ESPN

Crystal Palace have agreed a fee in the region of £35 million ($47.2m) with Tottenham for the departure of Brennan Johnson but the winger is yet to decide on his next club, sources have told ESPN.

Spurs are open to allowing the 24-year-old to leave as Thomas Frank looks to reshape his squad in the January transfer window and Johnson has attracted interest from multiple teams.

Sources said Bournemouth are considering him as a replacement for Antoine Semenyo, who is expected to depart in the coming days with Manchester City the strong favourites to trigger his £65m ($88m) release clause and trigger a deal.

Palace boss Oliver Glasner has been keen to seek reinforcements as they try to meet the additional demands of European football for the first time in their history, currently sitting tenth in the UEFA Conference League after six matches.

However, Johnson is expected to assess his options once other clubs have formalised their interest before making a final decision on his next move but continuing at Spurs looks unlikely.

The Wales international finished last season as Spurs' top goalscorer after netting 18 times in all competitions including the only goal in May's historic Europa League final win over Manchester United, securing Tottenham's first trophy in 17 years.

- Ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Daniel Levy given CBE

- Frank says Tottenham will only sign 'fully committed' players in January

However, that success was not enough to keep manager Ange Postecoglou in his job and Frank has used Johnson far less, starting just six league games to date.

Frank was due to address the media later on Tuesday where he would likely be asked to provide an update on the situation.

Almost four months after leaving his role as Tottenham Hotspur's executive chairman, Daniel Levy has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

The 63-year-old was named in the King's New Year Honours List in recognition of his services to charity and the community in Tottenham.

Having spent more than 24 years in his role at the north London club, Levy was the Premier League's longest-serving chairman, and so his exit came as a shock when it was announced in early September.

He was a divisive figure among the Spurs fanbase who accused him of prioritising the club's business interests over delivering consistent success on the pitch.

Levy masterminded Spurs' move away from their longtime White Hart Lane home and into the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that is seen as one of the finest in the sport and has offered employment and opportunity to one of London's most economically deprived boroughs.

Levy had previously overseen the construction of Hotspur Way -- the club's state-of-the-art training ground in Enfield.

He also made Spurs one of Europe's richest football clubs and the team reached the Champions League final under head coach Mauricio Pochettino in 2019, eventually losing to Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.

Spurs only won two major trophies during Levy's near-quarter-of-a-century stint in the hotseat -- the League Cup in 2008 and the Europa League at the end of last season.

During those years, Levy gained a reputation for showing little patience with underperforming managers, consistently firing the coaches he had hired after short spells in charge.

In a September statement confirming his exit, Levy said: "I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees. We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level.

"More than that, we have built a community. I was lucky enough to work with some of the greatest people in this sport, from the team at Lilywhite House and Hotspur Way to all the players and managers over the years.

"I wish to thank all the fans that have supported me over the years. It hasn't always been an easy journey but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately."

- Thomas Frank reveals impact on Tottenham players of Daniel Levy exit

- Why Daniel Levy left Tottenham after 25 years as chairman

Peter Charrington, director of ENIC -- the company that owns Tottenham Hotspur -- who joined the board as a non-executive director in March, became Levy's successor as part of a new structure at the top of the club.

Elsewhere in football, Sarina Wiegman was awarded an honorary damehood after guiding England to twin European Championship triumphs and furthering the growth of women's football in the UK.

The team's captain, Leah Williamson, joined Levy in being made a CBE, while four other double European champions -- Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone and Keira Walsh -- were each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs).

Pioneer footballer Kerry Davis, who became England's first Black woman international in 1982 and went on to win 90 caps in a 16-year international career, was also made an MBE.

Ex-Celtic chief executive Fergus McCann earned a CBE and the club's former defender and member of the legendary European Cup winning Lisbon Lions side of 1967, Jim Craig, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Scottish football and charity.

New Year Honours: Sport-by-sport breakdown

Football

• Sarina Wiegman, England Women's head coach (Honorary damehood)

• Leah Williamson, England Women's captain (CBE)

• Daniel Levy, former Tottenham Hotspur executive chairman (CBE)

• Fergus McCann, former Celtic chief executive (CBE)

• Jim Craig, former European Cup-winning Celtic footballer (OBE)

• Kerry Davis, former England women's footballer (MBE)

• Simone Fisher, PFA director of equality, diversity and inclusion (MBE)

• Alex Greenwood, England Women's footballer (MBE)

• Dr Ritan Mehta, England Women's team doctor (MBE)

• Georgia Stanway, England Women's footballer (MBE)

• Ella Toone, England Women's footballer (MBE)

• Keira Walsh, England Women's footballer (MBE)

Rugby Union

• John Mitchell, England Women's head coach (OBE)

• Marlie Packer, England Women's player (OBE)

• Zoe Stratford (née Aldcroft), England Women's captain (OBE)

• Gill Whitehead, 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup chair (OBE)

• Megan Jones, England Women's player (MBE)

• Sadia Kabeya, England Women's player (MBE)

• Ellie Kildunne, England Women's player (MBE)

• Sarah Massey, 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup managing director (MBE)

Rugby League

• Tara Jones, referee (MBE)

• Julia Lee, referee and advocate for women's Rugby League (MBE)

Cricket

• Derek Brewer, lately ECB adviser (OBE)

• Barry O'Brien, former ECB interim chair (OBE)

• Isa Guha, broadcaster and former England cricketer (MBE)

Athletics

• Paula Radcliffe MBE, athlete and broadcaster (OBE)

• David Perks, athletics administrator (MBE)

Gymnastics

• Rhys McClenaghan BEM, Olympic pommel horse champion (MBE)

• Colin Wright, Rushmoor Gymnastics Academy co-founder (MBE)

• Marie Wright, Rushmoor Gymnastics Academy co-founder (MBE)

Ice Skating

• Christopher Dean OBE, Olympic gold medallist (Knighthood)

• Jayne Torvill OBE, Olympic gold medallist (Damehood)

Squash

• Sarah-Jane Perry, England and Great Britain player (OBE)

Motorsport

• Stuart Pringle, Silverstone Circuit chief executive (OBE)

Broadcasting

• Gabby Logan MBE, broadcaster (OBE)

• Clive Tyldesley, football commentator (OBE)

Tennis

• James Keothavong, umpire (MBE)

Rowing

• Louise Kingsley, Great Britain performance director (MBE)

Netball

• Susan Briegal, lately World Netball chief executive (MBE)

Boxing

• Nigel Travis BEM, boxing coach and community figure (MBE)

Sport Climbing

• Toby Roberts, Olympic champion (MBE)

Taekwondo

• Kambiz Ramzan Ali, coach and community leader (MBE)

Multi-sport/sport administration

LONDON -- Tottenham eased the pressure on head coach Thomas Frank with a gritty 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The game began with Palace well on top until Richarlison thought he had opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour before it was ruled out for offside by VAR.

Palace continued to look much the sharper side throughout the first 45 before Archie Gray headed home against the run of play just before the break as Richarlison flicked on from a corner.

The Brazilian forward had the ball in the back of the net again with 15 minutes to go until VAR intervened for a second time showing a clear offside.

Despite the best efforts of a Selhurst Park crowd watching their side at home for the final time in a wildly successful 2025, Palace were unable to create a chance of note in the latter stages as the game drifted out for a rare Spurs away victory and clean sheet.

Frank buys more time in the hotseat

With just one win in his last eight league games, Thomas Frank was desperate for a positive result in south London and got just that.

In a scrappy affair where neither side really played free-flowing football -- the type of game that suits Frank's at times pragmatic style of play -- it was Spurs who came out on top.

He may count himself a beneficiary of Daniel Levy's exit from the club, the former Spurs boss would often prefer a trigger-happy-approach when it came to managers underperforming but the new regime under Peter Charrington and ENIC are so far sticking by the Dane's project.

"I know how to make a competitive team. We will make a very competitive team here, as well," Frank said ahead of this game. And an away win where Spurs found themselves on the back foot for large parts, showed that there may just be some fight left in a side that have struggled to win over their own fanbase this season.

Regardless of all the noise surrounding his job, a satisfying London derby win is exactly the type of result Frank needed to, just about, keep the faith going into 2026.

- Kolo Muani: 'Everybody' at Tottenham happy with Frank

- Frank says Tottenham will only sign 'fully committed' players in January

- Premier League table

Underperforming Tottenham are overperforming in one stat

Tottenham's fight against the stats was evident once again at Selhurst Park as they outperformed their xG -- something that is by no means a one off for Frank's side.

Coming into this one, they sat 17th in the league's xG table but seventh for goals scored (26).

Stats are often overlooked in football when results are going your way, and they may well be after this one as Spurs secured all three points, but their wider' struggles this season are a perfect case study of how no team can outrun their underlying numbers.

They were evidently second best going forward against a Palace side struggling to keep up with their own xG, a stat from which they underperformed here. And while their inability to create consistent goalscoring chances can be attributed to missing the nous of Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, it cannot be used as an excuse for a side with a fit front three that many in the league would still envy.

It is an issue that will undoubtedly be high on Frank's fix list come the January transfer window and Spurs may well need some reinforcements if they don't want another Premier League campaign to pass them by.

Palace pay for profligacy

Oliver Glasner will be scratching his head at just how Crystal Palace weren't able to score against a Spurs side who, at times, looked ripe for the taking.

They had 13 attempts, six more than Spurs, and often found themselves with time and space going forward in another game that showed why they rank bottom of the league for chance conversion.

It was their fourth game in 10 days and Glasner has been vocal about his concerns over the schedule that has seen Jean Phillipe-Mateta play through pain and injuries to Chris Richards and Daniel Muñoz, who are both key to Palace's play.

The added element of Ismailla Sarr away at AFCON mean Palace were missing a player with six goals and one assist in all competitions this season. Nevertheless, they were unable to take a heap of first-half chances and now end 2025 with a performance that does not befit perhaps the greatest calendar year in the club's history.

Key stats

Archie Gray (19y 291d) is the youngest Englishman to score for Spurs in the Premier League since Dele Alli in January 2016 (19y 287d -- also v Crystal Palace)

With his assist, Richarlison reached 98 career goal contributions in the Premier League (71 goals, 27 assists)

Each of the last six Premier League goals that Crystal Palace have conceded have been from set pieces

Richarlison is the first player to have 2 goals overruled by VAR in the same Premier League game since... Richarlison on Dec. 6, 2021 with Everton against Arsenal (Everton won 2-1)

Crystal Palace have now lost 3 consecutive home Premier League games for the first time since October-December 2023 (4)

Crystal Palace recorded 15 shots without a single big chance, their most without a big chance in a Premier League match since October 2024 vs Nottingham Forest (20)

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story

Archie Gray's first goal for Tottenham ensured they ended a rollercoaster 2025 with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace to ease the pressure on Thomas Frank.

Spurs fans had started to turn on Frank after a run of five defeats in eight left them 14th in the Premier League on Christmas Day.

While there had been no suggestions internally that Frank's job was under immediate threat, Tottenham needed to return to winning ways and Gray's 42nd-minute header settled the contest between the current FA Cup and Europa League holders.

It moved Spurs up to 11th but crucially they are only four points off fifth-placed Chelsea ahead of Frank's return to old club Brentford on Wednesday.

Oliver Glasner watched his weary Palace team lose a third consecutive league game to further highlight the need for January reinforcements.

Both clubs had celebrated eagerly-awaited cup wins in May but Spurs were without one of their heroes from Bilbao with Cristian Romero suspended.

Kevin Danso replaced Romero and received a late Christmas present in the shape of a yellow card from referee Jarred Gillett after five minutes as Palace made the early running.

Chances remained limited, though, and Tottenham thought they had taken the lead in the 17th minute through Richarlison only for their celebrations to be cut short after Lucas Bergvall was deemed offside in the build-up.

Jean-Philippe Mateta signalled his intentions with an effort dragged wide from 20 yards soon after before a short free-kick routine created another chance for Palace's number nine but he nodded over from Maxence Lacroix's header.

Justin Devenny and Adam Wharton tested Guglielmo Vicario with tame efforts before Will Hughes curled wide after a slick move by the hosts.

It appeared a matter of time before Palace broke the deadlock but Spurs struck against the run of play in the 42nd minute.

After Randal Kolo Muani's blocked shot forced a corner, Pedro Porro's delivery to the back post was kept alive by Kolo Muani and then flicked on by Richarlison for Gray to head home from close-range to open his account for Tottenham.

Spurs' slender half-time lead was immediately under threat as stand-in away captain Micky van de Ven blocked Yeremy Pino's volley before an even better opportunity was created.

Pino produced a sumptuous outside-of-the-boot cross which was knocked down by Nathaniel Clyne but Devenny fired over on the turn.

Glasner turned to his bench with Eddie Nketiah introduced and another Palace chance was squandered with 20 minutes left when Jefferson Lerma teed up Lacroix but he sent his header wide.

Five minutes later and Tottenham had the ball in the net again through Richarlison after a wonderful Mohammed Kudus cross only for VAR to deny the visitors again as the Brazil forward was marginally offside.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Randal Kolo Muani has said the team remains fully behind their under-pressure head coach Thomas Frank, adding "everybody is happy with him."

It has been a challenging period for Spurs with inconsistent form under Frank, which meant they were 14th at Christmas.

Nevertheless, Kolo Muani's dynamism has quickly earned him a rapport with the fanbase and earlier this week he attended the club's One Hotspur Junior Christmas Party at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kolo Muani said: "It is fun and for the kids it is a great moment. This is just magic for Christmas and everybody is happy, so that's good.

"Yeah, I feel that [support] when I go out to the games and before. I saw a lot of fans and I'm happy. I feel good."

France international Kolo Muani also offered his support for Frank amid fan criticism.

"Yeah we have a good relation[ship]," Kolo Muani said.

"We talk together so much and he has good coaches, so I am happy with him.

"All the team, my teammates, we have trust with the coach and everybody is happy with him. Now we work a lot to go hard [for this period]."

Kolo Muani knows only good performances and goals for Tottenham will help him realise his World Cup dream.

He featured for France in Qatar and had a one-on-one effort crucially thwarted by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martínez during extra-time before a penalty shootout loss in the final in 2022.

Argentina claimed World Cup success and although Kolo Muani earned a move to Paris Saint-Germain six months later, a lack of game-time saw him drop out of international reckoning.

A string of encouraging displays for Spurs resulted in Kolo Muani being recalled by France for last month's camp, but a broken jaw denied him the chance to feature under Didier Deschamps again.

- Frank rejects Slot's claim Van de Ven tackle on Isak was 'reckless'

- Colorado Rapids hire Tottenham assistant Matt Wells as coach

- Premier League table

Quizzed on his motivation for 2026 with the World Cup only six months away, Kolo Muani insisted his full focus was on life at loan club Tottenham, who travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"I feel very good and my team-mates are good with me," Kolo Muani said.

"For the moment I just want to play really good at the club. This is really important and after we will see for the World Cup.

"That is why I need and want to show more my quality and want to score also.

"We need to win more games and if I want to go to the World Cup, I need to do some [more] good performances."

Tottenham Hotspur forward Randal Kolo Muani has said the team remains fully behind their under-pressure head coach Thomas Frank, adding "everybody is happy with him."

It has been a challenging period for Spurs with inconsistent form under Frank, which meant they were 14th at Christmas.

Nevertheless, Kolo Muani's dynamism has quickly earned him a rapport with the fanbase and earlier this week he attended the club's One Hotspur Junior Christmas Party at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kolo Muani said: "It is fun and for the kids it is a great moment. This is just magic for Christmas and everybody is happy, so that's good.

"Yeah, I feel that [support] when I go out to the games and before. I saw a lot of fans and I'm happy. I feel good."

France international Kolo Muani also offered his support for Frank amid fan criticism.

"Yeah we have a good relation[ship]," Kolo Muani said.

"We talk together so much and he has good coaches, so I am happy with him.

"All the team, my teammates, we have trust with the coach and everybody is happy with him. Now we work a lot to go hard [for this period]."

Kolo Muani knows only good performances and goals for Tottenham will help him realise his World Cup dream.

He featured for France in Qatar and had a one-on-one effort crucially thwarted by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martínez during extra-time before a penalty shootout loss in the final in 2022.

Argentina claimed World Cup success and although Kolo Muani earned a move to Paris Saint-Germain six months later, a lack of game-time saw him drop out of international reckoning.

A string of encouraging displays for Spurs resulted in Kolo Muani being recalled by France for last month's camp, but a broken jaw denied him the chance to feature under Didier Deschamps again.

- Frank rejects Slot's claim Van de Ven tackle on Isak was 'reckless'

- Colorado Rapids hire Tottenham assistant Matt Wells as coach

- Premier League table

Quizzed on his motivation for 2026 with the World Cup only six months away, Kolo Muani insisted his full focus was on life at loan club Tottenham, who travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"I feel very good and my team-mates are good with me," Kolo Muani said.

"For the moment I just want to play really good at the club. This is really important and after we will see for the World Cup.

"That is why I need and want to show more my quality and want to score also.

"We need to win more games and if I want to go to the World Cup, I need to do some [more] good performances."

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has rejected Liverpool boss Arne Slot's suggestion that Micky van de Ven's tackle on Alexander Isak was "reckless" and revealed the two players have spoken to address the incident.

Isak is expected to be sidelined for around two months after he underwent surgery on a broken leg sustained during the first half of Saturday's 2-1 win at Spurs.

Isak was injured when scoring the opening goal as Van de Ven lunged in to try and stop the shot. He was not punished by referee John Brooks at the time.

Slot said of Van de Ven's challenge: "If you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury."

Those comments were put to Frank on Tuesday ahead of Tottenham's trip to Crystal Palace and the Spurs boss said: "I'm obviously disagreeing in many ways. I think we are talking about a defender in Micky van de Ven that will do everything he can to avoid the goal. It is a transition so he is sprinting back in.

"There is a ball slid down the side and he does everything he can to see if he can block that shot so he is sliding. Unfortunately Isak has planted his foot straight there and that makes it look worse than it is.

"That would be a natural reaction for any defender. Put it this way, if my defenders don't do that, I don't think they are true defenders. I don't see that at all.

"I think reckless challenges normally, you haven't seen any one from Micky, as I remember. He is a very fair and competitive player. That's one thing. I also know the two players have sorted it out so that's a good sign."

Meanwhile, Frank refused to be drawn on whether Fabio Paratici will soon be leaving the club for Fiorentina.

- Slot criticises 'reckless' Van de Ven tackle on Isak

- Liverpool's Isak out for 'couple of months' - Slot

- Transfer window preview: What do Europe's big clubs need?

Sources have told ESPN that Fiorentina are interested in exploring a deal for Tottenham's co-sporting director but a formal approach is yet to be made. Reports in Italy suggest Paratici is open to the move.

Asked about the situation, Frank said: "I think first and foremost it is not the first rumour I need to speak about if it staff, director or a player. In general, I am not speaking about that. I try to focus on the Crystal Palace game."

Virgil van Dijk has revealed he has spoken with Xavi Simons after the midfielder's red card challenge inLiverpool's 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and insisted his international teammate did not intend to hurt him.

Simons was dismissed in the first half of Tottenham's clash with Arne Slot's side after a VAR review showed the 22-year-old had raked his studs down the back of Van Dijk's calf. His dismissal opened the door for Liverpool to secure a win that moves them up to fifth in the Premier League table, while Spurs dropped to 13th.

"I don't think there was any intention to hurt me but obviously he hurt me and then the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off," Van Dijk said. "I spoke to him. It's a chat that no-one needs to know."

Liverpool's victory came at a price, with forward Alexander Isak being forced off the pitch just moments after scoring the visitors' opening goal in north London. The 26-year-old looked in a great deal of pain following a coming together with Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, and the Reds now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of his injury.

"Injuries unfortunately are part of football and hopefully with Alex it's not too bad," Van Dijk said. "He scored a great goal. It's too soon after the game to know [the extent of it]. He will need to be assessed.

"We all saw how bad it looked with Alex but hopefully it won't be too bad."

Liverpool are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions but came close to conceding a last-minute equaliser against nine-men Spurs, who finished the game strongly.

Reflecting on the performance, Van Dijk said: "The immediate reaction coming off was that it was a chaotic last five to 10 minutes. It wasn't great but to get the three points is massive. There was nothing wrong up to us conceding a goal. We need to analyse the last part but personally I'm very pleased and it's on to the next one.

- Liverpool win marred by Isak injury as Frank pressure builds

- Man City's Haaland brings back iconic robot goal celebration

- VAR review: Was Xavi Simons' red vs. Liverpool deserved?

"When you concede a goal and their fans get behind them like they did, it's never easy to make the right decisions and find the right solutions. That's something we can improve but I don't think it's worrying. It's a transition and we need to keep getting better."

The Dutchman added: "Winning more, getting results, is always positive. Losing games, especially at a club like Liverpool, is always bad. For us it's about staying calm. Taking each game as it comes.

"Today we won. Now we have a couple of days off. We will recover and then we will focus on Wolves. It will be a tough game. I saw their game against Spurs. Wolves will make it difficult for us and we have to be ready for that.

"First we have Christmas. Being with your family and being healthy are the most important things in life."

Virgil van Dijk has revealed he has spoken with Xavi Simons after the midfielder's red card challenge inLiverpool's 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and insisted his international teammate did not intend to hurt him.

Simons was dismissed in the first half of Tottenham's clash with Arne Slot's side after a VAR review showed the 22-year-old had raked his studs down the back of Van Dijk's calf. His dismissal opened the door for Liverpool to secure a win that moves them up to fifth in the Premier League table, while Spurs dropped to 13th.

"I don't think there was any intention to hurt me but obviously he hurt me and then the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off," Van Dijk said. "I spoke to him. It's a chat that no-one needs to know."

Liverpool's victory came at a price, with forward Alexander Isak being forced off the pitch just moments after scoring the visitors' opening goal in north London. The 26-year-old looked in a great deal of pain following a coming together with Spurs defender Micky van de Ven, and the Reds now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of his injury.

"Injuries unfortunately are part of football and hopefully with Alex it's not too bad," Van Dijk said. "He scored a great goal. It's too soon after the game to know [the extent of it]. He will need to be assessed.

"We all saw how bad it looked with Alex but hopefully it won't be too bad."

Liverpool are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions but came close to conceding a last-minute equaliser against nine-men Spurs, who finished the game strongly.

Reflecting on the performance, Van Dijk said: "The immediate reaction coming off was that it was a chaotic last five to 10 minutes. It wasn't great but to get the three points is massive. There was nothing wrong up to us conceding a goal. We need to analyse the last part but personally I'm very pleased and it's on to the next one.

- Liverpool win marred by Isak injury as Frank pressure builds

- Man City's Haaland brings back iconic robot goal celebration

- VAR review: Was Xavi Simons' red vs. Liverpool deserved?

"When you concede a goal and their fans get behind them like they did, it's never easy to make the right decisions and find the right solutions. That's something we can improve but I don't think it's worrying. It's a transition and we need to keep getting better."

The Dutchman added: "Winning more, getting results, is always positive. Losing games, especially at a club like Liverpool, is always bad. For us it's about staying calm. Taking each game as it comes.

"Today we won. Now we have a couple of days off. We will recover and then we will focus on Wolves. It will be a tough game. I saw their game against Spurs. Wolves will make it difficult for us and we have to be ready for that.

"First we have Christmas. Being with your family and being healthy are the most important things in life."

LONDON -- Thomas Frank has criticised referee John Brooks for his officiating in Tottenham's 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool and questioned the likely three-man ban Xavi Simons' now faces after his red card.

Spurs finished Saturday's game with nine men after Simons was sent off following a VAR review for a late tackle on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk after 30 minutes.

- VAR review: Was Simons' red vs. Liverpool deserved?

- Liverpool win marred by Isak injury, Frank pressure builds

- Isak injured while scoring in Liverpool win at Spurs

Substitute Alexander Isak opened the scoring on 56 minutes and suffered an injury in the process before Hugo Ekitike doubled their advantage with a header as he beat Cristian Romero in the air.

Romero was booked for complaining he was fouled and after Richarlison scored to halve the deficit with seven minutes left, the Argentina centre-back was dismissed for appearing to lash out at Ibrahima Konaté.

Simons is now set to miss Tottenham's matches against Crystal Palace, Brentford and Sunderland over the festive period.

Former Brentford boss Frank said: "We get the first red, which I have seen being given before. I've also said before, definitely a few times at Brentford, I've also seen others and I don't like this as a red card.

"I think the game is probably too big to say 'gone' but for me it is not reckless, he has not come with exceptional force. He is chasing Van Dijk. He is trying to put pressure and then he changes direction and then unfortunately his foot is on his Achilles.

"You can say 'ah you need to be smarter, don't do it' and all that but so we are not allowed to have physical contact anymore? So that's the thing.

"The next thing on that, if he gets three games, how can he get three games for something that is not reckless? That is absolutely wrong and we probably can't appeal it."

Frank also questioned the decision not to disallow Liverpool's second goal for what he claimed was a push by Ekitike on Romero.

"We responded excellently to [Simons' red card]," he added. "Then I think the second goal is a mistake from the ref. I think there is clearly two hands on the back. I don't understand how he can do that.

"We've seen that a thousand times out there on the pitch: someone go up, goal kick, two hands on the centre-back, foul but apparently not in the penalty box. That was the biggest mistake in my opinion. And from VAR. We kept going."

Frank went on to defend Romero despite his loss of composure just when Spurs were threatening a late equaliser.

"I can't see if it is right or wrong that he gives the first yellow," said Frank. "The second yellow, I see two big boys competing. Konaté absolutely smashes through Cuti. It is a foul, nothing more. His foot lands on Cuti's head. Not a yellow, not saying that. Cuti makes a reaction. I guess it could be given but it can also be not given.

"Any player needs to control their emotions and be cool-headed, it is not only because you are captain. You are talking about a very passionate player who has been very good for this club in many years."