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Liverpool's EPL Title Hopes Suffer Blow With Tottenham Hotspur Draw; Manchester City In Box Seat

Liverpool are back in first place in the English Premier League but Manchester City can pull three points clear with three games remaining.

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp during their EPL match against Tottenham, May 7, 2022.
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Frustration but no moaning from Jürgen Klopp, even after a title setback for Liverpool. ()

Klopp바카라s side being held 1-1 by tactically disciplined and defensively robust Tottenham on Saturday handed Manchester City an even greater initiative in the Premier League title race.

The damage would have been greater had Luis Diaz바카라s deflected strike not canceled out Son Heung-min바카라s tap-in for the fifth-placed visitors.

바카라I바카라m really proud of the performance,바카라 Klopp said. 바카라The mentality we showed.바카라

It바카라s the mentality that might yet propel the Champions League and FA Cup finalists, who have already collected the League Cup, to a treble.

A quadruple of trophies could soon become out of reach.

Liverpool is back in first place in the league but City can pull three points clear with three games remaining by beating Newcastle on Sunday.

바카라I would love to sit here and say, 바카라Yes, City will drop points,바카라바카라 Klopp said. 바카라The only problem is I can바카라t see it.바카라

It바카라s a testament to Liverpool바카라s recovery this season that the title race is going this close to the wire. Being held by Tottenham was only the second time in 14 matches that Liverpool has dropped points, and the other time was against City.

While Tottenham is the only team unbeaten against City and Liverpool this season -- with eight points from a possible 12 -- drawing at Anfield also hurts Spurs바카라 bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Arsenal in fourth place can pull four points ahead of Tottenham by beating Leeds on Sunday ahead of a north London derby meeting on Thursday.

But the performance against the 2020 champion will galvanize Tottenham for the run-in.

바카라This was perfect in our game plan, good team play,바카라 Son said. 바카라But we should have got more.바카라

The moment to take the lead was seized with a flowing attack in the 56th minute when Harry Kane laid the ball off to the left flank where Ryan Sessegnon squared for Son to finish simply into an unprotected net.

Chances to double the lead were minimal before Díaz바카라s shot in the 74th deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. It was one of only three shots on target from 22 attempts 바카라 the same number Tottenham managed from eight.

바카라I don바카라t like this kind of football but that is my problem,바카라 Klopp said. 바카라I cannot coach it.바카라

UNITED EMBARRASSED

It바카라s five straight away losses for Manchester United 바카라 with 16 goals conceded in that run 바카라 after a 4-0 loss to Brighton for another low in Ralf Rangnick바카라s interim spell as manager.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime after Moises Caicedo바카라s long-range strike, United conceded three goals in 11 minutes from the 49th as Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard scored for a rampant Brighton team with little to play for at the end of the season.

The best United can realistically hope for is a sixth-place finish and a spot in the Europa League.

The season will end with United바카라s fewest points since 1991, before the Premier League era launched. It바카라s a challenging situation for incoming manager Erik ten Hag to inherit.

CHELSEA COLLAPSES

Todd Boehly certainly got drama after taking his seat at Chelsea as a prospective part-owner, just not what he was hoping for as the west London club collapsed to draw against Wolverhampton 2-2.

Boehly appeared to live the emotional rollercoaster of the match 바카라 from the early VAR calls disallowing two Chelsea goals, to the double from Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, to the equalizer by Wolves defender Conor Coady in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.

바카라We are disappointed not to give the first win for him,바카라 Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta said of Boehly.

A consortium fronted by the Los Angeles Dodgers바카라 part-owner agreed on terms for the 2.5 billion-pound ($3.1 billion) purchase of Chelsea. The takeover needs Premier League and government approval.

Third-placed Chelsea is still not certain of securing Champions League qualification for the first full season of Boehly바카라s reign. The team is four points ahead of Arsenal, which plays Leeds on Sunday.

WATFORD RELEGATED

Roy Hodgson couldn바카라t keep Watford up in perhaps the final job of his long coaching career.

Watford바카라s immediate return to the Championship was sealed by a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace, for whom Wilfried Zaha scored a penalty.

When Hodgson 바카라 the 74-year-old former England manager 바카라 was hired in January, Watford was in next-to-last place and the team is still there with three games remaining. Time has run out, though, with Watford on 22 points 바카라 12 from safety.

Burnley might yet join Watford and already-relegated Norwich in the Championship after losing at home to Aston Villa 3-1 for its first defeat under interim manager Mike Jackson.

It left Burnley two points clear of third-to-last Everton, which has two games in hand 바카라 the first at Leicester on Sunday.

Brentford, though, can start preparing for another season in the Premier League after beating Southampton 3-0 in its first top-flight campaign since 1947.

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