EPL: Spurs Stumble at Burnley, Pressure Mounts on Frank as Man City Win

Pressure intensified on Tottenham manager Thomas Frank after Spurs dropped more points in a 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Burnley on Saturday, while Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to four points with a home victory.

Discontent among Spurs supporters had already been evident following last week’s damaging 2-1 defeat to West Ham, when fans chanted: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”

Frank, who previously managed Brentford, enjoyed brief respite after a 2-0 Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund in midweek, but Tottenham arrived at Turf Moor desperate for league points, having managed just two wins in their last 13 Premier League games.

The visitors dominated the first half and took a deserved lead when Micky van de Ven fired a powerful left-footed strike after Burnley failed to clear their lines. However, Spurs conceded just before the break as Axel Tuanzebe side-footed home a Kyle Walker cross.

Matters worsened for Tottenham in the 76th minute when Lyle Foster put Burnley ahead. Spurs pushed hard for an equaliser late on, with Xavi Simons crashing a shot against the crossbar, before captain Cristian Romero headed home a dramatic 90th-minute leveller.

The draw leaves Tottenham languishing in 13th place on the table.

City Close the Gap

Manchester City entered their Etihad clash without a league win in four matches in 2026 and fresh from a humiliating 3-1 Champions League defeat to Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.

Erling Haaland was left out of the starting line-up after scoring just once in five league games, with Pep Guardiola explaining that his striker needed to “clean a little bit his mind and body.”

City handed a debut to centre-back Marc Guehi just five days after his move from Crystal Palace, helping ease a defensive crisis that has sidelined John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.

Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush gave City an early lead in the sixth minute, finishing from a Matheus Nunes cross for his first Premier League goal of the season. Antoine Semenyo doubled the advantage shortly before half-time, netting his third goal for the club in all competitions since joining from Bournemouth earlier this month.

The victory lifted City to 46 points, four behind Arsenal, who host Michael Carrick’s Manchester United on Sunday. Bottom club Wolves, meanwhile, remain 14 points from safety and appear increasingly doomed despite recent improved performances.

Elsewhere, Fulham fought back from behind to defeat Brighton 2-1 at Craven Cottage. Samuel Chukwueze cancelled out Yasin Ayari’s stunning first-half goal before Harry Wilson struck a stoppage-time winner.

Earlier, West Ham cruised to a 3-1 win over Sunderland to make it two victories from two and move within two points of Premier League safety. The hosts wrapped up the contest by half-time through goals from Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen’s penalty and a long-range strike from Mateus Fernandes.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo said reinforcements were still needed in the January transfer window.

“We have one week to go,” he said. “I still believe that we need to rebalance our squad. We need options in some positions.”

Champions Liverpool round off the day with an evening trip to Bournemouth, aiming to strengthen their hold on fourth place. Mohamed Salah, recently back from the Africa Cup of Nations, was named in Liverpool’s Premier League starting line-up for the first time since November.

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