Frank under increased pressure after Spurs stumble at Burnley as City win / Photo: © AFP
Frank under increased pressure after Spurs stumble at Burnley as City win
Thomas Frank's job is under renewed threat after Tottenham dropped more points in a 2-2 draw at struggling Burnley on Saturday as Manchester City closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Former Brentford boss Frank is under intense pressure just months into his reign at Spurs, seemingly unable to halt a slide down the table.
The Dane breathed a sigh of relief after a 2-0 midweek win against Borussia Dortmund kept his team flying high in the Champions League.
But Tottenham travelled to Turf Moor in desperate need of three points after just two wins in 13 league games.
The visitors dominated the first half and deservedly led when Micky van de Ven produced a powerful left-footed strike after relegation-threatened Burnley failed to clear.
But they conceded moments before half-time when Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe side-footed home a Kyle Walker cross and Lyle Foster put the home side ahead in the 76th minute.
In a nail-biting finale, Xavi Simons rattled the crossbar for Spurs before captain Cristian Romero headed home a leveller in the 90th minute.
The last-gasp draw left Spurs 13th in the table -- without a league win in five matches in 2026.
After the final whistle Tottenham's travelling fans vented their frustration at Frank, singing: "You're getting sacked in the morning."
"You can't say we didn't do everything to win," Frank told the BBC.
"We just need to keep improving. The only way it can be is calm heads, carry on and keep doing what we think is the right thing.
"You see the game today. We do more than enough to win the game, we just need to defend better in two situations. And, of course, score another goal that could make the difference at 1-0."
- City close gap -
Pep Guardiola's City came into their match against bottom side Wolves at the Etihad without a win in four league games in 2026 and smarting after an embarrassing 3-1 Champions League defeat at Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
Erling Haaland was left on the bench after just one goal in five league matches, with Guardiola explaining his star forward needed to "clean a little bit his mind and body".
Centre-back Marc Guehi made his debut five days after his move from Crystal Palace, easing City's crippling defensive crisis that has claimed John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
Egypt forward Omar Marmoush put the home side ahead early, finishing crisply from a Matheus Nunes cross for his first Premier League goal of the season.
City made it 2-0 shortly before half-time when Antoine Semenyo scored his third goal for the club in all competitions since arriving at the Etihad from Bournemouth earlier this month.
The win lifts City to 46 points -- four behind Arsenal, who host Michael Carrick's Manchester United on Sunday.
Fulham came back from a goal down to beat Brighton 2-1 at Craven Cottage, with Harry Wilson grabbing a winner in stoppage time.
Earlier, West Ham blew Sunderland away 3-1 to make it two wins out of two and climb to within two points of Premier League safety.
The home side effectively had the game sewn up by half-time after Crysencio Summerville's opener, Jarrod Bowen's penalty and a long-range rocket from Mateus Fernandes.
Nuno Espirito Santo said West Ham still needed new signings in the January transfer window to maintain their survival bid.
"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 are in action at Bournemouth in the evening kick-off with the chance to consolidate fourth position.
U.Hill--VC
