Leeds earn big win; Tottenham throw away lead in EPL

Southampton’s English midfielder Theo Walcott, Tottenham Hotspur’s English midfielder Oliver Skipp, Southampton’s English defender James Bree fight for the ball during their English Premier League match at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on Mar. 18, 2023. (AFP)

• The relegation battle involves no fewer than nine teams who are in real danger of finishing among the bottom three
• Only four points now separate 12th-place Crystal Palace and last-place Southampton

LONDON: Leeds climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with a big win on Saturday while Tottenham’s grip on a top-four place loosened after they threw away a 3-1 lead at last-place Southampton.
Leeds were in danger of wasting a 3-0 lead at Wolverhampton as the hosts pulled two goals back before going down to 10 men, and Rodrigo put the game away with the fourth goal in injury time. It’s just the second win in 13 league games for Leeds and lifts the team from 19th place up to 14th in the exceedingly tight lower half of the table.
While the title race has long been a two-way fight between Arsenal and Manchester City, the relegation battle involves no fewer than nine teams who are in real danger of finishing among the bottom three.
Only four points now separate 12th-place Crystal Palace and last-place Southampton, which rallied to draw 3-3 at home against Tottenham after being awarded a contentious penalty in injury time.
James Ward-Prowse smashed that spot kick into the net for a point that helps give Southampton some hope of avoiding the drop, even though they have played at least one more game than most of the teams directly above it.
It could be a costly collapse for Tottenham, though, as Antonio Conte’s team had a chance to provisionally climb above Manchester United into third. Instead, Spurs are now just two points ahead of fifth-place Newcastle, which have played two fewer games.
Leicester remained firmly entrenched in the relegation battle despite halting a five-game losing streak in all competitions with a 1-1 draw at Brentford that keeps them just one point above the drop zone — and two points ahead of Southampton — while midtable Aston Villa made it three wins in four games with a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Chelsea hosted Everton later looking for a fourth straight league win, while Manchester City played Burnley in the FA Cup quarterfinals.
Arsenal can stretch their lead to eight points over City by beating Palace on Sunday.