NEWCASTLE - Tottenham Hotspur manager José Mourinho said they were the architects of their own downfall after failing to hold on to the lead in a 2-2 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Sunday.
Spurs led 2-1 at the break thanks to a quick-fire double from Harry Kane but an 85th-minute equalizer from Joe Willock prevented Mourinho's side from provisionally moving up to fourth in the table.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford said his former manager José Mourinho had helped him become more "savvy" in the box to win penalties.
Rashford's comments follow some debate over how many penalties his team are awarded, with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp saying United had more spot kicks in two years than he had in 5-1/2 at Liverpool.
Rashford said he had been denied several penalty claims while working under Mourinho and that the Portuguese had told him he had to become more aware in the box.
LONDON — Fulham manager Scott Parker has criticised the Premier League for re-arranging his side's game at Tottenham Hotspur for Wednesday, giving him only 48 hours to prepare his players.
Fourth-placed Spurs were scheduled to face Aston Villa on Wednesday but that match was postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the closure of the Midlands club's training ground.
Instead, Tottenham's home game with Fulham, itself postponed two hours before kickoff on Dec. 30 after a COVID outbreak amongst the Fulham squad, has been squeezed in.
With the Premier League season nearly half over, this current lull in matches is the perfect time to look back at the campaign so far.
We've all been following the matches and have a general idea about where each team sits in the league table, so the next logical step is to dive deeper into the analytical side of the Premier League and examine the expected goals league table.
“Hay muchos poetas en el fútbol, pero los poetas no ganan muchos títulos.” La frase la dijo Jose Mourinho luego de obtener la Europa League en 2017 junto a Manchester United, derrotando al Ajax. Hace unos días revivió en la previa del Tottenham y el Leeds United, del duelo Mourinho versus Marcelo Bielsa, y tras el triunfo de los Spurs por 3-0 tiene a los simpatizantes de The Special One en éxtasis.
Eleventh-place Leeds United takes on Tottenham Hotspur, which could have gone joint-top as little as two weeks ago but has now slipped to seventh, on Saturday.
Manager Sam Allardyce brought his West Brom side to Anfield on Sunday as massive underdogs. His Baggies had just one win all season and were on the road against league leaders Liverpool.
Big Sam brought out his big guns: the rarely seen 6-4-0 formation, which West Brom stuck to despite conceding an early Sadio Mane goal.
Football without fans has hurt clubs throughout the footballing pyramid, but the pandemic has hit non-league sides especially hard. These clubs depend on ticket sales as a primary source of revenue, and with empty stadiums across England, many local teams have been pushed to the brink financially.
These semi-pro and amateur sides also provide a helpful reminder of what true football fandom entails.
The FA Cup dream continues for Marine FC as the Northern Premier League Division One North West side qualified for the FA Cup third round for the second time in club history. The eighth-tier club defeated League Two side Colchester United on penalties in the first round, then dispatched sixth-tier Havant & Waterloo by a scoreline of 1-0 in the second round.
The Mariners reward: a third round tie at The Marine Travel Arena against current Premier League leaders Tottenham Hotspur.
There are times when you’re watching an incredible match and at a total loss as to how you’d explain the breathless spirit of the performance when it outweighs any one particular action like a line-splitting pass or must-watch goal.
Tottenham versus Manchester City on Saturday perfectly encapsulated that feeling. The easiest take was to label it a vintage José Mourinho master class, but that’s the most banal and hackneyed angle imaginable.