MANCHESTER, Dec 4: Manchester City’s clash with Tottenham definitely lived up to the pre-match hype after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Not that Erling Haaland was too happy after referee Simon Hooper denied Jack Grealish the chance to score a stoppage-time winner for the defending Premier League champions. The Norway international reacted furiously when the whistle was blown for an earlier foul on him just as Grealish looked set to run through on goal. Haaland was booked for his response.
Dejan Kulusevski scored a 90th-minute header to earn Tottenham a 3-3 draw at defending champion Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Jack Grealish had looked like settling a thrilling game at Etihad Stadium with a goal in the 81st minute.
But Kulusevski rose to meet Brennan Johnson’s cross and head in off the underside of the bar to secure a point for Spurs. City has now drawn its last three games in the league and is third in the standings, three points behind leader Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s team has also conceded eight goals during that winless run. City had gone behind to a goal from Son Heung-min in the sixth, but led at halftime after the Tottenham captain put through his own net in the ninth and Phil Foden struck in the 31st.
Giovani Lo Celso hit a low, curling effort into the bottom corner to level at 2-2 in the 69th before substitute Grealish scored what seemed to be the winner.
Even after Kulusevski’s equalizer there was further drama when referee Simon Hooper stopped play to award City a free kick despite Grealish appearing to be running through on goal.
The draw halts Spurs’ three-game losing run and moves Ange Postecoglou’s team above Newcastle to fifth. Guardiola had predicted an exciting game against a Spurs team that has been the surprise package in England’s top flight this season.
Postecoglou, meanwhile, had said he wouldn’t compromise his attacking style, even in the face of an injury crisis and a recent losing streak.
And when Son raced away early to fire past Ederson, Spurs’ intentions were clear.
CHELSEA BEAT BRIGHTON
Enzo Fernandez scored twice as 10-man Chelsea held on to beat Brighton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
The midfielder struck in each half as the Londoners bounced back from last week’s 4-1 loss against Newcastle.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s team, which had Conor Gallagher sent off just before halftime, had to resist a fightback from Brighton that included a late penalty being overturned by VAR.
Chelsea led 2-0 after headers from Fernandez and Levi Colwill in the 17th and 21st minutes, but Facundo Buonanotte pulled a goal back for Brighton in the 43rd and Gallagher was shown a second yellow card just before the break.
Fernandez scored a penalty in the 65th to regain the home team’s two-goal advantage, but Joao Pedro came off the bench to score from a header in the second minute of stoppage time.
In a dramatic end to the match, Chelsea survived a penalty scare for a possible handball against Colwill with virtually the game’s final action.
LIVERPOOL EDGE FULHAM
Liverpool scored two goals in a minute late on to beat Fulham 4-3 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Trailing 3-2 at Anfield, goals from Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 87th and 88th minutes secured a comeback win.
Liverpool had twice led in the match, but looked set to lose at home for the first time since February when Bobby De Cordova-Reid put Fulham ahead in the 80th.
That was until Endo sparked the comeback and Alexander-Arnold hit the winner soon after to extend the Merseyside team’s 100 percent winning home record this season and moved it to within two points of leader Arsenal.
WATKINS SECURES A POINT
After four straight wins in all competitions, Aston Villa needed a 90th-minute equalizer to rescue a point at Bournemouth.
Ollie Watkins scored his 13th goal of the season as fourth-place Villa came from behind for a second time in the match to draw 2-2.
Antoine Semenyo put Bournemouth ahead in the 10th and Leon Bailey evened the score in the 20th.
Dominic Solanke’s goal in the 52nd put 16th-place Bournemouth on the brink of a surprise win until Watkins struck.
West Ham missed out on the chance to move above Brighton in eighth when Odsonne Edouard earned Crystal Palace a 1-1 draw with an equalizer in the 53rd.
Mohammed Kudus had given host West Ham the lead in the 13th.
HAMMERS AND PALACE SHARE SPOILS
A second-half equalizer from Odsonne Édouard gave Crystal Palace a share of the points in a scrappy London derby against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
After a bright start by Palace, it was Mohammed Kudus who opened the scoring against the run of play to the delight of the home supporters at the London Stadium with the team’s first shot on target in the 13th minute.
An ill-judged back pass by Konstantinos Mavropanos allowed the Palace forward to intercept and score in the 53rd. (AP)
