English Woman's Journal - Man Utd ease pressure on Ten Hag, Spurs stunned

Man Utd ease pressure on Ten Hag, Spurs stunned


Man Utd ease pressure on Ten Hag, Spurs stunned

Manchester United eased the pressure on under-fire boss Erik ten Hag with a nervy 1-0 win against Luton, while Premier League title challengers Tottenham crashed to an agonising 2-1 defeat at Wolves on Saturday.

Change text size:

Rocked by Wednesday's devastating Champions League group stage loss in Copenhagen -- the latest embarrassment in a season of low moments -- United gave Ten Hag some much-needed breathing space thanks to Victor Lindelof's second-half winner.

United had suffered five defeats in their previous 10 home games this season, their worst start to a campaign at Old Trafford since 1930-31 when they also lost five of 10 and were relegated from the top flight.

They were also reeling from three losses in their last four games in all competitions as the heat was turned up on Ten Hag.

Against that depressing backdrop, and with the latest 'Glazers out' protests from fans outside Old Trafford before kick-off, struggling Luton's first visit to United since 1991 was well-timed for Ten Hag and his troubled team.

United made their pressure count in the 59th minute as Bruno Fernandes' corner was cleared to Marcus Rashford, whose cross fell kindly for Lindelof to lash home.

That was enough to lift United to sixth place, while Luton remain one place above the relegation zone.

Wolves' stunning late show denied Tottenham the chance to return to the top of the table as a pair of stoppage-time goals sealed a dramatic win at Molineux.

Brennan Johnson's first goal for Tottenham since his move from Nottingham Forest put Ange Postecoglou's side ahead in the third minute.

Johnson converted Pedro Porro's cross with a clinical close-range strike.

But Wolves dominated after that and earned a memorable victory thanks to the incredible finale.

Pablo Sarabia finally bagged the equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time when he smashed past Guglielmo Vicario from Matheus Cunha's pass.

Missing injured stars James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, Tottenham were well below their best and Mario Lemina made them pay in the 97th minute, meeting Sarabia's cross with a cool finish from 12 yards.

- 'We ran out of legs' -

After starting the season on a 10-game unbeaten run, it was Tottenham's second successive defeat after Monday's 4-1 loss against Chelsea when they had two players sent off.

"Wolves are always going to come on strong and we ran out of legs at the end," Postecoglou said.

"It is understandable, a lot of those guys haven't played. They scored a couple of good goals. It's a hard one to take."

Arsenal took advantage of Tottenham's stumble as they beat Burnley 3-1 to move one point above their north London rivals into second place.

Mikel Arteta's team, beaten at Newcastle last weekend, took the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Bukayo Saka headed across goal for Leandro Trossard to bundle home Arsenal's 1,000th goal at the Emirates Stadium since their move from Highbury in 2006.

Burnley levelled in the 54th minute when Josh Brownhill fired home via a deflection off Arsenal defender Gabriel.

But William Saliba's close-range header three minutes later put Arsenal back in control and Oleksandr Zinchenko volleyed the Gunners' third in the 74th minute.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when Fabio Vieira was shown a straight red card after catching Brownhill on the knee.

Everton climbed away from the relegation zone with a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.

Sean Dyche's side took the lead in the first minute when Vitaliy Mykolenko thumped a header past Sam Johnstone from Jack Harrison's cross.

Palace equalised four minutes later when Eberechi Eze was fouled by Jarrad Branthwaite, conceding a penalty that the forward took himself and dispatched with ease.

Abdoulaye Doucoure restored Everton's advantage in the 49th minute and although Odsonne Edouard levelled in the 73rd minute, Idrissa Gueye surged clear to win it for the visitors with five minutes left.

Newcastle face Bournemouth in Saturday's late game.

F.McKenzie--EWJ

Featured

FA Cup Second-Round Draw Confirmed for Non-League and Midlands Clubs

The FA Cup second-round draw has been finalized, setting up crucial ties for non-league teams aiming to reach the third round proper. Several clubs from the Midlands, including Burton Albion and Kidderminster Harriers, have secured their next opponents following recent victories over lower-league opposition.

Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium

The new Penrith Stadium is expected to be ready in time for the opening round of the 2027 NRL season, but it’s still likely the Panthers is expected to be on the road for their early matches. There is no delay to the build of the new $309 million venue but there’s a lack of appetite for risk around weather delays through the summer.

Virginia overwhelms Arkansas 91-72 behind balanced scoring

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thijs De Ridder scored 16 points, one of five players in double figures for No. 9 Virginia as the Cavaliers routed No.

Tayyab Arif hits 57 on Pakistan Test debut against Sri Lanka

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Tayyab Arif smashed an aggressive half-century on debut and provided a new-look Pakistan lineup a confident start to the first cricket test against Sri Lanka on Monday. The 20-year-old Tayyab struck nine boundaries and a six in his 57-run knock as Pakistan reached 137-2 at lunch on a greenish wicket that lured Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis to bowl first after winning the toss.

Change text size: