LEICESTER, Jan 20: Steven Bergwijn scored two goals deep into stoppage time to snatch Tottenham a dramatic 3-2 victory at Leicester in the Premier League’s latest-ever comeback win on Wednesday.
The Netherlands forward looked to have earned a draw for Spurs by driving home from close range in the fifth minute of added-on time, yet there was more drama to come.
Soon after the restart, Leicester lost possession, Harry Kane played a perfectly weighted ball behind the Leicester defense and Bergwijn ran onto it, rounded goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and converted his shot off the post from an acute angle in the seventh extra minute.
The previous latest comeback to win came in one of the Premier League’s most famous matches, when Manchester City scored in the 92nd and 94th minutes to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 and clinch the title in May 2012.
Kane had scored his customary goal against Leicester – it’s now 18 in 17 matches against the team from the Midlands – to equalize for Tottenham in the 38th, canceling out the 24th-minute opener by Patson Daka.
James Maddison then looked to have won it for Leicester after surging into the penalty area and sending in a shot that deflected into the net off sprawling Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga in the 76th. It was the playmaker’s eighth goal in his last 11 matches in all competitions.
Then came Bergwijn’s late goals.
“I think we showed today that we don’t want to give up. Never,” Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said.
Tottenham climbed above north London rival Arsenal into fifth place and is a point behind fourth-place West Ham with three fewer games. Leicester was returning to league action after seeing matches against Everton and Burnley get postponed over the past week because of COVID-19 cases among its opponents.
Man United vs Brentford
Manchester United staged a second-half turnaround as goals from Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford earned a 3-1 win at Brentford to boost the team’s top-four ambitions in the Premier League on Wednesday.
It was another less-than-convincing display from United, though, with Cristiano Ronaldo ostensibly far from impressed at being substituted with 20 minutes left.
Elanga broke the deadlock in the 55th minute by latching onto Fred’s pass behind Brentford’s defense and then nodding the ball into the corner. Brentford, by then, had wasted a host of chances to take the lead in the first half.
Greenwood notched his first Premier League goal since October, tapping in from Bruno Fernandes’ pass, to make it 2-0 in the 62nd. Rashford climbed off the bench to add the third – again off a pass from Fernandes – in the 77th.
Ronaldo walked off the field slowly after the board flashed up to show he was being replaced by Rashford in the 70th minute. He muttered to himself and was seen throwing his arms up in apparent disgust. (AP)
