days ago
Liverpool title setback: Drawing with Spurs aids City’s bid