Liverpool's Title Bid Hit by Spurs Draw, Man Utd Thrashed at Brighton

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita look dejected after the match Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita look dejected after the match Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble
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Liverpool's Title Bid Hit by Spurs Draw, Man Utd Thrashed at Brighton

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita look dejected after the match Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita look dejected after the match Credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble

Liverpool's Premier League title bid suffered a blow as Tottenham earned a 1-1 draw against the quadruple chasers, while Manchester United crashed to a "humiliating" 4-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp's side fell behind to Son Heung-min's second-half goal at Anfield before Luis Diaz equalized in the closing stages, AFP said.

Son tapped in Ryan Sessegnon's cross in the 56th minute after good work from Harry Kane in the build-up.

Diaz bagged Liverpool's fortuitous equalizer when his 20-yard drive went in off Rodrigo Bentancur.

Liverpool, who have already won the League Cup and have Champions League and FA Cup finals to come, moved to the top of the table above Manchester City on goal difference.

But champions City will go three points clear of Liverpool if they beat Newcastle in their game in hand at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

That would be a massive boost to City's hopes of retaining the title with just three games left for both teams after this weekend.

"It is incredibly difficult to play against an opponent with world-class players and a world-class manager when they have had a week to prepare and we play every three days," Klopp said.

"The dressing room is not flying, come on, but there are other games to play. We just have to keep going."

The draw was also not enough for Tottenham in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-four finish.

Tottenham remain fifth and will fall four points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal if the Gunners beat Leeds on Sunday.

- United fall to new low -
Manchester United have endured a host of humiliations in one of their most embarrassing seasons for decades and their lackluster loss at Brighton was among the very worst.

Ralf Rangnick's side were routed by goals from Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard at the Amex Stadium.

Sixth-placed United are certain to miss the Champions League for only the fifth time in 30 seasons.

With 58 points and only one game left, United's fifth successive away defeat means they will finish with their lowest points total in the Premier League era.

"It was a terrible performance. From the first until the last minute it was not enough, we can only apologize for this performance and a humiliating defeat," Rangnick said.

It was a day of mixed emotions at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea blew a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Wolves in front of prospective owner Todd Boehly.

Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Boehly and his consortium have won the battle to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in a £4.25 billion ($5.2 billion) deal.

Boehly's consortium still need to satisfy the Premier League's owners' and directors' test and gain approval from the UK government, but Chelsea expect the sale to be completed by the end of the month.

After the protracted sale sparked fears for Chelsea's future, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel welcomed the takeover, saying: "It gives us an outlook, if terms are agreed and hopefully the process will be streamlined and go forward as soon as possible. Good news."

But Tuchel's third-placed team were unable to celebrate the deal with a victory as they squandered an opportunity to move closer to qualifying for the Champions League.

- Watford go down -
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League goals since December 29 in the 56th and 58th minutes, the first from the penalty spot and the second a long-range effort.

But Francisco Trincao hammered home in the 79th minute and Conor Coady nodded a close-range equalizer in stoppage-time to leave Boehly shaking his head in frustration.

Watford needed a win at Crystal Palace to keep alive their faint hopes of avoiding the drop, but Wilfried Zaha's 31st-minute penalty clinched a 1-0 victory that condemned them to relegation.

"I have never given a press conference in charge of a top-flight team that has been relegated. It is a first I wasn't looking forward to claiming," Watford manager Roy Hodgson said.

Burnley wasted a chance to boost their survival chances as Aston Villa cruised to a 3-1 victory at Turf Moor.

Brentford crushed Southampton 3-0 at their Community Stadium, with the goals coming from Pontus Jansson, Yoane Wissa and Kristoffer Ajer.



Tottenham Appoint Brentford's Frank as Manager

FILE - Brentford's head coach Thomas Frank smiles ahead the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium in Brentford, West London, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)
FILE - Brentford's head coach Thomas Frank smiles ahead the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium in Brentford, West London, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)
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Tottenham Appoint Brentford's Frank as Manager

FILE - Brentford's head coach Thomas Frank smiles ahead the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium in Brentford, West London, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)
FILE - Brentford's head coach Thomas Frank smiles ahead the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Leicester City at Brentford Community Stadium in Brentford, West London, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Ian Walton, File)

Tottenham Hotspur named Thomas Frank as their fifth full-time manager in six years on Thursday with the Premier League club confirming they had hired the former Brentford boss on a three-year contract to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou.

The 51-year-old Dane, who has been in charge of Brentford since 2018 and established them in the top flight, will take charge of a club that will take part in next year's Champions League after they won the Europa League last month in Bilbao.

"In Thomas we are appointing one of the most progressive and innovative head coaches within the game," Reuters quoted a club statement as saying.

"He has a proven track record in player and squad development and we look forward to him leading the team as we prepare for the season ahead."

Australian Postecoglou's achievement in delivering Spurs' first trophy for 17 years was overshadowed by a woeful Premier League season which saw them finish 17th with 22 defeats, their worst campaign since the club were relegated in 1977.

Frank began his coaching career with Denmark's under-age sides before taking charge at Brondby in 2013, leaving in March 2016 and in December that year joined Brentford as assistant to Dean Smith in the Championship (second tier).

In October 2018, after the dismissal of Smith, Frank was appointed Bees manager.
"From the moment he replaced Dean Smith, he understood what we were trying to build and his wisdom, coaching ability and emotional intelligence have helped transform the club," Brentford Director of Football Phil Giles said.

"We will never forget Thomas, but now it is time to thank him and take the next steps in our journey with a new leader who we believe can be just as successful and influential."

Frank has been impressive during his time at Brentford -- creating a high-scoring side who have punched above their weight since reaching the Premier League in 2021 via the playoffs.

In their four Premier League seasons under Frank, Brentford have finished 13th, 9th, 16th and 10th and last term only four teams scored more than their 66 goals.

A keen user of player data, Frank and his backroom staff have proved especially adept at unearthing gems and selling those players on for huge profits, such as forwards Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Said Benrahma plus goalkeeper David Raya.

Despite the outgoings, Brentford have managed to remain competitive in the top flight under Frank and last season were in the mix for European qualification.

Forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa scored 39 Premier League goals between them last season and both could well be Tottenham targets during the close season.

Frank has gained a reputation for his attention to detail and it is no surprise that his Brentford side scored inside 40 seconds in three successive league games last season.

"We have a kick-off strategy and we tweak it from game-to-game. And as a mindset and philosophy, we like to get straight on the front foot and be positive," Frank said at the time.

He now faces a completely different challenge at Tottenham and a fast start to his reign will be important to win over fans who felt Postecoglou should have been rewarded for winning a trophy by being given another season at the helm.

Brentford assistant first-team coach Justin Cochrane, head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and first-team analyst Joe Newton are also joining Frank at Spurs, along with Andreas Georgson from Manchester United.