Monday’s briefing: Tudor has a point, Carrick has the knack, Bompastor has a cup

Igor Tudor had something to celebrate as Tottenham boss for the first time as they snatched a draw against Liverpool.

Manchester United’s resurgence under Michael Carrick continued with victory over Aston Villa while Rangers boosted their Scottish Premiership title hopes.

There was another trophy, meanwhile, for Chelsea Women as they lifted the League Cup.

Richarlison rescues Spurs

Richarlison’s 90th-minute equaliser earned Tottenham’s under-fire interim head coach Tudor a stay of execution with a 1-1 draw as Liverpool conceded another late goal to dent their Champions League qualification hopes.

Substitute Randal Kolo Muani held off Virgil van Dijk to roll a pass for the Brazil international to slot past international team-mate Alisson Becker and have Tudor punching the air as he ran out of his technical area to celebrate his first point in five matches.

The result hardly strengthened the Croatian’s position as they remain in deep trouble but it did move Spurs a point above the relegation zone.

“I am coaching 15 years, never was thinking one second about my future,” said Tudor. “This is something big. We stayed in the game, we believed. I felt that we could score the goal, the players also felt it, so it’s nice.”

Boos rang around Anfield at the final whistle, with Arne Slot’s side failing to build on a first-half free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.

Carrick quietens the noise

Carrick insisted he was not listening to the likes of former team-mate Wayne Rooney after the clamour for him to get the Manchester United job long term increased following Sunday’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa.

Bruno Fernandes became only the third United player in the Premier League era to reach 100 goals and 100 assists – joining Rooney and Ryan Giggs – as he set up goals for Casemiro and Matheus Cunha either side of a Ross Barkley equaliser, with Benjamin Sesko getting the hosts’ third.

A seventh win in nine games for Carrick put them six points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea, firmly in the driving seat for a Champions League place, and led Rooney to say on BBC Radio 5 Live that the former midfielder should “100 per cent” get the job.

Carrick shrugged off the compliment, saying: “There’s not that much noise, is there? I don’t mean Wayne, just in general. It’s only noise if you listen to it.

“It doesn’t affect me one bit, to be honest. I’m in this position at the moment, doing the best I can, loving it, obviously, and we keep pushing for more. We want to make the team as good as possible and keep improving. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen.”

Rangers close the gap

Danny Rohl admitted Hearts’ title setback on Saturday night left him smiling after Rangers moved to within three points of the leaders with a 1-0 win at managerless St Mirren.

The Jambos’ 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock opened the door for the Light Blues and they took advantage with left-back Tuur Rommens scoring his first Gers goal after 31 minutes for a first victory in four matches in all competitions.

With eight games remaining, the Ibrox side are three points behind Hearts and one point behind second-placed Celtic, who knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup at Ibrox last Sunday.

Rangers boss Rohl, who had spoken before the game about the need to win ‘nine cup finals’, said: “Yeah, I would be lying if I said I was not smiling after this (Hearts result), this is normal. But I know we have to deliver again next week.”

More title success for Chelsea

Goals from Lauren James and Aggie Beever-Jones saw Chelsea retain the Subway Women’s League Cup with a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at Ashton Gate.

With the first bit of silverware of the season up for grabs, Sonia Bompastor’s side proved too good for the Red Devils and lifted the trophy for a fourth time.

A mistake led to James opening the scoring against her former club in a frantic first half that featured plenty of chances for both teams, while Beever-Jones sealed the win with a close-range finish 14 minutes from time.

It has been a tough season in the league for Chelsea, and Bompastor told BBC Sport: “Sometimes people just think, because we are Chelsea, it’s just a habit. But it takes a lot for my players to perform and grab a trophy. Really proud of my players. Every occasion, they just show up.”

What’s on today?

Wolves will bid for a third successive Premier League victory when they travel to Brentford.

Rob Edwards’ side look doomed to relegation but they are at least going down with a fight, while three points would be a major boost to Brentford’s European hopes.

In the Sky Bet Championship, struggling Portsmouth take on play-off chasing Derby at Fratton Park.