Premier League roundup: Tottenham waste two-goal lead; Leeds get crucial win

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Tottenham missed out on the chance to move up to third in the Premier League by throwing away a two-goal lead Saturday as James Ward-Prowse’s stoppage-time penalty earned last-place Southampton a 3-3 draw.

Tottenham had taken a 3-1 lead after Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic netted their first goals for the club and Harry Kane scored his 23rd of the campaign.

Southampton had only scored twice in its previous five league appearances but the hosts showed the same fight that saw them recently take points off Chelsea and Manchester United to come back and boost their survival hopes.

Ward-Prowse’s late penalty, after Pape Sarr had fouled Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the area, added to second-half efforts by Che Adams and Theo Walcott to earn Saints a point.

Both teams had to make early substitutions after Tottenham forward Richarlison limped off after five minutes with an injury and Southampton’s Armel Bella-Kotchap was forced off in the eighth with an injury to his right arm.

Jan Bednarek then had to come off in the 34th for Southampton, and Tottenham’s Ben Davies became the fourth player to have to be substituted shortly afterward.

That forced Maitland-Niles into the unusual role of playing center back, and Tottenham quickly pounced to break the deadlock in first-half stoppage-time.

Son Heung-min spotted Porro in space on the right and passed the ball into the path of the January recruit, who took a touch and thundered an effort in off the crossbar.

It took just 43 seconds for Adams to level for Southampton after the halftime break. Romeo Lavia sent a perfectly weighted ball into Walcott, who squared for Adams to slide in for his 10th goal of the season in all competitions.

Tottenham reclaimed the lead when substitute Dejan Kulusevski floated a ball to the back post where Kane powered home a header. When Perisic opened his account for Spurs in his 36th appearance with a half-volley beyond Gavin Bazunu in the 74th minute, the points appeared wrapped up for the visitors.

But Walcott reduced the deficit from Sekou Mara’s knock-down three minutes later to set up a dramatic finale.

Former Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster thwarted Mara from close range soon after but the hosts would not be denied.

Sarr caught Maitland-Niles in the area following a corner and Ward-Prowse, who saw his last spot kick against Leicester saved, made no mistake this time and fired into the corner to secure what could be a crucial point.

Southampton remained in last place but is just two points from safety — and four points below Crystal Palace in 12th place.

Leeds 4, Wolverhampton 2

In Wolverhampton, Rasmus Kristensen scored just seconds after coming on and Leeds withstood a late comeback to beat Wolverhampton 4-2 and move out of the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.

Kristensen’s goal in the 62nd minute extended Leeds’ lead to 3-0 following strikes by Jack Harrison and Luke Ayling before Wolves got back into the match at Molineux.

Kristensen had only been on for about 30 seconds before he shot the ball through Jose Sa’s legs after Wolves failed to deal with Harrison’s cross.

Jonny’s volley from more than 35 yards out — after goalkeeper Illan Meslier’s headed clearance outside the area — made it 3-1 in the 65th and Matheus Cunha scored eight minutes later.

But Wolves lost momentum when Jonny was shown a red card in the 84th for a reckless challenge on Ayling.

Rodrigo added a fourth goal for the visitors in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Meslier made several key stops including getting his right hand on a point-blank effort from a charging Raul Jimenez in the 70th.

Harrison’s one-timer in the sixth minute was set up by 19-year-old Wilfried Gnonto, who beat a defender and put a low pass into the center of the area. Ayling made it 2-0 early in the second half when he headed in from a corner.

Aston Villa 3, Bournemouth 0

In Birmingham, Aston Villa enjoyed a third win in four Premier League games as it beat Bournemouth 3-0 at home with goals from Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia on Saturday.

Both sets of fans had a reason to cheer when Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks came on in the 79th minute for his first appearance since being diagnosed with cancer in October 2021, a moment that brought applause all around Villa Park.

Luiz finished from close range to put Villa ahead in the seventh minute before Ramsey and Buendia added further goals in the last 10 minutes.

Bournemouth had gone close to equalizing just past the hour mark through Philip Billing’s free kick that was saved in fine style by Emiliano Martinez.

Midtable Villa extended its unbeaten run, adding to the wins over Everton and Crystal Palace and a draw at West Ham.

Bournemouth slipped a place to 19th, a point adrift of safety, having failed to further boost its survival bid after the surprise 1-0 win over Liverpool last weekend.

Leicester 1, Brentford 1

In London, Leicester halted a five-game losing streak in all competitions as Harvey Barnes’ second-half equalizer secured a 1-1 draw at Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

Leicester’s poor run has seen it dragged into the tight fight against relegation, and the draw only keeps it one point above the drop zone.

Mathias Jensen put the hosts ahead in the 32nd minute but Barnes raced away from the Brentford defense to run onto James Maddison’s through ball and calmly lifted his finish over goalkeeper David Raya.

That denied Brentford manager Thomas Frank a 100th win in charge, but the team at least stretched its unbeaten run at home to 10 matches.

Under-pressure Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers made a bold call by dropping goalkeeper Danny Ward in favor of Daniel Iversen, but his wait for a first clean sheet since the World Cup break goes on.

Eighth-place Brentford finished the game with 10 men after substitute Shandon Baptiste was sent off in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.



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