Daily Express

Aston Villa have opposed Tottenham Hotspur's request to reschedule their Premier League match next month. The Birmingham-based club has turned down a proposal from the north London team to bring forward their game at Villa Park.

The match is currently scheduled for Sunday, May 18, but Spurs wanted it moved up by three days. This would have allowed Ange Postecoglou's team additional time to prepare for a potential Europa League final on May 21.

Spurs still need to face Bodo/Glimt to secure a place in the final against either Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao, and were hoping for nearly a week's preparation time. However, Villa have objected to setting a precedent for Spurs, as they have not received any assistance with their equally busy schedule.

They had to play a Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain just three days after an away game at Southampton. PSG, on the other hand, were given a weekend off by their own league.

If Spurs' request was approved, Villa would feel hard done by, as it would give the London side more preparation time for a Europa League final than they had for a Champions League quarter-final.

"We have to take our experiences to get mature. We lost last year in the semi-final [Conference League] and we lose today's semi-final to Palace. We are improving a lot. This is the message. We are going slowly, maybe.

"Now is the moment to dominate our frustration. I am frustrated but I am so proud of the players we have. We are trying to be ambitious. Winning trophies is very important."

Ange Postecoglou showed his true colours with a classy message to Liverpool after his Tottenham side were battered at Anfield on Sunday. The north Londoners were no match for their Merseyside rivals, who scored five goals to officially land the Premier League title. It came after Spurs took an early lead through Dominic Solanke as they threatened to spoil the party.

Liverpool were never going to let that happen, though, and they fought back in devastating fashion. Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored for the Reds before a Destiny Udogie own goal added some extra gloss to the scoreline. It marked another disappointing defeat for Tottenham, who have lost over half of their Premier League games this season.

Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure in his post-match press conference, but he showed his class by putting his anger to one side and congratulating Liverpool on their momentous achievement.

"Credit to Liverpool, worthy champions and they have been the outstanding team all year, consistent and again today obviously," said the Aussie.

"I thought we started the game well and sort of made things difficult for them. Even apart from the goal, I thought just in general I thought we had decent territory.

"But once they got in front with the atmosphere inside the stadium, it's fair to say it was going to be difficult for us to claw them back and that's how it proved."

Postecoglou made a total of eight changes to his Tottenham side, with the likes of Archie Gray, Kevin Danso and James Maddison all coming in. Defensive duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven were among those to drop to the bench.

"I made a lot of changes but I just felt it was necessary," explained the Spurs boss. "A lot of our players have missed a lot of this season with injuries and it wasn't just about bringing them back but managing their minutes.

"Guys like Micky and Romero today could have played but they've missed so much of the season that we've just got to be really careful about when we use them. Guys like Pedro [Porro] and [Rodrigo] Bentancur have played a lot this year.

"It has been a juggling act for sure and that hasn't helped the team, hasn't helped the players and when you're facing the best you pay that price.

"We knew the challenge today was going to be a big one. We had a really young midfield with Lucas [Bergvall] and Archie and you're asking a massive task of them.

"Changing three of the back four, all of these kind of things logically tell you it's going to be a tough day. When you're facing the best team on such a massive occasion, it was always going to be a huge ask for us and it proved too much."

Liverpool mathematically secured the Premier League title by hammering Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday, coming from 1-0 down to win 5-1. Former Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke put Spurs in front early on but Luis Diaz drew the hosts level a mere four minutes later after a VAR review. Alexis Mac Allister then thundered a world-class strike into the top corner to make Anfield explode before Cody Gakpo made it 3-1 on just 34 minutes.

Arne Slot's champions were comfortably superior throughout and poured the pain on the Londoners in the second half with Mohamed Salah making it four before a Destiny Udogie own goal completed the rout. Express Sport provides the player ratings after Liverpool won their first title in front of fans since 1990...

Liverpool player ratings vs Tottenham

Alisson - 6

Could do nothing about Solanke's header. Tipped another Solanke header over the bar and then dealt capably with everything else he had to do.

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7

Replaced the injured Conor Bradley and looked slightly short of match sharpness with some wayward passing. Had a couple of shots well blocked but it was his cross that Udogie turned into his own net for the fifth.

Ibrahima Konate - 7

Conceded the corner for Spurs' goal but produced a vital touch to stop Mathys Tel making it 3-2 before half-time and didn't have much too do defensively after that.

Virgil van Dijk - 7

Great block to get in front of a goal-bound Tel shot and found himself busy up against Solanke. Drilled a long-range shot wide second half. Will become the first Dutchman ever to captain a Premier League-winning side.

Andy Robertson - 7

Defended well bar some loose clearing headers in the first half. The veteran Scot still has plenty to offer Liverpool despite a decline in his ability to play at the top level three times a week.

Ryan Gravenberch - 7

Outjumped by Solanke for Spurs to make it 1-0 but helped Liverpool keep their foot on Spurs' throat. Won the ball back for Mac Allister's pearler

Alexis Mac Allister - 9

Outstanding. Scored another worldie and was the man of the match from midfield, imperious on and off the ball. Some excellent passes matched by some excellent tackles. As deserving as any Liverpool player of Premier League champion status.

Dominik Szoboszlai - 8

One of his better performances for a while as he matched his energy off the ball with more quality on it. Brilliant run and squared pass to set up Diaz's equaliser and got the assist for Salah's goal after leading a counter-attack. Denied a goal of his own by Guglielmo Vicario.

Mohamed Salah - 8

Well-timed pass to pick out Szoboszlai for the Diaz goal and then curled one shot over the bar and had one deflected wide. Finally got his goal, his 28th Premier League strike of this title-winning season, on the hour mark by cutting inside and blasting inside the near post. Denied a second goal by a Udogie touch which went into his own net.

Luis Diaz - 8

Lost Dominic Solanke for the Spurs opener but then made amends on his 100th Premier League appearance with the leveller. Was a constant livewire playing through the middle.

Cody Gakpo - 8

An acrobatic attempt went just wide in the first half and he then applied a precise finish to make it 3-1. Should have scored a second after half-time but tried to set up Salah instead. Booked for taking his shirt off in celebration.

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Substitutes

Curtis Jones - 6

Came on for Szoboszlai to help see out victory.

Diogo Jota - 6

Replaced the excellent Gakpo but didn't have too many touches.

Harvey Elliott - 6

Got 15 minutes in place of Luis Diaz. Had a little scuffle with Richarlison which Anfield enjoyed.

Wataru Endo - 6

Subbed on for Alexander-Arnold and put a shift in.

Darwin Nunez - 6

Got a little run-out after replacing Mac Allister. Wasted a fine counter-attack at the death when he could've scored.

Gary Neville didn't hold back with a vicious assessment of Lucas Bergvall's role in Liverpool's third goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Spurs took a surprise lead at Anfield before the hosts stormed towards their Premier League coronation with a three-goal blitz before half-time.

Dominik Solanke momentarily stunned the champions-elect with a perfect header from James Maddison's corner in the 12th minute. However, Luis Diaz responded moments later, tapping home Dominic Szoboszlai's drilled ball across goal. Alexis Mac Allister produced a sensational long-range strike to fire Liverpool into the lead shortly after that. Ten minutes later, Cody Gakpo fired a third past the visitors to send Anfield into party mode.

Mac Allister's corner was poor, but Bergvall directed the ball into the danger zone by scuffing a headed clearance into the heart of the action.

Gakpo was the sharpest to react, first shuffling away from Brennan Johnson before resisting pressure applied by Dominic Solanke to aim a low effort into the bottom corner.

While talking through the goal on commentary for Sky Sports, Neville blasted Bergvall's role in essentially assisting the Liverpool forward with his poor clearance.

"Bergvall's header, well, it's appalling, it's pathetic. But take nothing away from Cody Gakpo," the Manchester United legend noted alongside Peter Drury.

Gakpo's finish sent Liverpool on their way to equalling United's record as the stand-alone most successful club in English top-flight history.

Just over a decade has passed since Sir Alex Ferguson completed his mission to knock the Reds off their perch with a 13th Premier League title.

But Jurgen Klopp moved Liverpool one behind in 2020, and Arne Slot has drawn the club level in his first season as the German's successor.

In the meantime, United are destined for their worst-ever Premier League campaign, rotting in 14th with four games remaining.

The Red Devils are set to suffer a record-low league position and point tally and an all-time-high total of defeats under Ruben Amorim.

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Tottenham could stand in Amorim's way as he bids to salvage a significant prize from his troubling maiden campaign in the coming weeks.

United face Athletic Club in the Europa League semi-finals, while Ange Postecoglou's side meet Bodo/Glimt.

The two Premier League strugglers - with Spurs even lower in 16th - could meet in the Bilbao final. Silverware and Champions League qualification would be at stake.

Postecoglou is expected to leave his post as Spurs boss regardless of whether he ends the club's long trophy drought or not.

Tottenham have only left Anfield with victory ONCE in the last 30 years.

That came in 2011 courtesy of goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric.

They need victory again today for Liverpool not to be crowned champions. But they've only won 11 of their 33 league games this season.

The omens don't look great...

If Liverpool do get the point they require against Tottenham this afternoon, they will NOT lift the Premier League trophy today.

But why?

Premier League tradition dictates that the trophy is presented on the final home game of the season.

That means Liverpool will receive, and lift, the silverware on May 25 against Crystal Palace instead.

No. Well, it doesn't seem like it...

Earlier this year, the former Liverpool manager insisted that he would only return to Anfield if the title were wrapped up.

Klopp shared that he planned to be in attendance for the Reds' final game of the season against Crystal Palace.

And, of course, he will be present for the celebrations...

"Yes, the plan is [to be there for the celebrations] but not on the bus," Klopp said during a fundraising event in Cape Town. "I will be there where the people are. That’s the idea, but we will see."

He added: "I will be there for the last game. I didn’t want to go earlier, to be honest, because I didn’t want to jinx it!

"They win all the time, and I’m the first time in the stadium and they lose! So, I’ll go there when it’s decided."

Arne Slot has revealed how he plans to celebrate Liverpool's Premier League title, should they confirm it today.

The Dutchman has experience lifting silverware with Feyenoord, and he wants to maintain his calm persona.

"I enjoyed it a lot when Feyenoord won the title, but I don't go crazy. It wasn't like I ran three times around the stadium," Slot explained.

"I was just very, very happy inside, and I shared my emotions with the people around me and the fans. But I will never be the one who is the loudest or the weirdest in the moment. I'm not like that."

Tottenham have reportedly identified Andoni Iraola and Marco Silva as the leading candidates to replace Ange Postecoglou at the end of the season. It is now looking likely that the struggling Australian will leave regardless of his side’s success in the Europa League.

Reports claim that Postecoglou will depart at the end of the campaign, either by being sacked or through a mutual parting of ways. He has overseen a hugely underwhelming Premier League campaign in which Spurs sit 16th in the Premier League. Runs to the Europa League and Carabao Cup semi-finals have been the 59-year-old’s two saving graces at times when it has seemed he was at the end of the road.

According to the Telegraph, winning the Europa League may yet save Postecoglou from the sack. However, there is a growing feeling that he will leave at the end of the season, regardless of the club’s performance in the Europa League.

Iraola and Silva have been lined up as potential replacements, the report adds. Both coaches have impressed during their spells at Bournemouth and Fulham, respectively.

Cherries boss Iraola’s vibrant brand of football is understood to have caught the eye of several top clubs. However, his club are fighting to keep the Spaniard and are said to be ‘optimistic’ about doing so.

Iraola’s Bournemouth have a strong chance of qualifying for Europe next season, sitting eighth in the Premier League. Finishing in that position could land a club a place in next season’s Conference League come May.

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They also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but were narrowly beaten by Manchester City. Fellow Spurs candidate Silva has Fulham contending for a place in the top half of the Premier League after guiding the Cottagers back into the top-flight in 2022.

Both managers have been backed with strong resources and stability at their current clubs. They will likely want assurances that this will be the same if they decide to move to Spurs.

The north Londoners lost for a staggering 18th time in the Premier League on Monday night, beaten 2-1 by Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest. Nineteen defeats in the league would be a club record.

Postecoglou navigated an injury crisis that spanned almost the entire winter, and there has been plenty of sympathy from the club’s hierarchy over some of the challenges he has faced. But Spurs now face a make-or-break Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt. Defeat could seal Postecoglou’s fate.

Ange Postecoglou will reportedly depart Tottenham at the end of the season even if he delivers the Europa League trophy. A miserable campaign has Spurs languishing 16th in the Premier League table after an 18th defeat in 2024/25, the latest to Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

Their European hopes are pinned on overcoming Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals of the Europa League and then beating either Manchester United or Athletic Club in the final. Postecoglou joked once their final-four place was secured that journalists were "going to have to put up with me for a little bit longer" having seemingly secured a stay of execution by beating Eintracht Frankfurt over two legs.

As The Telegraph claim that Postecoglou will be leaving the club regardless of how far Spurs go in the Europa League. That includes becoming the first head coach since Juande Ramos to lift a piece of silverware, with the Spanish boss doing so in 2008.

Qualifying for next season's Champions League via the Europa League may be enough to keep Postecoglou from directly being sacked, but there is growing certainty that he will not be in charge for the first match of the 2025/26 season.

He may leave via mutual consent, having delivered on his vow to win silverware in his second season, but would also allow the club to go in another direction.

Spurs have been strongly linked with Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola as a potential replacement for Postecoglou, alongside Fulham's Marco Silva.

Iraola does have a reported £10million release clause that would allow Daniel Levy to bypass any conversation with the Cherries, if the 42-year-old is willing to relocate to north London.

Speaking after a 2-1 defeat to Forest, Postecoglou opted against sending any message to the increasingly-frustrated home fanbase, explaining: "I don’t need to say anything to the fans. The fans are disappointed and angry, I don’t need to tell them anything, they clearly wouldn’t be happy with our results but neither am I and neither are the players."

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The Aussie also rejected any notion that his players were lacking motivation due to their position in the table.

"It’s not like we lost because the players chucked it in," he insisted. "They didn’t lack motivation today, our football was outstanding. We paid the price for lacking focus in key moments, and it’s another game we let slip. It’s happened to us a few times this year and we should learn from these things."

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has been accused of not preparing for Nuno Espirito Santo's surprise Nottingham Forest team selection in Monday's 2-1 defeat. Spurs lost an 18th Premier League game this season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to remain in 16th, despite Espirito Santo taking a risk with his Champions League-chasing visitors.

The former Spurs boss raised eyebrows by handing left-back Harry Toffolo his first Premier League start of the season in north London. His faith was repaid in the second half when Toffolo produced an incredible goal-line clearance to deny Dejan Kulusevski a certain goal. And the 29-year-old contributed to a resolute defensive performance as Forest held onto three valuable points with just 30 per cent possession and four shots to the hosts' 22.

Forest have often used a three-at-the-back formation in matches where they've expected to surrender much of the possession this season.

However, Espirito Santo set his side up with a back four on Monday, using Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood as a strike partnership.

Alan Smith, working on co-commentary for the clash, suggested that Forest's set-up caught Postecoglou by surprise.

"I just wonder if this formation for Forest has just caught Ange Postecoglou cold," Smith explained on Sky Sports.

"I'm really not sure they'd have prepared for it. It's surprised us a bit. It's certainly not how we've been used to them setting up, but it's worked for them."

After full-time Espirito Santo hailed Toffolo and insisted that Forest needed the full capacity of their squad as they hunt Champions League football and FA Cup glory.

The City Ground club meet Manchester City at Wembley this weekend in the semi-finals before their final five Premier League games of the campaign.

Espirito Santo said: "Not only that [Toffolo symbolising Forest's spirit]. We have been talking a lot since the beginning of the season about the importance of the squad.

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"Even though a player doesn't start, I still believe he is going to play a part. And Harry did it. We are going to need them all.

"We are going to go to Wembley with players out and we have to find solutions, so every player in the squad has to commit himself to give a hand. Harry did it and did fantastic."

The feeling couldn't be more of a contrast at Tottenham, for whom it is Europa League or bust ahead of a semi-final tie against Bodo/Glimt.

Loud boos at full-time against Forest emphasised that Postecoglou is under mounting pressure near the end of a disastrous second season.

Ange Postecoglou declined the opportunity to send a message to Tottenham supporters after overseeing his 18th Premier League defeat of the season. Tension has been brewing between Spurs fans and their under-fire manager, and Monday night's 2-1 loss at home to Nottingham Forest will not have done much to mend the relationship.

Champions League-chasing Forest and 16th-place Tottenham have found themselves in unfamiliar territory this campaign. The unlikely gulf between the two sides' recent fortunes was outlined by the visitors racing into a two-goal lead inside 16 minutes thanks to strikes from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood.

Spurs spent most of the game on the offensive, racking up 22 shots and enjoying the lion's share of possession. They pulled one back through Richarlison late on, but still came up empty-handed on a frustrating night.

Asked if he had a message for the fans after another painful result, Postecoglou said: "I don’t need to say anything to the fans. The fans are disappointed and angry, I don’t need to tell them anything, they clearly wouldn’t be happy with our results but neither am I and neither are the players."

As the season wears on, more and more of Tottenham's focus is taken away from domestic duties and towards the Europa League. They booked their spot in a semi-final against Bodo/Glimt next month by beating Eintracht Frankfurt over two legs.

Given that Spurs can no longer be relegated or secure European qualification via their league standing, performing in the Europa League is now of primary importance. But Postecoglou rejects the notion that his players have downed tools in the Premier League.

"It’s not like we lost because the players chucked it in," he insisted. "They didn’t lack motivation today, our football was outstanding. We paid the price for lacking focus in key moments, and it’s another game we let slip. It’s happened to us a few times this year and we should learn from these things."

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Both Forest goals made painful viewing from a Spurs perspective, with Guglielmo Vicario helping Anderson's strike into the Tottenham net, and Micky van de Ven losing track of Wood from a cross. Postecoglou is eager to see those kinds of errors stamped out down the home stretch.

He continued: "It’s another game we’ve lost where we shouldn’t lose. We make things difficult for ourselves in key moments. Concentration, giving up poor goals. It’s another loss, it’s another unacceptable loss and it’s frustrating."

Dominic Solanke remains confident in Tottenham's ability to overcome any challenges despite a tough season that has seen them lose 21 matches across all competitions - but admits the entire squad know they need to work on being more consistent as a team.

Spurs' record signing played a critical role in their Europa League semi-final qualification as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt away from home. Ahead of their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest, Solanke said: "On our day we're good enough to beat anyone. It's just about doing that, really." Reflecting on the significant victory in Germany, he added: "In games like Thursday it's important to produce these big performances and big moments and that's what we did."

Solanke, who endured an 11-match goalless streak, finally broke his drought with a penalty in Frankfurt, but said of his run without scoring: "This stuff happens in football.

"You go through phases where you don't score for a while but today was a big moment and this is what we live for, these big games and big moments. I had to stay cool to take the penalty but obviously I was delighted to score in a big game like this."

Inside Tottenham's camp, there's a buzz of anticipation that this could be the year they end their 17-year trophy drought and reign supreme in Europe.

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Yet Solanke cautions that without more consistency, their Europa League ambitions could falter. He said: "We all know we need to be more consistent from game to game. When you have a game like Thursday's, you need to go out there and show no fear and get the job done.

"There's no second chances in knockout football so we knew we had to go and get the job done and that's what we did. The Europa League was something we had our eyes on from the beginning of the season.

"We're not far off it now so hopefully we can keep producing these performances in Europe and the Premier League throughout the rest of the campaign and kick on."