Manchester United slumped to another meek home defeat as Crystal Palace won 2-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday, while Tottenham eased the pressure on Ange Postecoglou by beating Brentford 2-0. Jean Philippe-Mateta was Palace’s hero with both goals in the second half as United suffered a fifth defeat in their last six home league games. Victory takes the Eagles above the Red Devils in the table as Oliver Glasner’s side climb to 12th. Three consecutive wins for United had lifted the mood around Old Trafford but it was back to square one for Ruben Amorim after another home display lacking in creativity and riddled with defensive lapses.

Amorim‘s decision to start without a natural striker backfired with both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee left on the bench.

Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo started in a centre-forward role after scoring in a 2-0 victory over Romanian side FCSB in midweek.

The England international’s scuffed strike came back off the post in United’s best effort of a bright opening before their attacking threat fizzled out.

Palace have lost just one of their last seven league games to recover from a miserable start to the season.

The visitors missed the creative spark offered by Eberechi Eze for the first hour as an injury meant he was only fit enough for a cameo appearance off the bench.

But Eze made an instant impact as from his free-kick Maxence Lacroix’s header came back off the bar and into Mateta’s path to fire home.

Worse was to follow for United as Lisandro Martinez had to be stretchered off with what appeared a serious knee injury.

Palace showed no mercy to secure the three points when Daniel Munoz charged through the middle of the home side’s defence and unselfishly squared for Mateta to knock in his sixth goal in five games.

– Spurs ease relegation fears -Spurs eased fears they could be dragged into a relegation battle as Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged side kept a rare clean sheet to see off Brentford.

The Bees were left to rue a number of missed chances against Tottenham’s makeshift defence with Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero again absent.

Brentford also lent the visitors a helping hand with the opening goal.

Hakon Valdimarsson flapped at Son Heung-min’s corner and Vitaly Janelt headed into his own net on 29 minutes.

Yoane Wissa’s header came off the bar as Brentford pushed for an equaliser.

But Spurs picked them off on the counter-attack when Pape Sarr prodded through Valdimarsson’s legs from Son’s pass.

Victory lifts Tottenham to 14th and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Second-placed Arsenal start the day nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool ahead of their blockbuster clash against defending champions Manchester City at the Emirates in the 1630GMT kick-off.

Leicester pushed Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou closer to the exit door with a 2-1 win that extended Spurs’ dismal run, while Manchester United’s 1-0 victory at Fulham eased the pressure on Ruben Amorim. Tottenham blew the lead on home turf as they crumbled to a sixth defeat in their last seven league games. With only one win in their last 11 top-flight matches, Postecoglou’s side are languishing in 15th place, just eight points above the bottom three. It was another woeful result for the beleaguered Australian, who has faced mounting calls for his dismissal throughout a turbulent second season in charge.

Tottenham are dangerously close to being sucked into the relegation battle but Postecoglou believes his injury-ravaged squad are still fighting for him.

“When you are the manager of a football club, you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that,” said Postecoglou.

“I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that.”

Richarlison had headed the home side in front but two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss ended Leicester’s seven-game losing streak in the league.

While Postecoglou fights to save his job, Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy can breathe a little easier over his own future.

Leicester are now one place and one point above the relegation zone.

“It’s a massive win,” said Van Nistelrooy. “The players are buying into it. I can only be very proud of this team.”

Man Utd’s lucky break

Any notion United could be dragged into a relegation battle now appears gone after Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike ground out a much-needed victory at Fulham for the Red Devils.

Chances were at a premium for both sides until the Argentinian’s effort flicked off Sasa Lukic to loop over Bernd Leno.

Joachim Andersen had a header cleared off the line by Toby Collyer as the visitors held out for a victory which lifts United up to 12th.

Aston Villa’s hopes of Champions League qualification for a second consecutive season were dented as an under-strength West Ham battled back to earn a 1-1 draw in Birmingham.

Jacob Ramsey’s strike was just reward for a fast start by Unai Emery’s side.

Graham Potter was forced to name four full-backs in his starting line-up for the injury-hit Hammers, who were without captain Jarrod Bowen.

However, the visitors rallied in the second half and were unfortunate not to take all three points after Emerson Palmieri’s header levelled.

Lucas Paqueta thought he had won the game in stoppage time, but Tomas Soucek had strayed offside before teeing up the Brazilian to quell Potter’s jubilant celebration on the touchline.

Villa remain in eighth, four points off the top four, while West Ham sit 14th.

Brentford benefitted from penalty controversy to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park. 

Thomas Frank’s team earned a 66th minute spot-kick when Maxence Lacroix fouled Nathan Collins.

Bryan Mbeumo’s spot-kick hit the post, but Palace’s reprieve was short-lived as VAR ruled Marc Guehi had encroached before the shot.

The Brentford forward gratefully accepted his second chance by sending Palace keeper Dean Henderson the wrong way for his 14th goal this season.

Kevin Schade netted in the 80th minute for Brentford before Palace winger Romain Esse came off the bench to score with his first touch on his debut five minutes later.

Manchester United slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton as Old Trafford remembered the legendary Denis Law on Sunday, while Tottenham’s troubles also persist after they lost 3-2 at Everton. Nottingham Forest maintained an unlikely title challenge with a 3-2 victory over Southampton to take Nuno Espirito Santo’s men level with second-placed Arsenal and within six points of Liverpool. United, by contrast, are 24 points adrift of the leaders and focused on mere survival after Brighton stormed Old Trafford for the third consecutive season.

Ruben Amorim‘s men looked to have turned a corner after a thrilling 2-2 draw at Liverpool was followed by knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup earlier this month.

But after Amad Diallo’s late hat-trick papered over the cracks in a 3-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Southampton in midweek, Brighton exposed the glaring holes in the foundations of Amorim‘s United project.

Kaoru Mitoma squared for Yankuba Minteh to open the scoring inside five minutes.

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty levelled for United before the break.

Mitoma restored Brighton’s lead on the hour mark before Andre Onana dropped a cross into the path of Georginio Rutter to rifle in a third.

Victory lifts Brighton up to ninth and within four points of the top four.

United remain 13th but enjoy a 10-point cushion over the bottom three.

“We can’t be comfortable in thinking that this is ok, because it is not,” said Fernandes.

“I’m not here to lose games and be in the position we are in at the moment.”

Before kick-off, tributes were paid to one of the club’s greats in Law, who passed away on Friday aged 84.

The only Scot ever to win the Ballon d’Or, Law is the third top scorer in United’s history, with 237 goals in 404 appearances.

A piper played Scottish national anthem “Flower of Scotland” as the teams walked out, with United legends Alex Ferguson, Brian Kidd, Paddy Crerand and Alex Stepney on the pitch as a eulogy was read out over the tannoy.

Spurs winless in six

Tottenham are now winless in six league games after Everton boosted their survival chances with the first victory of David Moyes’ second spell in charge.

The goal-shy Toffees had failed to score in nine of their previous 11 league games but struck three times before the break.

Dominic Calvert Lewin’s first goal since September opened the scoring before a brilliant individual run and finish from Iliman Ndiaye.

Archie Gray’s own goal compounded Tottenham’s misery.

Late goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison reduced Spurs’ deficit but could not avoid a 12th defeat in 22 games.

“It is a challenging situation for sure, when you are losing players the amount we are at the moment,” said under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, who was without 10 first-team regulars.

“It’s up to me to get us out of it and I’ve got to be good enough to do that.”

Everton pull four points clear of the bottom three and within four points of 15th-placed Tottenham.

Forest were also rampant in the first 45 minutes to cut the gap at the top and consolidate their lead in the race for a place in the Champions League next season.

Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood netted before the break.

Southampton salvaged some pride in the second period through Jan Bednarek and Paul Onuachu but they remain on course for an immediate return to the Championship, 10 points adrift of safety.

Manchester City have slipped to eighth after results on Saturday but the defending champions could move level with Newcastle in fourth should they win later at Ipswich.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot slammed the controversial decision not to send off Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall before the teenager sealed a 1-0 win in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday. Slot was furious that Bergvall avoided a second booking after tripping Kostas Tsimikas with a sliding tackle. Tsimikas was forced off the pitch following the challenge but referee Stuart Attwell opted to give Liverpool the chance to counter-attack.

When Liverpool lost possession just seconds later, Tottenham took advantage by breaking into the space vacated by Tsimikas to score the 86th minute winner.

Dominic Solanke’s pass was converted by Bergvall for the 18-year-old’s first Tottenham goal.

But fuming Slot said: “The decision made had a lot of impact on the result tonight.

“The fourth official told me why he thought it wasn’t a second yellow and he heard that probably from the referee.

“What we can say about it is that he said he didn’t stop the counter-attack, every manager would say they prefer the second yellow than a free-kick.

“Spurs weren’t happy with a few decisions that happened (against Newcastle) on Sunday. Maybe today a decision went in favour of them, which is of course very unlucky for us.”

Inevitably, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou saw the incident differently.

Asked if Bergvall was lucky to avoid a red card, Postecoglou said: “Great question, no he wasn’t.

“It’s happened to us consistently, you look at our games, and we’ve asked the officials and they’ve said if you play advantage, as long as it’s not a cynical tackle, then yellow card doesn’t get shown. Now to me, that was pretty clear.”

Postecoglou relief

It was a cathartic victory for Postecoglou, who has been under fire from frustrated fans throughout a turbulent season.

Injury-hit Tottenham are languishing in 12th place in the Premier League amid criticism of the Australian’s overly-attacking tactics.

Postecoglou, who saw his injury problems mount when Rodrigo Bentancur was taken to hospital with a head injury suffered in the first half, admitted it was a relief to see his side overcome adversity for a change.

“Very proud. We had to deal with some adversity again. We started well and then lost Rodrigo, in the way it happened with quite distressing scenes when he went down in that manner. We had to compose ourselves,” he said.

Postecoglou’s claim earlier this season that he always wins a trophy in his second campaign with a club has been used to ridicule the former Celtic boss as Tottenham’s struggles increased.

But he is convinced Tottenham are heading in the right direction as he tries to bring the club their first silverware since the 2008 League Cup.

“People can keep mocking me about it but we will see,” he said.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet, just that feeling of getting a result in a big game against arguably the best team in the world right now.”

On Bentancur’s first half injury, which needed nine minutes of treatment including an oxygen mask on the pitch, Postecoglou added: “He was conscious when he got to the dressing room.

“My understanding is it was a head injury. It was worrying and always a concern but from what I know hopefully he will be OK.”

Liverpool’s first defeat in 24 games in all competitions was only their second loss since Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp in the close-season.

The Premier League leaders have gone two matches without a win after Sunday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with lowly Manchester United.

But Slot, whose team won 6-3 at Tottenham in the league in December, isn’t overly concerned, with Liverpool having the chance to overturn the deficit in the second leg at Anfield on February 6.

“The good thing for us is if you ever lose a game it’s best in a tie with a second leg. It’s still far from ideal for us,” he said.

“If you compare it to the 6-3, we won’t reach that level in every game. You could expect a reaction from Tottenham.”

Tottenham vs Liverpool LIVE Streaming, Carabao Cup: Premier League leaders Liverpool take on Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup. Liverpool have been the most in-form side in the world in the 2024/25 season, and have the chance to take a step towards their first trophy of the season. On the other hand, Tottenham will also fancy their chances, having defeated Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. Liverpool, on the other hand, have defeated West Ham and Brighton en route to the two-legged semi-final.

The second leg will be played almost a month later, on February 7.

Here are the LIVE Streaming details for Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup LIVE Telecast EFL Cup: Check Where and How To Watch

When will the Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match take place?

The Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match will take place on Thursday, January 9 (IST).

Where will the Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match be held?

The Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match will be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.

What time will the Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match start?

The Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match will start at 1:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match?

The Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match will not be televised live in India.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match?

The Tottenham vs Liverpool, Carabao Cup match will be live streamed on the FanCode app and website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

Erling Haaland scored twice as Manchester City pummelled West Ham 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday while in-form Newcastle inflicted another painful defeat on Ange Postecoglou’s struggling Tottenham. Chelsea’s recent woes continued with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, meaning they have taken just two points from four games over the festive period Defending champions City returned to winning ways at Leicester last week after a long lean spell and picked up three more points against Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola’s men took the lead in the 10th minute when Vladimir Coufal deflected Savinho’s cross past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

Savinho also had a hand in the second goal, shortly before half-time, beating his man twice before crossing to Haaland, who lost Max Kilman and headed home.

The same players combined for City’s third in the 55th minute, before Phil Foden joined the party for their fourth. The home side were denied a clean sheet by Niclas Fuellkrug.

West Ham appeared to have turned the corner last month but they have now conceded nine goals in two games following a 5-0 mauling at home by Premier League leaders Liverpool.

‘Angriest in career’

In the early kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Newcastle came from behind to clinch a fifth straight Premier League win and heap more misery on injury-hit Spurs.

The home side went ahead in the fourth minute through Dominic Solanke.

Newcastle levelled two minutes later when Antony Gordon arrowed an effort into the bottom corner but Postecoglou stood in disbelief on the touchline looking at referee Andrew Madley after Joelinton intercepted Lucas Bergvall’s pass with his hand in the build-up.

VAR deemed Joelinton’s arm to be in a natural position and the contact to be accidental, which provoked a furious reaction from Tottenham’s bench and they were up in arms midway through the first half when the already-booked Dan Burn avoided a second yellow card for handball by the centre circle.

In-form Alexander Isak scored what turned out to be the winner towards the end of the first half.

The victory leaves Newcastle in fifth spot, which may yet prove enough to secure a place in the Champions League next season, but Spurs have slumped to 12th in the table after five defeats in seven matches.

Postecoglou said he was proud of his players but was the “angriest I think I have ever been in my career”.

“I think it’s clear,” said the Australian. “Now whether people agree with me or not whether it wasn’t handball or it was accidental, I’m just not interested in any of that discussion.

“I know what everyone wants me to say, but all I’ll say is that on any other day, on a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game. Simple as that.”

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted the ball hit Joelinton’s arm but said he was not in control of the referee’s decision.

“I believe his arm is down in a natural position and the referee and VAR have followed the rules and protocols that are in place,” he said. “That’s why it is given.”

Enzo Maresca‘s Chelsea were closing in on Liverpool just two weeks ago but are now nine points behind the Reds, having played two games more.

The Italian made six changes for the match at Selhurst Park and his side took the lead when Jadon Sancho drove down the left and found Cole Palmer, who sliced a low shot into the bottom right corner.

The visitors enjoyed the bulk of possession but they could not capitalise and Jean-Philippe Mateta levelled in the 82nd minute.

Aston Villa beat relegation-threatened Leicester 2-1 at home with goals from Ross Barkley and Leon Bailey.

Brentford recorded a rare win on the road, smashing bottom side Southampton 5-0, and Bournemouth beat Everton 1-0.

Second-placed Arsenal are in action at Brighton in the 1730 GMT kick-off while Premier League leaders Liverpool host crisis-hit Manchester United on Sunday.

Liverpool swept four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah‘s masterclass inspired a memorable 6-3 rout of Tottenham, while Manchester United crashed to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday. Salah delivered a sublime performance featuring two goals and a pair of assists as Arne Slot’s side ran riot in north London. The 32-year-old is now Liverpool’s fourth top scorer ever with 229 goals. Salah’s brace took him past Billy Liddell, with only Ian Rush (346), Roger Hunt (285) and Gordon Hodgson (241) ahead of him.

The rampant Reds have won 21 of their 25 matches in all competitions under Slot and have a game in hand on Chelsea to strengthen their lead in the title race.

This was a remarkable display of Liverpool’s firepower as Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister scored to put them in command.

Dominik Szoboszlai grabbed Liverpool’s third and Egypt star Salah took over after the break before Diaz netted again.

“For 60 minutes we did everything we had to do, we were comfortable and good with the ball. The main thing is we worked very hard,” Slot said.

“But you have to be on top of your game for the whole game and we didn’t do that.”

Punished for Ange Postecoglou’s insistence on sticking to his high defensive line, it was the first time since 1997 that Tottenham had conceded six goals in a home league game.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored for Tottenham, but an eighth league defeat this season leaves them languishing in 11th place as the pressure mounts on Postecoglou.

“If you want to discount the fact we’re missing a goalkeeper, two centre-backs and a left-back and that hasn’t coincided with how we’re doing… I don’t know what to say anymore,” Postecoglou said of his critics.

United boss Ruben Amorim, who once again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, is set for a miserable Christmas following the worst result of his brief reign.

Languishing in 13th place, United have suffered four defeats in nine matches in all competitions since Amorim arrived from Sporting Lisbon in November to replace the sacked Erik ten Hag.

United’s second successive loss after their League Cup exit at Tottenham on Thursday underlined Amorim’s belief that their road back to the top will be long and arduous.

Man Utd ‘suffer’

United, who have conceded first in their last six games, were booed off at half-time, while the final whistle was greeted by more jeers from the few fans who stayed until the bitter end.

“This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set-pieces and we were a bit nervous. I felt it in the stadium,” Amorim said. 

“We have to suffer again but we will try to win.”

Amorim’s decision to play without Rashford for the third consecutive game will face fresh scrutiny after United’s wretched performance.

Again, United were exposed at set-pieces in the 29th minute when Bournemouth’s teenage defender Dean Huijsen punished poor marking at a free-kick to glance a header past goalkeeper Andre Onana.

There was even worse to come for Amorim in the second half as Justin Kluivert doubled fifth-placed Bournemouth’s advantage with a 61st minute penalty following Noussair Mazraoui’s foul on the forward.

Antoine Semenyo compounded United’s misery two minutes later with a cool finish from Dango Ouattara’s pass.

With Liverpool playing in Sunday’s late game, second-placed Chelsea would have gone top, for at least a few hours, if they had won at Everton.

But Enzo Maresca‘s side had to settle for a goalless stalemate that ended their five-match winning run in the league.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira enjoyed a dream debut as his side won 3-0 at relegation rivals Leicester.

Replacing the sacked Gary O’Neil, Pereira made an immediate impact after leaving his role at Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab thanks to goals from Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha.

Third-bottom Wolves are within two points of fourth-bottom Leicester.

Bottom-of-the-table Southampton held on for a 0-0 draw at Fulham as new manager Ivan Juric watched from the stands before officially taking charge.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou says he welcomes scrutiny but that some of the criticism directed at him is “offensive”. Injury-hit Spurs took a big step towards a first trophy since 2008 on Thursday with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. Tottenham led 3-0 before two howlers from goalkeeper Fraser Forster let United into the game, but the home side held on for a precious win. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, said Spurs should be more flexible in their approach rather than sticking to all-out attack.

Ahead of Sunday’s visit of Liverpool, Postecoglou found an ally on Friday in opposite number Arne Slot, who said he was a big fan of the Spurs manager’s style.

Postecoglou discussed in detail the analysis of Carragher and others when asked at his pre-match press conference on Friday if he would listen more to someone like Slot than the ex-Reds defender 

“Jamie Carragher, mate. You can name him. He’ll enjoy that,” Postecoglou laughed.

He added: “I love the fact people are talking about our games and analysing our games. I think that is important as well for this football club and I’d rather that than us be anonymous and no one talk about us, or we’re just grinding out an existence.

“As I’ve always said, you have to be prepared for scrutiny, you have to be prepared for criticism and it’s how you react to that that is more important.

“What I am saying is I don’t need validity and it won’t change what I believe because what I believe (comes from) a lifetime of experiences and values that I won’t let anyone tamper with from the outside.”

But the Australian said he did not understand “some of the other stuff”, believing it was about getting headlines.

Asked to expand, Postecoglou replied: “There is some stuff out there and I find — and at the appropriate time I’ll call it out – just offensive towards me.

“I just think you know what, I don’t know. I’m up here with a silly accent and maybe I don’t take things as seriously as people want me to and I’m fairly dismissive of them, but that’s all right. I love my life and I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.”

Manchester City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperately seeking to halt their dramatic slide while Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League, if only briefly. Current leaders Liverpool face a tricky trip to Tottenham after a wobble while Manchester United are seeking to win two Premier League games in a row for the first time this season. We pick out some of the major talking points ahead of the weekend action.

Pep out to prove himself again

Manchester City lost 1-0 away to Aston Villa last December but that proved to be their final defeat of the season as they romped to a fourth straight Premier League title.

That loss for Pep Guardiola’s men came after three straight draws — which was then a slump by City’s sky-high standards.

This time they travel to Birmingham in a deep rut, with eight defeats from their past 11 matches in all competitions.

City’s chances of winning a fifth straight English top-flight title appear to be over but they must somehow halt their astonishing slide.

Guardiola took the blame after last week’s painful 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester United, saying he was not “good enough”, though Phil Foden said the players still believed in their boss.

Fifth-placed City, nine points behind Liverpool having played a game more, have lost five of their past seven Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 67 matches combined.

Seventh-placed Villa have been inconsistent but injury-hit City have lost the habit of winning — suffering an apparent collective crisis of confidence.

Liverpool’s Slot faces new challenge

Arne Slot has made replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager look easy. But is he about to face his first major challenge?

Earlier this month, the Reds were nine points clear at the top of the Premier League and seemingly on course for a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.

But they could kick off at Tottenham on Sunday behind Chelsea, who are seeking a sixth straight league win at struggling Everton earlier in the day.

Liverpool have drawn their past two league matches, against Newcastle and Fulham, but beat Southampton in the League Cup quarter-finals this week to stay on track for a first trophy of Slot’s reign.

They are still firm favourites to win the league but Chelsea are gathering momentum under new manager Enzo Maresca.

It is difficult to predict which Tottenham team will turn up on Sunday after seven wins and seven defeats in their 16 league games so far.

But one thing is for sure — Ange Postecoglou’s team will not sit back — only Chelsea have scored more than their tally of 36 league goals this season.

Wolves desperate for new manager bounce

Leicester and Wolves have both sacked their managers this season, spooked by poor starts to the Premier League campaign.

The two sides meet at the King Power on Sunday in a must-win match for the visitors, who this week appointed Vitor Pereira as their new coach following the dismissal of Gary O’Neil.

Wolves are second from bottom of the Premier League after four straight defeats, with a paltry nine points from 16 games — five points behind Leicester, who are just outside the relegation zone.

Chairman Jeff Shi thanked Pereira, a league winner in Portugal and Greece, for taking on the tough challenge at Molineux.

The reality is that the Midlands club are already running out of time.

After the Leicester match, Wolves head into a daunting run of fixtures against Manchester United, Tottenham and high-flying Nottingham Forest.

Ruud van Nistelrooy started off brightly at Leicester, winning his first match and drawing the second but the Foxes suffered a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Newcastle last week and if results go against them they could end the weekend in the drop zone.

Tottenham survived two calamitous errors from stand-in goalkeeper Fraser Forster on Thursday to beat Manchester United 4-3 and set up a League Cup semi-final against Liverpool, staying on track for their first trophy since 2008. The home side were cruising at 3-0 in the 54th minute of a captivating tie in London after two goals from Dominic Solanke and one from Dejan Kulusevski. But Forster’s mistakes allowed substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo to pull the score back to 3-2 with 20 minutes to go.

It was one-way traffic after that, with United totally on top, but Spurs scored a fourth as Son Heung-min found the net from a corner and they held on despite a late Jonny Evans goal.

Tottenham will face Premier League leaders Liverpool in the two-legged semi-finals, with Arsenal taking on Newcastle.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said his injury-hit team inflicted pain on themselves but gave a passionate defence of his gung-ho approach.

“It should have been a lot more comfortable there, but having said that, I still can’t get away from the fact that this group of players have done an unbelievable job at the moment to get us through this,” he said.

The Australian added: “I know people will say, “Well, don’t take any risks’ and all that sort of stuff, but we wouldn’t be scoring four goals and five goals.

“It’s the hardest thing in the game to do, score goals, and we’re doing it with bare bones.”

Tottenham, 10th in the Premier League, have not won silverware for 16 years, when they lifted the League Cup under Juande Ramos.

But they are now just one stage away from a Wembley final in March, with Postecoglou still on track to deliver on his bold statement that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club.

New United boss Ruben Amorim is back down to earth with a bump after his side’s dramatic 2-1 Premier League win at Manchester City on Sunday.

Amorim made five changes from the team that beat City while Spurs had six academy players on their bench.

Marcus Rashford was left out of United’s squad for the second consecutive game but Alejandro Garnacho, also absent on Sunday, was on the bench and came on as a second-half substitute.

Solanke double

Tottenham opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Solanke reacted quickest after United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, in for Andre Onana, parried a shot from distance into his path.

Kulusevski doubled Tottenham’s lead moments after the restart, finishing unerringly when Lisandro Martinez failed to deal with a James Maddison cut-back, only succeeding in diverting the ball into the Sweden international’s path.

Spurs were 3-0 up when Solanke ran onto a long ball over the top, drifting inside Martinez and Evans and finishing with confidence.

But control turned to chaos just after the hour mark following some incredible goalkeeping errors from Forster, deputising for the injured Guglielmo Vicario.

Forster, being closed down by Zirkzee, passed straight to Bruno Fernandes, whose ball found Zirkzee and the Dutchman slotted the ball into an empty net in the 63rd minute.

Minutes later United scored again when Forster dithered after receiving a back pass.

Diallo closed him down in a flash and slid in as Forster tried to clear, with the ball hitting Diallo and ending up in the net.

United had further chances but instead Son gave Tottenham a cushion in the 88th minute.

Even then United had time to find another, with Evans heading in from a corner, but they ran out of time.

“We were not the best team in all of the game, but most of the parts I think we were the best team,” said Amorim.

“I think we disconnected for eight minutes. It was really hard to recover from that, but then the lads did a great job.”