Champs City, Spurs draw 3-3 in EPL thriller

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Dejan Kulusevski scored a 90th-minute header to earn Tottenham a 3-3 draw at defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League yesterday.

Jack Grealish had looked like settling a thrilling game at Etihad Stadium with a goal in the 81st minute.

But Kulusevski rose to meet Brennan Johnson’s cross and head in off the underside of the bar to secure a point for Spurs.

City have now drawn their last three games in the league and are third in the standings, three points behind leaders Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s team has also conceded eight goals during that winless run.

City had gone behind to a goal from Son Heung-min in the sixth minute, but led at half-time after the Tottenham captain put through his own net in the ninth and Phil Foden struck in the 31st.

Giovani Lo Celso hit a low, curling effort into the bottom corner to level at 2-2 in the 69th before substitute Grealish scored what seemed to be the winner.

Even after Kulusevski’s equaliser, there was further drama when referee Simon Hooper stopped play to award City a free kick despite Grealish appearing to be running through on goal.

The draw halts Spurs’ three-game losing run and moves Ange Postecoglou’s team above Newcastle to fifth.

Guardiola had predicted an exciting game against a Spurs team that has been the surprise package in England’s top flight this season.

Postecoglou, meanwhile, had said he wouldn’t compromise his attacking style, even in the face of an injury crisis and a recent losing streak.

And when Son raced away early to fire past Ederson, Spurs’ intentions were clear.

But their celebrations were short-lived as Son inadvertently put the ball into his own net three minutes after giving the visitors the lead.

Julian Alvarez’s free kick on the right was glanced on by Erling Haaland, and Son then got the last touch to beat his own goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Foden then gave City the lead from close range and Alvarez hit the post in a period when Postecoglou later admitted his team could have been blown away.

Vicario saved impressively against Bernardo Silva after the break before Tottenham evened the score as Lo Celso cut inside and curled a shot from the edge of the area beyond the dive of Ederson.

Grealish had come off the bench early in the second half and the stadium erupted when he swept Haaland’s cross into the back of the net from close range.

There was another twist as Kulusevski headed into the top corner.

City still went in search of a winner and that chance looked to have come when Grealish burst away just beyond the halfway line.

But his run was cut short as the referee blew for a City free kick, having appeared to have played the advantage following a foul on Haaland.

Meanwhile at Anfield, Liverpool scored two goals in a minute late on to beat Fulham 4-3. Trailing 3-2, goals from Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 87th and 88th minutes secured a comeback win.

Liverpool had twice led in the match, but looked set to lose at home for the first time since February when Jamaica international Bobby De Cordova-Reid put Fulham ahead in the 80th.

Other results: Bournemouth 2 Aston Villa 2; Chelsea 3 Brighton 2; Liverpool 4 Fulham 3; West Ham 1 Crystal Palace 2.