10-man Liverpool draw with Fulham

English Premier League leaders Liverpool twice came from behind with 10 men to draw with Fulham 2-2, yet dropped points for the second straight match to give hope to their title rivals yesterday.

Arsenal couldn’t take advantage.

A 0-0 draw at home to lowly Everton left third-placed Arsenal still six points behind Liverpool, and will go down as a big opportunity missed.

Undermined by Andy Robertson’s 17th-minute red card, Liverpool did well to earn a point at Anfield – but could have produced a win after sustained late pressure following Diogo Jota’s equaliser in the 86th.

Fulham led for the first time after Andreas Pereira’s 11th-minute volley deflected into the net off Robertson, who was sent off six minutes later for bringing down Harry Wilson as the last man and denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Cody Gakpo levelled just after half-time by heading in a cross from Mohamed Salah, who registered his 100th assist for Liverpool in all competitions.

Substitute Rodrigo Muniz’s flick put Fulham back ahead in the 76th, only for Jota to run onto Darwin Nunez’s pass, turn his marker, and drive home a finish from the edge of the area.

ON THE BRINK

Wolverhampton players and staff were involved in chaotic post-match scenes for the second straight Premier League game as tensions soared at the relegation-threatened club.

After Wolves lost to Ipswich 2-1 yesterday for a fourth defeat in a row, arguments broke out within the team ranks on the field.

Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri was shown a second yellow card after the final whistle and had to be ushered down the tunnel by teammate Craig Dawson, while Matheus Cunha – the Brazil striker who scored Wolves’ goal – was also involved in some pushing and shoving.

On Monday, Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina clashed with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and then a member of his own coaching staff, after Wolves’ 2-1 loss at the Olympic Stadium. Lemina was stripped of the captaincy during the week.

Also, after losing at West Ham, manager Gary O’Neil expressed his disappointment at losing the connection with Wolves’ fans, and also aimed some criticism at the club’s owners for sanctioning the sale of many of their top players over the last two years.

There were boos at half-time and full-time at Molineux.

“The dressing room is a difficult place to be at this moment in time,” Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle said yesterday. “We have to be honest with each other and figure out ourselves why we aren’t getting three points. Honest conversations need to happen.”

The pressure piled on O’Neil after the loss which left his team in next-to-last place and four points from safety.

“We are under a lot of pressure,” O’Neil said.

“I understand the players being emotional but we have to keep control better.”

O’Neil said he will “deal with” the Ait-Nouri incident internally.

RUUD AWAKENING

Ruud van Nistelrooy fell to his first loss with Leicester – and it was a big one.

Leicester were thrashed 4-0 at Newcastle, for which Jacob Murphy scored twice and Alexander Isak nodded in his seventh goal of the campaign. Bruno Guimaraes netted the other goal.

Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, was brought in to replace the fired Steve Cooper and earned a win and a draw – both at home – in his first two games in charge.