Sesko delivers late blow to Hammers

LONDON — Michael Carrick admitted he was frustrated by Manchester United's lack of cutting edge in its 1-1 draw at struggling West Ham on Tuesday.

Carrick's side was well below its best for long periods in east London and trailed to Tomas Soucek's 50th-minute strike.

United needed Benjamin Sesko's equalizer deep into stoppage time to avoid the first defeat of Carrick's five-match reign as interim manager.

Although United retained fourth place in the Premier League thanks to Sesko's dramatic leveler, Carrick conceded there was a lack of cohesive play in the final third from his team.

"I think we were a little disappointed, and we were definitely not at our best. It's times like that when you find a way and move on. I'm a little frustrated at that," he said.

"It is a tough place to come, and we didn't have that sharpness to find the answers. Great spirit again and we will take the point and move on.

"For where we are, and being together for a short space of time, in the end we have to take a point.

"It didn't come easy and we found a way. We will take some positives from it."

Sesko's fifth goal in his last six games maintained his recent improvement after a woeful start to his first season at United following his move from Leipzig.

"Fantastic finish. He has done it again. It is important. It is a great finish. Delighted for him. Another big goal and a good step," Carrick said.

United's late escape act left West Ham stuck in the relegation zone.

Carrick hopes his former club can eventually climb away from the bottom three.

"I would love them to stay up," he said. "It was a big part of my life, and I have great memories here so hopefully they stay up."

The Hammers kept one United fan, Frank Ilett, better known online as The United Strand, who has vowed not to cut his hair until the Red Devils win five consecutive games, waiting as they boosted their chances of survival, despite the setback of Sesko's stoppage-time strike.

The manner of United's impressive four consecutive wins since Carrick took charge had seen calls for the former midfielder, who has been appointed until the end of the season, to be handed the job on a more permanent basis.

But Nuno Espirito Santo's men disrupted the attacking flow that Carrick's side had shown in putting Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham to the sword in recent weeks.

Soucek converted Jarrod Bowen's cross early in the second half to give the home side the lead.

Casemiro had an equalizer ruled out after a VAR review for offside.

But West Ham was denied a priceless win at the death when Sesko brilliantly flicked in Bryan Mbeumo's cross.

'Bitter pill'

Liam Rosenior said Chelsea's failure to stay calm under pressure was a "bitter pill", as it blew a two-goal advantage in its 2-2 draw with Leeds on Tuesday.

Rosenior's side was on course for a fifth successive Premier League victory thanks to Joao Pedro's opener and Cole Palmer's penalty.

But Chelsea collapsed in the closing stages at Stamford Bridge, with Lukas Nmecha's penalty giving Leeds a lifeline, before Noah Okafor tapped in the equalizer.

The fifth-placed Blues' collapse cost them the chance to move above Manchester United into fourth place, leaving Rosenior ruing his side's defensive carelessness.

"Two key moments in the game that we don't take care of. We don't stay calm. How the play gets there, we make a few poor decisions in the way we press and we give away a penalty," he said.

"I can't remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the game. Some of our football in possession, our press and our energy was everything I wanted to see.

"That makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven't won the game."

Leeds' equalizer owed as much to Jayden Bogle's tenacity in outmuscling Chelsea's defense, as it did to the Blues' own hesitancy in dealing with the danger, though Rosenior believed his team should have had a freekick.

"The lad handballs it," he said. "It affects my players in that moment. They think it's a handball, they switch off, we don't clear the ball and they score. Then for 25 minutes, it was wave after wave of attack."

Rosenior has made an encouraging start to his reign since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca in January.

But, alongside its League Cup semifinal exit to Arsenal, this was another sign that the former Hull boss still has much to work on.

"We have to make sure we take care of these moments and be professional," Rosenior said.

"It's not about reacting to setbacks. You're always going to have a spell in the game when you're not on top.

"The ridiculous thing for us is that they've managed to score two goals in a five-minute period, when for the other 90 minutes we were by far the better team."

Frank feels fans' fury

West Ham moved to within two points of safety, with Spurs now just five points above the relegation zone in 16th, as Tottenham's 2-1 defeat to Newcastle pushed Thomas Frank closer to the exit door.

Frank was met with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" by the disgruntled Spurs supporters after failing to win for the 11th time in 13 home league games this season.

Malick Thiaw gave Newcastle the halftime lead its dominance deserved when he slotted home in first-half stoppage time.

Archie Gray briefly leveled things up for Spurs after the break, but Jacob Ramsey quickly restored Newcastle's lead as it secured just a third away win of its league campaign.

Spurs are not in action again for 12 more days until they host local rival and league leader Arsenal.

Frank said that he spoke with the club's hierarchy on Monday and does not expect his situation to change before the north London derby on Feb 22.

"We understand we are not in a top position and we need to do everything we can to get out," said the former Brentford boss.

"I understand the frustration and the easiest thing is to point at me. That's part of the job, unfortunately.

"I will work day and night to turn this around, but it is not just one person. There is no doubt we need to improve, and I need to be part of that."

Spurs have won just two of their 13 home league games this season and still have tough away trips to Champions League-chasing Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea to come.

AFP