Author – Amrit Santlani
The race to finish in the top four of the Premier League got a lot more intense as two UEFA Champions League contenders, Tottenham and Manchester United, drew 2-2 on Thursday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Erik Ten Hag’s men opened up a two-goal lead in the first half, but a spirited performance from the home side saw Spurs recover and steal a point.
Newcastle United also boosted their hopes of a top four finish by beating Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park. Last-placed Southampton also played Bournemouth and Gary Paul O’Neil’s side came away with a 1-0 victory.
Spurs recover from 2 goals down to show how wasteful Manchester United are
United put their noses in front just six minutes after kick-off when Jadon Sancho’s brilliant finish gave his side the lead. The Englishman received the ball from outside the area, cut inside and finished off Fraser Forster.
Ivan Perisic, who had made a goal-line clearance against Newcastle, did the same against the Red Devils and also kept his team in contention. Forster and De Gea were forced to make great saves to keep the score at 1-0 before a Bruno Fernandes throw-in found Marcus Rashford, who doubled United’s lead just before half-time.
Interim coach Ryan Mason’s half-time team talk did Spurs a lot of good as they came out flying for the second half, Pedro Porro’s stunning finish reducing the deficit to just one goal. Fernandes then hit the crossbar from inside the area and almost scored. Spurs finally equalized after Harry Kane and Son Heung Min combined to score the goal that would give Tottenham a point.
Joelinton and Callum Willson lead Newcastle to dominant win over Everton
After beating Spurs earlier this week, Newcastle United continued their impressive form against a struggling Everton side. Callum Wilson opened the scoring with a precise finish after Jordan Pickford had made a save from Joelinton’s shot.
Alex Iwobi drove the ball from his own half into opposition territory before setting up Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose shot was well saved by Nick Pope. On the other hand, Pickford also made a great save to stop Willock, who fired in a fine shot after Everton had cleared the rebound. Willock set up Joelinton and the Brazilian cleverly headed in fifteen minutes before the end of regulation time. Minutes later, Willson scored.
Dwight McNeil reduced the deficit for the home side with a header from a corner before Newcastle scored their fourth just two minutes later, Jacob Murphy firing into the net after Alexander Isak had dribbled past several Everton defenders near the by-line to add further gloss to the scoreline.
Meanwhile, Southampton and Bournemouth were also in action on Thursday night, Marcus Tavernier scoring the winner for the visitors to further add to the misery at the bottom.
In other matches during the week, Wolves beat Crystal Palace 2-0, Aston Villa beat Fulham 1-0 and Leeds United drew 1-1 with Leicester City. Nottingham Forest beat Brighton 3-1, Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Brentford and Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1, before Manchester City beat Premier League leaders Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad to take control of the title race once again.