MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes closed in on the Premier League ‘s assists record as Manchester United tightened its grip on a return to the Champions League with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Tottenham avoided extending an unwanted club low by halting its losing run with a late equalizer to draw 1-1 with Liverpool.
Fernandes provided assists for two of United’s goals against Villa to take his tally for the season to 16. The record for a single Premier League campaign is 20 — jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Fernandes, who now has 100 assists as a United player, has up to eight more games to set a new record in English soccer’s top division.
Of more importance to United was a seventh win in nine games under head coach Michael Carrick. United is third — three points clear of Villa in fourth.
Liverpool is two points further back in fifth after squandering victory against Spurs when Richarlison struck in the 90th minute to stun the Anfield crowd. Tottenham had looked set to extend its all-time worst losing run to seven games in all competitions when trailing Dominik Szoboszlai’s first-half free kick.
The draw left Tottenham one point clear of the relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest climbed out of the bottom three on goal difference with a 0-0 draw against Fulham.
Crystal Palace and Leeds also drew 0-0.
Fernandes inspires United
Fernandes’ double assist saw him set a new club record for United in a single Premier League season – overtaking David Beckham’s 15 in 1999-2000.
“It is a huge achievement for me, but the main achievement will be finishing in the top spots at the end of the season,” he said.
United is on course for a return to the Champions League after two seasons outside of European club soccer’s top competition.
The top four are guaranteed to qualify, with English teams likely to earn a fifth spot because of their performances in Europe this season.
The victory saw United close the gap on second-place Manchester City to seven points.
“At the end of the day, we’ll see where we finish, and if we can finish second, even better,” Fernandes said. “Even though it wouldn’t change much what we are getting next season, we want to finish as high as possible, that’s obvious.”
Casemiro headed United in front from Fernandes’ corner in the 53rd minute. Villa leveled through Ross Barkley, but Fernandes was the provider again when Matheus Cunha sidefooted past Emiliano Martinez.
Benjamin Sesko came off the bench to score his eighth goal in 10 games and effectively seal the win.
Late drama at Anfield
Igor Tudor picked up his first point as Tottenham interim coach at the end of a week that has seen speculation around his position intensify.
On the back of four straight losses since his appointment last month, Tudor went into the game at Anfield with pressure mounting. And inside 18 minutes, Spurs trailed to Szoboszlai’s goal.
But a reprieve came in the form of Richarlison’s late strike, which may place more scrutiny on Liverpool coach Arne Slot.
After delivering the league title in his first season at the club, he is now fighting to secure a top five finish.
Liverpool is fifth – one point ahead of Chelsea.
“It is a home game and we were ahead for so many minutes. Of course, it is two points dropped,” Slot said.
Liverpool hosts Galatasaray in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday, trailing 1-0 after the first leg.
Relegation fight
West Ham’s draw with Man City on Saturday meant Forest dropped into the bottom three.
But Forest quickly climbed back out of the relegation zone on goal difference with a point at home against Fulham.
Tottenham is one place and one point above Forest.
Spurs defender Radu Dragusin described the draw with Liverpool as “massive for our season.”
Leeds is 15th on 32 points – three points clear of the bottom three.
It could have been an even better day for Daniel Farke’s team had Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored with a first-half penalty. But Leeds held on for a point even after going down to 10 men when Gabriel Gudmundsson was sent off before halftime.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
