Positive Ten Hag revs United’s engine
We need to save our season, Erik ten Hag had said. And they did, somehow, anyhow, with a goal from Antony and a goal from Amad Diallo. With twice as many wingers on the pitch (those two plus Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford) as defenders (just Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot). After parking the bus at Anfield, Ten Hag revved the engine, and kept revving. Antony scored his first goal of the season against anyone other than Newport County. Diallo scored his first goal for United since a cute back-header against Milan, which happened so long ago that the manager was Ole Gunnar Solskjær. United had nine shots in extra time to Liverpool’s two. Rashford rose to the occasion at both ends of the game, first on the left wing, then at centre-forward. He missed two good chances but kept calm enough to take the next one. Ten Hag was like a fan, going: “Attack! Attack! Attack!” and it worked. His players may have saved not just their season, but also his job. Tim de Lisle
FA Cup report: Manchester United 4-3 Liverpool (aet)
Wild Cup contest a worry for Foxes
Chelsea v Leicester was a thoroughly entertaining Cup tie, a game of five excellent goals, a tremendous own goal, a missed penalty and a red card. Leicester, it should be said, are not in the form they were in the first half of the season, even if they began the day top of the Championship. In the minutes between Axel Disasi’s own goal and Callum Doyle’s red card, Leicester did threaten to expose Chelsea. But at the same time, especially in the first half, the visitors had a worryingly Burnley-esque feel: team that has excelled in the Championship finding it very hard to stop the flow of a Premier League attack. Cole Palmer found far too much space and whenever Nicolas Jackson got a run at Jannik Vestergaard there was trouble. If Leicester do go up, they will need to be tighter if they are to stay up next season. Jonathan Wilson
Match report: Chelsea 4-2 Leicester
Backup keepers impress at Etihad
The art of being a second-choice goalkeeper is being able to drop into a team and cause no disruption. Stefan Ortega and Martin Dubravka started the FA Cup tie on Saturday evening, as they might expect to do so, but they are both anticipating more minutes in the coming weeks with Ederson and Nick Pope injured. Ortega was calm and composed when in position as he looked to match his Brazilian colleague for distribution. Newcastle were limited to a few chances but he made a fine save in the first half to keep out Alexander Isak’s vicious shot from close range. Dubravka has been covering for a while longer and his credentials could not be questioned on Saturday. Bernardo Silva’s two goals were both the result of deflections and only the harshest critic could say he could have done more. The Slovakian made a number of important saves, especially in one-on-one situations, helped by coming off his line quickly to narrow the angle for City’s fine array of attackers. Like Dubravka, City backup Ortega should grow in confidence the more he plays. Will Unwin
Match report: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle
O’Neil worried as Wolves pack thins out
Gary O’Neil was the first person to warn against prematurely declaring Wolves’ season a success. Listening to him reflect on exiting the FA Cup to second-tier Coventry on Saturday, the sense was that his side could be in for some pain between now and May. O’Neil bemoaned his thin squad – Pablo Sarabia was his only available senior forward – and pointed to the gulf between the resources at his disposal and those of their next opponents, Aston Villa, though his joint top scorer Matheus Cunha could return from a hamstring injury in time for the trip to Villa Park. “Premier League games with where we are at this moment are going to be really, really difficult,” O’Neil said. “Villa will probably have Ollie Watkins, [Moussa] Diaby, [Leon] Bailey, [Jacob] Ramsey, plus [Nicolò] Zaniolo and [Jhon] Durán to come off the bench.” Ben Fisher
Match report: Wolves 2-3 Coventry
More VAR frustration for Hammers
VAR’s unerring ability to snatch the narrative meant the London Stadium staged the longest session yet at a Premier League ground waiting for Stockley Park’s processes and machinations. It took five minutes and 37 seconds to deduce that Tomas Soucek’s arm had been involved. Such a long time that by the wait’s end, players who moments before had been throwing everything at each other were chatting casually, becalmed. The longer the wait, the greater the realisation that the home team had not snatched a win. The boos were only half-hearted for the fourth Hammers goal in a week denied by video evidence, each for handball. “We think they are goals but VAR are the ones who decide, not us,” said David Moyes, attempting to keep his own counsel though increasingly agitated. “The referee I think chose good because there was a handball,” said the Villa goalscorer, Nicolò Zaniolo. Conclusion: VAR decisions remain forever in the eye of the beholder. John Brewin
Premier League report: West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa
No excuses from Son after Spurs slip up
Son Heung-min’s withering assessment of Tottenham’s abject performance in the defeat to Fulham on Saturday echoed his manager’s frustration. But while Ange Postecoglou says he is more concerned about seeing signs of improvement from his team than finishing in the top four, Son pulled no punches in his post-match interview after Tottenham’s 39-game scoring streak came to a shuddering halt. “It is unacceptable, including me,” he said. “Everybody has to look in the mirror and say: ‘It is my fault.’ It was not good enough. We didn’t put in the effort we have put in this season. The performance, the attitude was not good enough.” With home fixtures against Luton and Nottingham Forest sandwiching a testing trip to face West Ham, Son and Spurs will at least have the opportunity to put things right after the international break. Ed Aarons
Match report: Fulham 3-0 Tottenham
Muric helps Burnley win B-team battle
It was the B-team on Match of the Day. Gary Lineker’s seat was occupied by Eilidh Barbour, Alan Shearer’s by Glenn Murray, and the main event was … Burnley v Brentford. As drama, it delivered, with an early red card for Sergio Reguilón and a late goal from Brentford, who nearly nicked another one, only to have it disallowed. In terms of quality it was less impressive, with a few sitters missed – although the main culprit, David Datro Fofana, atoned with a cool finish. Both managers emerged with credit: Vincent Kompany for giving a Premier League debut to the goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who was the star of the show, and Thomas Frank for making no fuss about the red card or the penalty that came with it. Burnley still seem destined to go down, and Brentford are now in danger of joining them, but neither manager looks like being sacked. Tim de Lisle
Match report: Burnley 2-1 Brentford
Berry shows Hatters’ fighting spirit
If Luton’s last-gasp point against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest proves decisive in keeping them in the top flight, it will be entirely appropriate that the substitute Luke Berry delivered the late goal. Berry has now scored for Luton in all four Football League divisions which, according to his manager, Rob Edwards, typifies what “makes us unique and even closer together”. While Forest had the firepower of Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench, Luton relied on a player they signed when in League Two and he duly delivered. “We are who we are and I love that,” said Edwards. “There are a number of players who have had to fight, scrap and work so hard to be here. They don’t want to give that up.” The underdogs are determined not to relinquish their spot yet. Ben Bloom
Match report: Luton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 46 | 64 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 28 | 39 | 64 |
| 3 | Man City | 28 | 35 | 63 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 29 | 18 | 56 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 17 | 53 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 28 | 0 | 47 |
| 7 | West Ham | 29 | -4 | 44 |
| 8 | Brighton | 28 | 6 | 42 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton | 28 | -2 | 41 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 28 | 11 | 40 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 27 | 2 | 39 |
| 12 | Fulham | 29 | -1 | 38 |
| 13 | AFC Bournemouth | 28 | -11 | 35 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 28 | -15 | 29 |
| 15 | Brentford | 29 | -13 | 26 |
| 16 | Everton | 28 | -10 | 25 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 29 | -16 | 25 |
| 18 | Luton | 29 | -18 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley | 29 | -34 | 17 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 28 | -50 | 14 |
