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West Ham edged themselves a step closer to Premier League safety with a scoreless draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The Hammers moved two points clear of Tottenham, who sit inside the relegation zone in 18th, and confined last-placed Wolves to the drop as a result.

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It was former Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson, who had the best chance to give his former club a boost.

The Welshman, who scored the only goal in Spurs’ Europa League final triumph against Manchester United last year, is still yet to find the back of the net for his new club and had a golden chance to break that duck in the 19th minute.

Johnson was left unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box from a corner, but somehow sent his free header five yards wide of the goal.

West Ham had their chances too.

Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson showed on the stroke of half time that the south London club were up for a fight despite having enjoyed a night out in Florence last Thursday after their UEFA Conference League quarter-final victory against Fiorentina.

Henderson made an excellent save to deny centre back Konstantinos Mavropanos’ powerful header.

That chance came shortly after Palace defender Maxence Lacroix cleared Taty Castellanos overhead kick off the line after a Henderson punch spilt to the Argentine forward.

“Probably feeling both frustrated and happy with a draw. They are a good side, on a high from reaching a European semi-final, but on another day we had some chances that we could have scored,” West Ham captain Jarred Bowen told Sky Sports.

“A point is certainly not the worst result. We play for West Ham United and we can’t rely on results elsewhere and fight to stay in the Premier League.”

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West Ham hearts were in mouths in the 82nd minute when the ball ended up in the back of their net.

The goal was quickly ruled out, however, as replays showed a clear handball by Jean-Philippe Mateta before setting up Ismaila Sarr.

With that scare avoided, there were plenty of positives for the East London club, who may have the destiny of the relegation fight and the title race in their hands.

If West Ham can finish the season strongly, they can condemn Tottenham to the drop.

While they also could deny Arsenal the title when the Gunners make the trip to the London Stadium next month.

One player who will be key in their remaining five games is 21-year-old Mateus Fernandes.

The Portuguese midfielder, who made his international debut earlier this month, was awarded the man of the match for a tidy display in the centre of the park.

“We performed well. We expect the best but we were compact in a difficult place in Selhurst Park,” West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo told Sky Sports.

“Our final pass was not quite there, though. Palace are a tough team to play against, with a big threat on the counter attack. We kept the balance and we were solid. Saturday [against Everton at home] we go again. We know we have to do better. It’s very tight.”

Wolves were relegated from the Premier League after West Ham’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace sealed their fate.

The Midlands club are now 16 points behind fourth-bottom West Ham with just five games to go and are mathematically certain to drop down to the Championship.

Bottom of the table Wolves, managed by Rob Edwards since November, have endured a miserable campaign, winning just three league matches from their 33 games to date.

Despite notable recent wins against Aston Villa and Liverpool, Wolves have looked relegation certainties for months and their eight-year stay in the Premier League is coming to an end.

Vitor Pereira, now in charge of Nottingham Forest, started the season in charge of the Molineux club but the Portuguese coach was sacked in early November after a terrible start to the campaign.

Former Middlesbrough boss Edwards was brought in but he had an almost impossible task and has been unable to work a miracle.

Second-bottom Burnley look certain to join Wolves in the second tier next season.

They will be relegated if they lose against title-chasing Manchester City on Wednesday.

Tottenham came agonisingly close to climbing out of the relegation zone on Saturday but conceded a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Brighton.

The north Londoners have not won a Premier League match since December, with new boss Roberto De Zerbi winless in his first two games.

Nottingham Forest and Leeds are also in the relegation battle, but both won at the weekend to pull well clear of the drop zone.

Frank Lampard’s Coventry, currently top of the Championship, on Friday sealed their return to the Premier League next season after a 25-year absence.

New Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi has declared that he wants to bring Angeball back to north London.

The Italian, who most recently managed Brighton and Marseille, is the third manager to charge of Spurs since Australian Ange Postecoglou was sacked last year.

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Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor were ridiculed earlier in the season for their dull style of play which helped plunge Tottenham to the depths of a relegation battle.

So, now De Zerbi wants to bring back the electricity of Postecoglou’s aggressive tactics which yielded a fifth place Premier League season in the former Celtic boss’ first season and, of course, the Europa League trophy in his second season.

Postecoglou was given his marching orders despite breaking the club’s 17-year trophy drought as his team finished 17th in the league.

Tottenham were never seriously a chance of being relegated under the Australian, however, finishing 13 points clear of the drop zone as Postecoglou decided to prioritise the European campaign with his injury-hit squad.

De Zerbi’s comments suggest letting Postecoglou go may have been an error, even if it has led to his return to the English top flight.

“I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou,” he said.

“In my second season in Brighton there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players, and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play. I would like to see it again.”

De Zerbi has seven games to save Spurs from playing in the Championship next year.

He signed a five-year contract with the club, and the new era begins at Sunderland late on Sunday night Australian time.

Tottenham sit 18th, inside the relegation zone, at present after West Ham’s 4-0 win against Wolves on Saturday morning.

De Zerbi vows to fight his way out.

“My style is one part about the style of play and one part about the character,” he said. “I want to give organisation with the ball and without the ball.

“What I want to achieve immediately is the character, the right spirit and the right courage to play and attack. Because the DNA of this club, of this squad, is to find the goal, to score. In this part I can be able to transfer, not in too much time, my principles.

“We have no time to work like in Brighton or Marseille, or in other places I’ve been. I don’t want to put confusion inside of the players. They have to have a clear plan and not too much instruction, not too much thinking.

“They have to run, they have to play with courage and personality and they have to fight. That’s it. For me, my demand is to show the right spirit I want to see.”

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De Zerbi also admitted he was not surprised by the backlash from a section of fans over his past comments on Mason Greenwood.

Several Tottenham supporters’ groups objected to the 46-year-old being hired by the struggling Premier League side due to his backing of Greenwood during their time at Marseille.

De Zerbi managed Greenwood at the French club after the former Manchester United striker faced charges -- which were later dropped -- of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2022.

The Italian described Greenwood last year as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price” and added: “It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described.”

De Zerbi faced questions on Friday about his role in helping Greenwood resume his career at Marseille.

Asked about the fan criticism, De Zerbi said: “I wasn’t surprised. I was a bit sad and sorry it happened, because I’m sorry if somebody took offence.

“I must repeat what I said the other time. This topic is very close to me, I’m very sensitive about this topic, because of the person I am and because I have a daughter.

“And so I must repeat what I said the other time. I have always been against - always - any type of violence, especially against women. But not only violence - even just sexist jokes or other sexist behaviour.

“I know who I am, I know the type of person I am, so I wasn’t annoyed by the questions, I’m just sad about them.”

Greenwood was charged in October 2022 after images and videos were posted online.

But the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges in February 2023 owing to “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light”, which meant there was “no realistic prospect of conviction”.

Greenwood, who denied the charges, subsequently resumed his career and joined Marseille in 2024 under De Zerbi.

Asked if he hoped fans accept his apology, De Zerbi said: “Yes, also because I’m not going to go back over this topic.

“I spoke about it in my first interview, I spoke about it today and it wouldn’t be right to go back over this topic again.”

New Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi confirmed he will remain at the club next season even if they suffer relegation from the Premier League as he welcomed the biggest challenge of his career.

The Italian was appointed on a five-year deal on Tuesday with Spurs perilously poised just one point above the drop zone.

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De Zerbi has just seven games to try and save Tottenham, who have not experienced life outside the top flight since 1978.

Reports suggested the former Brighton and Marseille boss had not keen to join Spurs before the end of the season, but was convinced by a lucrative five-year deal that put him among the highest paid coaches in the Premier League.

And he dismissed any suggestion of a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave if Spurs did go down.

“I signed five years of (a) contract because for me it is a big challenge,” De Zerbi told an interview with the club’s in-house media channel.

“I will be the coach of Tottenham a next season no matter what.

“Tottenham, especially in this moment, is maybe the most important challenge in my career. I’m ready to start this challenge.”

De Zerbi established a positive reputation for himself in England during a two-year spell as Brighton boss between 2022 and 2024.

His time at Marseille also started well, with the club finishing second to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Champions League.

But he left the French club in February after failing to make it out of the Champions League league phase and following a humiliating 5-0 defeat by PSG.

His appointment has not been universally welcomed by the Tottenham fanbase. Some fan groups have raised objections to his support for Mason Greenwood during his time at Marseille.

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Former England international Greenwood was suspended by Manchester United in January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape and sexual assault.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Greenwood in February 2023, who always denied the allegations, and he joined Marseille not long after De Zerbi in July 2024.

“I’ve never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone in general,” De Zerbi added, speaking in his native Italian.

“Those who know me well know that I’m not the kind of person who compromises to win one more match, or to win one more title.

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone with this topic. I have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to these things. I hope that as time passes, people will get to know me better and understand that I didn’t mean to take a stance.”

Tottenham has offered their “thoughts and condolences” to interim boss Igor Tudor following the death of his father.

The 47-year-old Croatian did not undertake post-match media duties following Spurs’ 3-0 home defeat by Nottingham Forest on Sunday after he was informed of a family bereavement.

Assistant Bruno Saltor stepped in and declined to give further details on Tudor’s “family issue”.

“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Igor Tudor’s father Mario,” said a club statement on Monday.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to Igor and his family during this incredibly difficult time.”

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Juventus also issued a statement expressing sympathy for their former player and manager.

“Juventus stands with Igor Tudor and his family at this difficult time,” the club said on X.

“Juventus joins in mourning the passing of his father.”

Relegation-threatened Spurs are without a fixture for three weeks due to the international break and cup exits. They return to action away to Sunderland on April 12.

Tottenham, the ninth-wealthiest club in the world, are running out of time to save themselves from the almost unthinkable nightmare of Premier League relegation, with Tudor losing five of his seven matches in charge in all competitions since replacing Thomas Frank.

Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy said it was “impossible” for Tudor to stay and believes the club, considered a member of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, will take the plunge.

“I think it’s really difficult for the players to play in an environment that’s so deflated and toxic,” he told the BBC.

“The only way you can change that is either winning games, which they’re not doing, or change a manager - what the fans want.

“If they keep him in charge, it’s five league games without a win. A new guy comes in, gets one win, all of sudden, it can turn quickly. I think it’s a risk worth taking and I think they’ll take it.”

Club bosses now have a to decide whether to stick or twist as they seek to avoid an embarrassing and shocking first relegation since 1977.

According to The Telegraph, Roberto De Zerbi is believed to be open to taking the permanent Tottenham head coach job should the club stay in the Premier League. De Zerbi, who has previously managed Marseille and Brighton and Hove Albion, has been out of work since February.

Sebastian Kehl, who recently left Borussia Dortmund, and current US head coach Mauricio Pochettino are the leading candidates for the role, according to the report, while Tottenham also made checks on Al-Diriyah’s Dougie Freedman and Chelsea’s Paul Winstanley as part of their hunt.

Tottenham have extended the deadline for fans to renew their season tickets because of the growing threat of relegation from the Premier League.

Spurs are just one point above the bottom three, without a win in their past 11 league games, while boss Igor Tudor is under intense scrutiny after just four matches in charge.

In a message sent to fans, the London club announced the period to renew season tickets would run until June 7, after the end of the season.

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The club said it recognised the “seriousness of the current league position” and wanted fans to have “full clarity on next season before renewing”.

“Everyone at the club remains absolutely steadfast in our collective commitment to improve our Premier League position and finish the current season as strongly as possible,” it added.

Former England defender Gary Neville, now a television pundit, has branded Tudor’s brief tenure a “car crash” that needs to be brought to an end.

The Croatian’s position was weakened significantly by Tuesday’s 5-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League.

Tudor selected reserve goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky only to substitute him in the 17th minute after calamitous errors.

Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Neville said the treatment of Kinsky was “brutal”.

“I thought the whole thing of the last few weeks and then that, the whole thing is just a car crash, a shambles,” he said.

Tudor was only appointed last month following the sacking of Thomas Frank, but Neville believes Tottenham must act again immediately after four defeats out of four matches on his watch.

“If you’re going to make another change, that for me needs to be today or tomorrow, because you don’t wait,” he said.

Tottenham are 16th in the Premier League, a point clear of Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

They face a daunting trip to Liverpool this weekend before a crunch match against Forest the following week.

Tottenham are once again in turmoil, sitting 14th in the Premier League after early exits from the the FA Cup and League Cup, while their Champions League campaign hangs in the balance.

Ange Postecoglou’s sacking after last year’s Europa League triumph was supposed to end all the turbulence.

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The club statement upon Postecoglou’s dismissal said as much: “It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond.”

Those words are haunting the club, however, as they now compete on no front domestically. In Europe, they need a strong finish to the league phase to give themselves a chance of a meaningful campaign.

In reality, the absence of Angeball from north London has so far only succeeded in making Tottenham boring.

Former Brentford boss Thomas Frank was brought in as the anthesis of Ange. Spurs fans are now living a warning Postecoglou famously issued during his time as Socceroos boss.

“At some point in time I’ll get replaced by John the Pragmatist and you can all be happy and revel in it,” Postecoglou said during the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Tottenham fans certainly are not fan happy though as they are still booing their team off the pitch after most games.

When you dive into the numbers, it is clear to see why.

Frank has been in charge for 31 matches across all competitions since his appointment in June for only 12 wins - a win percentage of 38.7 per cent.

Postecoglou’s stood at 46 per cent as Tottenham won 46 of the 100 matches played during his two-year stint at the club.

Frank’s version of Tottenham are conceding less goals (1.35 per game compared to 1.57), but they are not scoring as often (1.68 per game compared to 1.83).

Understandably, the Danish manager is now under the pump.

Tottenham welcome West Ham in the early hours of Sunday morning AEDT and a loss to their London rivals, who are destined for relegation, would spark mayhem.

For the Hammers, Nuno Espirito Santo, the man Postecoglou replaced at Nottingham Forest, is skating on thin ice too with his team sitting 18th and enduring a ten-game winless run before defeating Championship outfit Queen’s Park Rangers in the FA Cup in their last outing.

Their two last league matches have been losses to fellow relegation contenders Forest and bottom-placed Wolves.

Times are almost as tense at Tottenham, however.

Spurs have just one win in their last seven and were knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Aston Villa on the weekend.

But the biggest sin was committed by Frank off the field: The Dane was snapped drinking out of an Arsenal branded cup before last week’s match at Bournemouth.

Tottenham fans did not respond kindly, venting their fury and sharing an array of conspiracy theories on social media.

“Anyone thinking I’ve done that, or the staff has done that [on purpose is wrong],” Frank said in his post-match press conference at Bournemouth.

“They’ve been in the changing room, the game before us. It’s normal to take a cup, give me an espresso - [I] do that before every game.

“I think, actually, it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that. I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club - of course I would never do that, that’s extremely stupid.”

The embarrassment it caused, combined with the glee it gave their league-leading rivals, the mounting losses, and the constant problems behind the scenes, led to another supporter protest being planned for this week’s game.

Spurs fans are angry that their manager did not apologise, and about other comments made by Frank about not enjoying his time at Tottenham.

“When you need to put in a big, big shift and it’s not smooth and it’s tough, it’s probably difficult to enjoy it,” he said when asked if he is enjoying his new club.

“If I run hard I don’t enjoy that moment but I know I need to keep my head down and run hard to get through it.

“So the short answer is: no [he is not enjoying his job]. The reality is you can’t,” Frank added.

“But when I put myself out of it and look down, I think: ‘What a privilege to be in charge of this fantastic club in a period where it’s a big transition’.”

The two sets of comments have left Frank unforgiven for his misdemeanours.

The fans are also incensed about having seen only two home wins so far this Premier League season.

The Spurs supporters trust have already demanded action, releasing a statement expressing their dissatisfaction and organising a fan protest ahead of the match. Protests were an all-too-common sight during former chair Dan Levy’s more than two decades in charge.

“Whilst we acknowledge the changes in personnel behind the scenes at the club, this has regrettably not been matched with improvements on the pitch,” the statement read.

“There also appears to be a dramatic fall in ambition for the football club, as evidenced by the transfer window to date and repeated statements by Thomas Frank, reminding supporters that the club finished 17th in the Premier League last season, that the club is only participating in the Champions League through winning the Europa League, and that Bournemouth [a side without a win in 11 games] are ‘always a difficult team’ and that he is ‘not enjoying the job.’

“Supporters have suffered the embarrassment of players directly confronting them for exercising their right to express themselves, of the club captain publicly calling out ‘other people’ at the club who do not speak except ‘to tell a few lies’, and of the manager being photographed drinking from an Arsenal cup apparently unaware that he was doing so.

“Whilst these incidents may have explanations that we could understand and even sympathise with, they demonstrate a lack of understanding and a lack of care about the perception of the football club.”

As a result of the angst, and West Ham’s struggles, former Tottenham player and manager Tim Sherwood dubbed the match “El Sackico” on Sky Sports.

Sherwood also shared his frustrations with his former club, and delivered a tactics talk that could have been taken straight from Postecoglou’s dressing room.

“I think their playing style is not fantastic,” Sherwood said. “Thomas needs to take the shackles off.”

“When they get the ball, get at them. Don’t play safe,” he added. “I don’t want you passing three yards backwards and square. Run and take the opposition on. Take the game to the opposition.”

Based on their attitude on the pitch, Tottenham’s players are clearly unhappy with the style of football they are being asked to play.

Defenders Djed Spence and Micky van de Ven even ignored Frank as they walked off the pitch after a loss to Chelsea in November.

“I don’t think Thomas Frank is going to last very long personally, and I only say that because I watch a lot of like players’ mannerisms like their body language when they’re talking to him or if he’s talking to them,” former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas said on the Wildcards Podcast.

“Players are coming off the bench and just not even looking at looking in his face when he’s talking to them. And there’s a clear I don’t know, there’s a clear breakdown in terms of maybe what he’s asking the players to do and the players just not agreeing with it.”

Those allegations gained strength when injured midfielder James Maddison made an appearance on Sky Sports as a guest pundit.

Asked about the highs and low of last season, the England international said the period under Postecoglou “was one I look back on fondly”.

“We’d never have a session with Ange where the base of the session, the model, wasn’t around how we played, with fullbacks inside, wingers high and wide, not really allowed to move from the touchline, kind of fixed wingers, and then rotation from the midfield three,” he said.

“Sometimes he’s shown us clips … of the fullbacks in the No.10 positions, and maybe your No.10 and your No.8 in the fullback positions, just like rotations,

“There’s still structure, it just didn’t matter who the personnel was … and he enjoyed that. We loved playing (that way).

“You (pundits) would describe it as chaotic and entertaining, but it was really fun to play, and we ended up with a trophy under Ange, so huge respect (for him).

“I loved that little period with him. We had ups and downs. but that’s what I miss.”

The respect the playing group had for Postecoglou was clear during the Europa League celebrations last year as well as in their social media posts farewelling the Australian once he was dismissed.

With Postecoglou without a job at present, many have pondered whether Tottenham would admit they made a mistake and bring the polarising manager back, if Frank is removed.

Sherwood shut down such a suggestion, however, saying: “That won’t happen.”

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Postecoglou; he’s a manager who won something at Spurs when others have failed,” he continued.

“They sacked a winner, and they made their choice in the best interests of the club. They believed that Postecoglou wasn’t the man to take them forward, end of.

“That is what they’ve done with Frank, they’ve put their belief in him being a success.

“He still might be a success, but he’s clearly not at the moment.”

If Frank is going to salvage his time at Tottenham, he made a promising step in the acquisition of former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher for a fee of £34.6 million ($69.5) from Atletico Madrid.

The 25-year-old England international had appeared headed to Aston Villa for his Premier League return, but a personal call from Frank reportedly convinced him to join Tottenham despite the team’s struggles.

A lot of weight will now be on Gallagher’s shoulders, but not as much as Frank’s.

The divide between manager and supporters is ever expanding.

While they have not appreciated many of his actions, Frank did not appreciate goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario being booed after making an error against Fulham in late November.

“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him straight after and a few times after that,” Frank said.

“They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you’re on the pitch and we do everything we can to perform. I’m fine with them booing after the match, no problem, but not during. That is unacceptable in my opinion.”

The war of words, or boos, shows that some things do not change.

Last season, many pointed the finger at Postecoglou as the problem.

Frank’s woes prove it is clearly far more complex than pinning the blame on the manager.

Thomas Frank insisted he retains the support of Tottenham’s hierarchy after Saturday’s FA Cup exit against Aston Villa piled pressure on the beleaguered boss.

Frank’s side crashed out in the third round as first-half goals from Villa’s Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers inspired a 2-1 win in north London.

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Wilson Odobert reduced the deficit in Tottenham’s improved second half display, but it was too little, too late for Frank.

The former Brentford boss has lost seven of his last 13 matches in all competitions, with Tottenham out of both domestic cups and languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.

They remain in contention to reach the Champions League last 16 but Frank faces a fight to ensure he is still in charge by the time the group stage ends.

Tottenham fans once again showed their discontent with the Dane by jeering at the final whistle.

But Frank is adamant he will be given time to improve Tottenham’s wretched form. “Completely feel the support. No doubt about that. Of course, we are disappointed by the result and the fact that we don’t have better results,” he said.

“We need to put more and better performances together and keep pushing forward.”

It was another week to forget for Frank after he inadvertently angered Tottenham fans by drinking from a cup with the logo of north London rivals Arsenal on it before a 3-2 loss at Bournemouth on Wednesday.

Tempers spilt over at full-time after Villa forward Ollie Watkins celebrated in front of Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha, who clashed with the England international, as well as Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa, in an ugly brawl.

Frank admitted he was hurt by the defeat but defended his players’ involvement in the row.

“We are all hurt. There is nothing we want to do more than to get through to the next round no matter who we face. We play at home, we had a good opportunity and unfortunately we couldn’t go through,” Frank said.

Quizzed on if his players were losing control after they also clashed with Tottenham fans at Bournemouth, Frank said: “The players gave everything, everything out there, losing a tight game, the season not going perfect and I think Ollie is very provoking.

“The way he is going down to celebrate in front of the Villa fans and he is walking into Joao, he can just easily walk around. I think everyone that has been in a competitive nature, that is difficult and can trigger things.” He said his own players had “passion” and “want to do very well for the club”.

Tottenham ground out a much-needed three points for the under-fire Thomas Frank with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while high-flying Sunderland were held 1-1 by Leeds on Sunday.

Archie Gray was Spurs’ unlikely match winner at Selhurst Park with his first senior goal as Frank’s men won for just the second time in nine league games.

Richarlison had two goals disallowed for offside but Gray’s header was enough for Tottenham against a Palace side running out of steam after a gruelling schedule.

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The Eagles are now winless in five games as they have hit the wall from trying to stretch their limited resources across three competitions.

Oliver Glasner described his side’s set-piece defending in a 4-1 defeat to Leeds last weekend as “embarrassing” and it was a dead ball that cost them once more against a Spurs team badly lacking in creativity.

An overdue victory will temporarily ease the scrutiny on Frank, but another performance devoid of flair going forward will do little to quieten his doubters in the Tottenham support.

The visitors did not have a shot on target from open play before half-time but were only denied by a VAR review for offside when Richarlison thought he had opened the scoring.

Instead the source of the only goal was an unexpected one as Gray headed in Richarlison’s flick from a corner for his first goal in 112 appearances for Tottenham and Leeds.

Palace dominated territory and possession after the break but lacked the class needed in front of goal to make Spurs pay.

Justin Devenny blazed high over the bar from close range before Maxence Lacroix headed wide.

Palace were handed another reprieve when Richarlison turned in Mohammed Kudus’ cross only for VAR to again intervene.

But Tottenham held out to climb to 11th, just one point behind Palace in ninth.

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Earlier, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for a sixth consecutive Premier League game as Leeds denied Sunderland a place in the top five with a draw at the Stadium of Light.

Simon Adingra fired the Black Cats into a half-time lead, but the in-form Calvert-Lewin levelled early in the second period to pull Leeds further clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland are still yet to lose at home on their return to the top flight but have been severely depleted by the departure of six players to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Adingra was one of the Ivory Coast’s key men in winning the AFCON on home soil last year, but he was not selected this time.

Sunderland were grateful for that decision as the former Brighton winger curled in his first goal for the club from Granit Xhaka’s fine through ball on 28 minutes.

Leeds had been the better side for large spells of the first period and started the second with a bang.

Calvert-Lewin latched onto Brenden Aaronson’s low cross for his eighth goal of the season, seven of which have come in the last six games.

The former Everton striker’s form has played a major role in edging Leeds towards safety and keeping his manager Daniel Farke in a job.

The German was reportedly on the brink of being dismissed prior to a five-game unbeaten run that has taken Leeds seven points clear of the bottom three.

“I’m not dancing on the table tonight,” said Farke. “The feeling was if we were a bit more clinical we should have won the game.”

Sunderland missed the chance to leapfrog Manchester United and Chelsea but sit seventh, just four points outside the top four.

The new English Premier League season kicked off with a bang as champions Liverpool pulled off a thrilling late victory at Anfield in the season opener.

Fellow title contenders Manchester City picked up a thumping win, while Arsenal claimed the points at Old Trafford, but Manchester United have been praised despite losing.

Tottenham made a “dream start” to the post-Ange Postecoglou era as London rivals Chelsea and their new signings faltered.

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Newly promoted Sunderland made a fairytale return to the top flight in an action-packed opening weekend with Leeds United still to host Everton to kick off their campaigns.

Scroll down for all the biggest talking points from the beginning of the new Premier League season!

‘GLARING ISSUE’: UTD TRANSFER GAP EXPOSED

It seems a little bit bizarre that Manchester United were praised for losing 1-0 at Old Trafford to Arsenal given their proud history.

But so dire was the Red Devils last season, having recorded their lowest ever points tally in the Premier League, that glimpses of hope were taken for an opening day loss.

Ruben Amorim unveiled new £200 million (AU$416 million) attacking trio of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, but they were unable to find the back of the net against the league’s stingiest defence of the last two seasons.

Despite the Gunners keeping a clean sheet, United great Gary Neville said on Sky Sports post-match that his former side were “the better team in terms of performance”, given they registered 22 shots to nine, and boasted 62% possession.

The new-look attack Mbeumo and Cunha threatened consistently, while Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes played well in midfield.

Amorim was delighted that his side kept the Old Trafford faithful on the edge of their sets throughout the afternoon.

“The most important thing - we weren’t boring. I’m really proud of the guys. They were really brave in everything they did during the game,” he told Sky Sports.

“Congratulations for the performance, but not congratulations [for the result] because we lost the game at home.

“We clearly deserved a different result and we need to move forward to the next one.

“We were more aggressive than last year, we sprinted more, we were braver, we went one against one for the whole game and we pressed high.”

The good will toward United unsurprisingly did not sit well with former Red Devils captain Roy Keane.

The one-time United hard man turned pundit was even displeased with his former teammate Neville for showing too much leniency.

“The expectations at United now are so low, that even Gary [Neville] said on commentary, everyone is okay with a 1-0 defeat. They’ve got to do better,” Keane said on Sky Sports.

“It does worry me. Some of the new signings, there was encouragement with that. They were getting you up the pitch with a bit of power.

“Things will improve, it’s tough against Arsenal, but no goals and another defeat. There’s still problems there with Man Utd.”

The most glaring issue was stand-in goalkeeper Altay Bayindir’s costly blunder.

The 27-year-old Turkish international flapped at a corner and left Riccardo Calafiori to knock in a simple header in what proved to be the match-winner in the 13th minute.

The error sparked a heated debate between Keane and Premier League winner with Manchester City Micah Richards on Sky Sports, with Keane saying, “you can’t baby a goalkeeper”, as Richards defended the United goalkeeper.

Bayindir was chosen ahead of last season’s first-choice shot stopper Andre Onana, who Amorim said was fit but had missed all five of United’s pre-season friendly.

Onana was not even named on the bench with Tom Heaton given that position.

United have been linked with several other goalkeepers, and Gary Neville believes a new No.1 cannot come soon enough.

“There’s a glaring issue that Man Utd cannot ignore and it is the fact they need to find a goalkeeper,” he said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“They have to. I’m unequivocal on that because I had an experience with Man Utd for 20 years where there were two big periods of seven or eight years with Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar.

“In between, we had seven or eight goalkeepers in a six, seven, eight-year period and it is really unsettling when you haven’t got a dominant No.1, who is dominant in the air, who owns his six-yard box, comes and punches everything and makes a lot of saves to win you points when your defenders make mistakes.

“I don’t know where they are on PSR, but they might have to magic up a bit more money in the next week or two, or do something on loan.

“The two that have been mentioned in the last two weeks have been Emi Martinez and [Gianluigi] Donnarumma.

“The reason I think they would be good goalkeepers for Man Utd is not necessarily because they are the best goalkeepers in Europe, but they are big personalities and characters.

“You’ve seen Donnarumma in a European final save those penalties for Italy. He looked like a giant. He’s played for PSG in huge games under pressure. Martinez has played in the World Cup final and won it for Argentina.

“They have played under extreme pressure and they almost walk out with that arrogance and dominance of a goalkeeper - Man Utd need that.”

ANGE REPLACEMENTS ‘DREAM START’

New Tottenham boss Thomas Frank summed up his side’s 3-0 win at home against the newly promoted Burnley by saying, “it was a perfect start, a dream start”.

The Danish manager, who was previously in charge of Brentford, added: “We all know we need to follow up on it, but today I will just enjoy it. I hope the players, the club, the fans enjoy it today because that’s important.

“A good performance against a difficult opponent is never easy in the Premier League.”

The win provided some much-need positivity at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after they blew a 2-0 lead in regulation time and in the penalty shootout of the UEFA Super Cup against PSG to miss out on another piece of silverware.

Nothing really materialised, but some fans also gathered to continue to protests that were a key feature of last campaign, with a banner that read “built a business, killed a football club” in reference to club chairman Daniel Levy.

The controversial club head could hardly have asked for a better start to the new season with new signing Mohammed Kudus providing two assists for a brace for fit again Richarlison.

The Brazilian has scored 13 goals in his last 16 league starts, but was seldom on the park last campaign, making just four league starts for former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Richarlison showed the attacking weapon he can be when healthy however, scoring an early goal of the season contender with a bicycle kick.

There had even been talks of Richarlison departing the club during the transfer window, but for now Frank has positioned him ahead of Dominic Solanke in his front man pecking order.

Things could get even better for Tottenham with reports in the past 24 hours suggesting that talks with Crystal Palace over the signing of Eberechi Eze are ramping up.

Although, Palace boss Oliver Glasner did pour cold water on discussion about the potential departures of Eze and Marc Guehi after their 0-0 draw with Chelsea saying, “it is nothing personal with all of you [journalists] but advice to the kids, don’t always believe what you read, especially on the internet, and here is the same”.

‘UNBELIVEABLE’ LIVERPOOL ISSUE; CITY’S ‘NEW HERO’

Liverpool started their campaign in emphatic fashion, while Manchester City made a statement that they mean business after a trophyless season last time out.

The champions overcame a scare from Bournemouth, leading 2-0 before the Cherries drew level and the Reds scored in the 88th and 94th minutes to prevail in an exciting season opener at Anfield.

“It was a great game to watch,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot declared post-match.

“This is what fans want to see.”

Liverpool fans were certainly rapt to witness new signing Hugo Ekitike score the first goal of the new season in a superb start for the former Einthracht Frankfurt forward.

Goals to Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and last season’s golden boot winner Mohamed Salah showed off the Reds attacking brilliance, but Liverpool great Jamie Carragher was concerned about their defending after Antoine Semenyo scored a double in the space of minutes.

Semenyo caught out the Reds defensive line in transition on both occasions with Carragher pointing the finger at Virgil van Dijk’s centre back partner Ibrahima Konate.

“It is unbelievable,” Carragher on Sky Sports. “It’s fantastic from Semenyo - but Liverpool have had this problem.

“How many players were ahead of the ball - maybe eight players - when they were winning 2-1? That can’t happen. It’s absolutely shocking at this level.

“For Semenyo to run that far and get his shot away is incredible - but where Konate is going? He had a really poor night tonight at centre-back.”

Carragher on the other hand was full of praise for City, who demolished Wolves 4-0 away from home.

Erling Haaland kicked off the season in excellent fashion with a double, but it was the other two names on the score sheet that would have pleased Pep Guardiola most.

New signing Tijjani Reijnders added City’s second goal, provided an assist for Haaland’s second after starting the play that led to his first, and completed 22 passes in the final third in a player of the match performance.

The 27-year-old Dutch international, who was the Serie A midfielder of the season before crossing to City from AC Milan, has been hailed as the replacement for Kevin De Bruyne and showed he can fill those enormous boots.

Meanwhile, fellow new signing Rayan Cherki came off the bench to score City’s fourth in an eye-catching display that showed off why Thierry Henry, who coached the former Lyon attacker with the French under 21s, said he has never seen anyone dribble quicker with both feet.

“They’ve got a new hero,” Redknapp said of City fans on Sky Sports.

“It was a classy performance [from Reijnders]. When you bring in new players, you want them to start well to endear themselves to the fans.

“There will be plenty of them thinking, ‘I want a number 10 shirt’, or ‘I’m going to buy a Reijnders shirt now’, because they are going to be the new heroes.

“There have been so many amazing midfield players at that club, like David Silva, like Kevin De Bruyne, but time moves on. Can you do the right recruitment and bring in the right players?

“It’s early but [Reijnders and Cherki] have got used to the Premier League very quickly.”

CHELSEA ‘NOT READY’ FOR TITLE PUSH

Club World Cup winners Chelsea endured a disappointing start to the new season, held to a scoreless draw at home to FA Cup champions Crystal Palace.

In fact, the Blues were lucky to escape with a point as Eberechi Eze’s 13th minute free kick was disallowed after VAR spotted Palace captain Marc Guehi had pushed Moises Caicedo to create a gap for the ball to fly through and had moved too close to the Chelsea wall when Eze struck the ball as a result.

The outcome was not disastrous as Palace have been incredibly tough to beat in recent times.

In fact, Oliver Glasner’s men have won the Community Shield to go with their FA Cup trophy, the first in the club’s history, as well as collecting points in away fixtures at Anfield and the Emirates in their last ten matches.

But the supporters at Stamford Bridge would no doubt have been expecting more to start the season after their success in Europe.

They also handed maiden Premier League starts for Chelsea for new attacking weapons Joao Pedro and Jaime Gittens, while fellow newcomer forwards Liam Delap and Estevao came off the bench.

Enzo Maresca’s side registered 19 shots to 11, and had 72% possession, but the inability to score led Manchester United great Gary Neville to rule Chelsea out of the title race after just one match.

“When I look at Chelsea, they have good young players but you are not looking at Joao Pedro and Liam Delap in the same light as Arsenal, Liverpool’s or City’s front players,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“They are good and I think they will have a good season but they are not ready. That’s not just because of Palace. They have drawn against a very good team.

“I think that top three are going to be fighting it out, one might drop away, I don’t know which one it will be.”

SUNDERLAND FAIRYTALE

Eight years after their last Premier League outing, Sunderland produced a fairytale return to the top flight, hammering West Ham 3-0 at home.

The spotlight has shone on the newly promoted sides this season after the three promoted teams have gone straight back down to the Championship in the last two seasons.

Sunderland gave their fans at the Stadium of Light reason to believe they can break that trend, however.

A physical performance broke down Graham Potter’s side with second half goals to Eliezer Mayenda, Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor sealing the three points.

New signing, new skipper and former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka led the way in midfield, and the Black Cats were dangerous on the counter attack given West Ham had 64% possession.

Manchester United great Gary Neville believed he saw enough from Sunderland to suggest that they can avoid the drop.

Neville was particularly pleased with the fact Sunderland embraced playing imperfect football, and did not try to play a stylish passing game that has not succeeded for many sides upon making the jump from the Championship.

“So for me, Sunderland, yes, they demonstrated a lot of the qualities that I think can keep you in this league,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“Because if you’re playing for Liverpool, City and Arsenal, the three best teams in the league, and Sunderland come and try and play football against you and pass it around the pitch, you’re really happy.”

He added: “Because I’ve been there. I’m really happy if they try and take us on at football, because I know we’re going to win that game. But if they try and basically be direct against us, beat us up, be aggressive, run in behind us, be a threat.”

Of the other promoted sides, Burnley endured a tough return to the top flight losing 3-0 at Tottenham, while Leeds United welcome Everton on Tuesday morning AEST.

Tottenham captain Heung-min Son has announced his desire to leave the English Premier League club in a press conference ahead of Spurs’ pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in his home country of South Korea.

The 33-year-old is set to join MLS side Los Angeles FC after a decade in north London that culminated with lifting the Europa League trophy after Tottenham defeated Manchester United in the final in Bilbao, Spain in May.

Son was awarded the captaincy by previous manager Ange Postecoglou two years ago following the departure of his good friend and one time strike partner Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

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But with his goal of winning silverware with Spurs complete, Son told new boss Thomas Frank of his desire to depart the club.

“I just want to share information that I have decided to leave this club this summer. Respectfully the club is helping me with this decision,” Son during his press conference.

“It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career. The main reason is I have achieved everything I can at Tottenham. I need a new environment for a fresh challenge.

“I came to north London as a kid. A boy came to London who couldn’t speak English. I leave this club as a man. Thanks to all the Spurs fans who have given me so much love.”

Son added: “I spoke with only a few guys, ones I’ve spent a long time with. They’re disappointed but in a respectful way.

“Obviously I’m very close to Ben (Davies) and we’ve spoken a few times about the future. Obviously they respect my decision.

“It’s very hard to tell my teammates because I probably spend more time with them than my family because we’re together five or six hours every day. They were disappointed but also happy for me.”

He continued: “It’s been quite a while since I made my decision to leave the club. Recent days have been difficult.

“It was difficult to stay bright on the outside but I did my best not to harm the club or his teammates.”

The second game of Tottenham’s Asian tour will kick off in Seoul on Sunday after Pape Matar Sarr’s screamer from near the halfway line handed them a 1-0 victory in Hong Kong against fierce rivals Arsenal in the first north London derby played outside of the United Kingdom.

Son came off the bench to play 15 minutes against Arsenal on Thursday with Cristian Romero handing over the captain’s armband despite some reluctance from the Korean.

That gesture meant he got to lift another trophy, although the pre-season Herbalgy Trophy does not hold the same significance as the Europa League trophy.

Former Brentford boss Frank dismissed any concerns that Son will not be sighted on Sunday given the announcement.

The Danish manager made it clear to fans that their hero will walk out wearing the captain’s armband against Newcastle in front of a sell-out crowd at the 66,000 seat Seoul World Cup Stadium for what might by his final appearance in a Spurs shirt.

“It’s very clear that Sonny will start and lead the team out as captain,” Frank said.

“If it is the last game for Sonny, what a place to do it here in front of his home fans.

“It could be a beautiful ending.”

Son is set to join former Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris in Los Angeles, in what is a big coup for the MLS as the city contains the largest Korean population in the United States.

He had attracted strong interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia, but is set to forgo those offers in favour of joining Lionel Messi in adding star power to the American league.

Son will depart Spurs having scored 173 goals and registering 101 assists in 454 appearances, and during his time in England, he became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League.

He will no doubt go down as a club legend, which he reluctantly said so himself when asked about his standing in Tottenham history after lifting the Europa League trophy.

“Let’s say I’m a legend. Why not? Only today! 17 years nobody has done it, so today let’s say with amazing players probably a legend of the club,” he said after the final.

“This is what I’ve always dreamed for. Today is the day it happened. I am the happiest man in the world.”