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Manchester United needed to produce something extraordinary to quieten a home crowd at Goodison Park seething with anger and resentment

Beth Mead scored twice as Arsenal thumped struggling West Ham 3-0 at Meadow Park in the Women’s Super League. It did not take long for Arsenal to open the scoring as Frida Maanum put the hosts 1-0 up just two minutes in and Mead got her first since returning from injury in the 18th minute before she tapped in from six yards to make it 3-0 just before the break. Jonas Eidevall’s team sit in second position and continue to pile pressure on league leaders Chelsea. Lauren James scored twice as the Blues stretched their winning run to six games in the league with a 5-2 win over Leicester. Chelsea scored twice in the first five minutes through James and a Courtney Nevin own goal and added a third just before the break through Sam Kerr, just after Jutta Rantala had brought Leicester back into the game. Sam Tierney netted in the 44th minute to make it 3-2 but Chelsea regained their two-goal cushion when James dinked over the keeper from close range and Aggie Beever-Jones sealed the points late on for Emma Hayes’ side. Second half goals from Hinata Miyazawa and Nikita Parris ensured that Manchester United returned to winning ways after their derby loss to Manchester City with a 2-0 win over rock bottom Bristol City. United were denied on several occasions in the first period by inspired City goalkeeper Olivia Clark, who kept out Parris, Leah Galton and Millie Turner. Marc Skinner’s side broke the deadlock five minutes after the break through Japanese international Miyazawa before Parris added a second as United clinched an away win. Liverpool picked up their first win in three league matches with a convincing 4-0 win over Brighton. The Reds carried a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to strikes from Gemma Bonner and Shanice van de Sanden and Ceri Holland nodded in from close range in the second half before Sophie Roman Haug added the gloss on a good afternoon for the hosts. Everton leapfrogged Aston Villa in the table after Nathalie Bjorn’s penalty handed them a 2-1 win at Villa Park. https://x.com/EvertonWomen/status/1728841920364048841?s=20 Anna Patten’s own goal gave Everton the lead but they were instantly pegged back when Rachel Daly side-footed home from close range. The Toffees’ winner came with 15 minutes left when Kirsty Hanson brought Heather Payne down inside the area. Bjorn stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to hand Everton a first victory in five matches. Read More Ange Postecoglou says ‘we’ll get through it’ after Tottenham are beaten again Archer, Brook and Rashid join list of England players who will not play in IPL Ollie Watkins hails a ‘massive three points’ for Aston Villa at Tottenham Former England boss Terry Venables remembered as an innovator and inspiration Sheffield United probe alleged racist incident during home loss to Bournemouth Gareth Southgate pays tribute to ‘outstanding coach’ Terry Venables

As the certainty of Tottenham’s top-four hopes slip from view, Aston Villa’s have never appeared stronger as Unai Emery’s side leapfrogged their hosts in north London. That was the result of a wonderfully open and often chaotic encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Villa rode their luck and just about managed to cling on to their high-wire tightrope to emerge with this statement win, yet one that looked beyond them in the opening stages. Tottenham will struggle to come to terms with this defeat, which leaves Ange Postecoglou’s side with a third Premier League loss in a row and looking very much like a team in the midst of a major injury crisis. But while the makeshift centre-back partnership of Emerson Royal and Ben Davies was exposed by Ollie Watkins, who fired Villa to a ninth win of the season and to within two points of leaders Arsenal, it was Tottenham’s forwards and a host of missed chances that proved just as decisive to the outcome. Because, despite this win and their impressive standing in the table, Villa really should have been buried. Tottenham led and should have been out of sight. Emery’s daring high line will look to have paid off handsomely – but it could have easily been made to appear reckless. Yet it was always going to be this way, in a clash of two teams and two managers who are committed to playing the high-stakes game, even if it doesn’t seem to make any sense. And this was, for the most part, utterly mad, the greatest puzzle perhaps that there were only three goals. Son Heung-min’s usually clinical touch was missing yet he was also unfortunate – the Tottenham captain had three goals disallowed for offside. Spurs could have also scored five or six inside the opening 20 minutes, all from the same route. They only needed one run from deep and one timed pass and they were through Villa’s trap. With Emery lining up with a back three for the first time this season, Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos and Pau Torres were positioned as Villa’s terrifyingly wobbly, thrillingly advanced defence. Tottenham, though, were wasteful. Destiny Udogie, the left-back who drifted to join Son as Tottenham’s second striker, was the first to slip through but lifted his finish over the bar. Dejan Kulusevski was next, wriggling around the ambling Torres with ease, only to place his curling effort onto the post. Kulusevski then found Bryan Gil with a lovely flick, bringing a save out of Emiliano Martinez. Son lurked as the six-yard poacher, coming alive after the initial run was found. The Spurs captain missed what was the best of Tottenham’s first-half chances when he failed to connect with Gil’s cross and there would be more to come. Improbably, Tottenham’s opener did not come from the expected source. Given Villa’s approach, it was a surprise that Giovani Lo Celso’s first-half goal came following a corner, with the Argentine’s crisp strike taking a deflection off Carlos and past Martinez after Villa had cleared to the edge of the box. And yet, for all of Villa’s susceptibility, Emery’s high line also managed to catch Tottenham out. Son thought he had doubled the lead after racing through on goal from 40 yards and curling past Martinez but was denied by the offside flag. There would be more of that, as well. Tottenham, however, were offered a reprieve of their own. Emery’s wing-back ploy at least threatened Tottenham down the flanks and Postecoglou’s own cavalier approach struggled to contain it. Watkins looked to have levelled moments after Lo Celso’s strike, heading past Guglielmo Vicario from Lucas Digne’s excellent cross, but his equaliser did not survive VAR’s offside lines. What the review did reveal, however, was how open Tottenham were: Watkins and Moussa Diaby were left to the makeshift back two of Emerson and Davies, but neither was close to a Villa forward. And while Tottenham continued to waste opportunities, Villa started to show signs that they would make the hosts pay for it. Besides leaving Royal and Davies exposed to the speed of Watkins and Diaby, Tottenham’s own glaring vulnerability was their excessively high defensive line from set-pieces. Torres missed one early chance when he headed past the post but made no mistake in additional time. For the second time, the Spain defender was left unmarked and in the 52nd minute of a chaotic half, Tottenham gave Douglas Luiz at least 25 yards of space to aim for from his deep free-kick. Those extra seven minutes had been created by the loss of Rodrigo Bentancur, injured less than half an hour into his first Tottenham start in nine months following a reckless challenge by Matty Cash. The Villa right-back was sensibly removed by Emery at the break, having picked up a booking and being hounded by the home fans for adding to their increasingly dire injury crisis. Already without nine first-team players, Tottenham were left with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Eric Dier and Oliver Skipp as their only senior options on the bench. Villa, with Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans, had what Tottenham did not and carried an ability to change the game. It was Tielemans who slipped Watkins through to put Villa ahead and turn the game around, although the Belgium international hardly required the most intricate ball to split Emerson and Davies apart. Watkins glided through unopposed and flashed his finish past Vicario. It was, remarkably, enough to secure all three points. Martinez produced an excellent double stop to deny Johnson after a smart touch from Son and then Hojbjerg’s follow-up shot from distance. Johnson was close to meeting Kulusevski’s cross after a counter, then Tottenham had two more disallowed after Son was caught offside in the box, first from Johnson’s cutback and then from a rebound. Villa remained committed to the entertainment until the end. Emery’s side could also have crowned their victory, though. Watkins didn’t do enough with a point-blank glancing header and Vicario produced a fine stop to deny Digne’s free kick. And, given Tottenham’s absences, with James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr all sidelined, Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma suspended, and their starting midfield three and centre-back pairing unavailable, perhaps Villa came away with the result they were expected to. It remained on a fine line, however, and in the chaos Emery’s side left behind, the coming weeks will reveal how serious this new top-four challenge will be. Tottenham’s, in the meantime, is in need of a revival. Read More Ollie Watkins hails a ‘massive three points’ for Aston Villa at Tottenham Rodrigo Bentancur injured by Matty Cash in first Tottenham start in nine months Gareth Southgate pays tribute to ‘outstanding coach’ Terry Venables Ange Postecoglou too busy with football matters to worry about agent-rules probe Tottenham vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Rodrigo Bentancur return eases Tottenham’s injury crisis

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Ange Postecoglou remained defiant and insisted Tottenham were on the path to being “a very good football team” despite a 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa consigning them to a third consecutive defeat. Spurs were without 11 first-teamers but Postecoglou doubled down on his philosophy with a back four containing no centre-backs, several attacking players handed first league starts of the season and no recognised defensive midfielder in the starting line-up. It initially paid off with Giovani Lo Celso firing Tottenham ahead in the 22nd-minute and while the hosts had 18 shots, three goals disallowed and hit the woodwork twice, Aston Villa punished their profligacy to move above them into the Premier League’s top four. Postecoglou reflected: “It is just the situation we’re in at the moment, but we’ll get through it. “It might take a little while, but we’ll get through it and as long as we show the same intent and play the football we did today, I’ve got no doubt when we come out the other side, we’ll be a very good football team. “We had four full-backs out there so we didn’t really have the height, which we knew would be an issue for us today but you kind of take those calculated risks with the flipside of it being that some of our football was outstanding today. “I mean some of the goals we could have scored would have ended up being showreels for us in the way we want to play our football, so for me the positives definitely outweigh the negative of the result. “We’ve just got to make sure the players stay focused on what’s important right now and you need to win games of football to keep yourself in the mix to be in a strong position come the end of the year, but right now we’re still building a side. It might take a little while, but we'll get through it and as long as we show the same intent and play the football we did today, I've got no doubt when we come out the other side, we'll be a very good football team Ange Postecoglou “What’s more important is the way forward has to be with what the end goal is in mind and today was about trying to play the football we want to play. “If we fell short, we fell short but I didn’t think we fell short today. I thought it was just fine margins for us and not getting the rewards.” To add to Tottenham’s growing issues, Rodrigo Bentancur’s first start since February following a serious knee injury was cut short after he was on the receiving end of a poor first-half tackle by Matty Cash. “It is his ankle, I think,” Postecoglou revealed. “It wasn’t a great tackle. I thought he started the game so well and I think it was the reason we got a real good foothold on the game. “He’s such a creative player. It’s the last thing we needed. Another injury, so (I’m) disappointed to lose him, but we’re yet to see the extent of it.” While Tottenham created chances aplenty, it was visiting Villa who clinched an eighth victory from their last 10 matches after Pau Torres’ header in first-half stoppage-time was backed up by Ollie Watkins’ low effort after 61 minutes. It pressed home their case as a genuine contender for Champions League qualification but former Arsenal boss Unai Emery insisted there are seven teams ahead of them. “That was an amazing match,” Emery added. “I think both teams, different ways tactically but very hard, very tough. They create chances, we create chances and we were efficient and clinical. “Really I enjoy it but I lost all my energy. That was an amazing match Unai Emery “Of course we can get confidence when we are winning matches like here at Tottenham, but still in my mind, it is 38 matches that we have to be consistent. “We have to try to get each opportunity with three points and try to get a good position in the table. We are in (the top four) now, but we are not a contender. “There are seven contenders more than us to be in the top seven, to be in the top four but while we are there, we are going to try to keep (there).” Read More Archer, Brook and Rashid join list of England players who will not play in IPL Ollie Watkins hails a ‘massive three points’ for Aston Villa at Tottenham Former England boss Terry Venables remembered as an innovator and inspiration Top two maintain momentum with convincing victories Sheffield United probe alleged racist incident during home loss to Bournemouth Gareth Southgate pays tribute to ‘outstanding coach’ Terry Venables

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