Luis Diaz ended a traumatic week by coming off the bench to save Liverpool from a shock defeat at Luton with a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

Substitute Tahith Chong looked to have secured a sensational Hatters win when he finished off a superb break to slot past Alisson 10 minutes from time.

On their first league visit in more than 30 years, Liverpool appeared rocked by a raucous atmosphere inside Kenilworth Road and were never at their free-flowing best against a side that dug in, ground out and waited for their chance.

And Chong’s goal looked to have been decisive until Diaz, who came off the bench seven minutes from the end for his first appearance since his father was kidnapped in Colombia, got his head on Harvey Elliott’s cross five minutes into added time to deny Luton a famous win.

Diaz lifted his shirt in celebration to reveal a message on a white T-shirt that read ‘libertad para papa’ or ‘freedom for my father’.

Liverpool sought the victory that would move them second in the table, but the first half was a test of their patience as Luton executed an organised, determined plan to stymy their attacking advances.

Darwin Nunez tested the reflexes of goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski early on, striking from outside the box and drawing a diving save from the Luton goalkeeper low to his left.

Nunez went closer still when his first-time effort struck the top of the crossbar from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb pass from deep in midfield.

Mohamed Salah sliced an effort over after Luton failed to clear Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick, but on the whole the hosts contained Liverpool well during the opening 25 minutes.

Ryan Gravenberch looked to inject urgency into a ponderous attacking display with a bursting run through the centre, laying the ball off to Diogo Jota who had made a smart run, but after an intelligent dash into space his shot was too close to Kaminski.

From the resulting corner, Alexander-Arnold hit a first-time drive that was blocked inside a crowded penalty area, encapsulating Liverpool’s half.

At the other end, Alfie Doughty and Chiedozie Ogbene linked up well down the left and worked the ball into the middle where Ross Barkley had found space. Unmarked and with a free hit at goal, the former Everton midfielder thumped his 20-yard effort over the bar as Luton’s best opening of the half came and went.

The second half brought with it a growing sense that a single goal might decide things, and Edwards’ side were credible candidates.

In the 63rd minute, Ogbene, a thorn in Liverpool’s right-hand side throughout, raced away from Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate and cut the ball back for Carlton Morris.

It looked for a moment like his contact would be sufficient to beat Alisson, but Liverpool’s goalkeeper had narrowed the angle between Morris and the goal, and the ball spun to safety.

Salah and Nunez conspired between them to miss the game’s best chance so far with 20 minutes to go.

The Egyptian was left unmarked six yards out and nodded towards his team-mate despite Kaminski being exposed. Nunez had time and space but not the composure required to crack the game open, and he ballooned horribly over.

Yet Liverpool’s threat was undoubtedly growing. Nunez made a better job of his next chance, hammering towards the near post from Salah’s pass but again Kaminski was his equal to fist it over the top.

With 10 minutes to go the moment for which home fans had patiently waited arrived, and it began with Liverpool on the attack.

It was Barkley that collected the ball as a corner routine for the visitors broke down, carrying it up over the halfway line with Liverpool committed and pushing it wide on the right into the path of Issa Kabore.

His low cross into the box landed perfectly for Chong who did not even break stride as he guided the ball with consummate cool past Alisson to send a shockwave of noise around Kenilworth Road.

It was all Liverpool after that and they snatched an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Elliott’s ball into the box was delivered well, and as Luton lost concentration there was Diaz to nod home and rescue his side.

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper praised young musician Caiden Storry after he could not complete the Last Post ahead of the 2-0 win over Aston Villa.

Storry was consoled by both sets of players and Cooper, before being given a standing ovation by the City Ground after failing to finish the famous tune that marks Armistice Day celebrations.

Cooper says the club will reach out to the 16-year-old, who is a Forest fan, and said everyone was proud of him.

“I’ve got a 15-year-old boy and I love it when he shows confidence to do things because it isn’t always easy in this era we live in,” Cooper said.

“For a 16-year-old boy who’s a fan to stand in the middle and do that and do it brilliantly as well, he should be really proud and we are proud.

“To see how both sets of players responded, because they have to perform and they know what it’s like.

“It was a really important moment and I thought everyone came together in what is always a poignant moment anyway.

“I managed to have a word with him and we will try and reach out to him and bring him to the training ground and I want him to meet the players so he knows how good he was.

“I told him I was proud of him. He said, ‘I’m sorry about that,’ and I said, ‘What for? Everyone is really proud of you’.

“The Villa boys were excellent and the City Ground was what it was, what we have got, which is unique, we have to keep it going because when things don’t go quite right, let’s look to support each other.

“The fans and players did a brilliant job, Caiden did a brilliant job today and I’m really proud he delivered that for us.”

Victorious Fleetwood manager Lee Johnson challenged his players to use their FA Cup exploits as a springboard after beating Kidderminster 2-1 at Aggborough.

Headers from Josh Earl and Shaun Rooney either side of the break were enough for the Cod Army to dump the National League strugglers out of the competition, cancelling out Bailey Hobson’s side-footed opener.

Overcoming adversity in front of a vocal home crowd, Johnson admired the courage of his players at the final whistle.

“We had four golden chances and my criticism is not punishing them and putting the sword through,” he said.

“I was very pleased with the players, particularly after they scored because giving up a goal against a side like this where it’s really important for them to do well in the cup, it gives them something to get hold of.

“We weren’t scoring a lot, now we look like we’re doing that but we’ve got to be ruthless and be killers in front of goal.

“It’s a competition that I really want to do well in and to achieve success, because I think it can be a catalyst to push us on as a football club.”

For Harriers boss Russell Penn on the receiving end of the result, plenty of heart can also be taken, he feels.

“We’re really disappointed with the timings of the goals, because in an FA Cup game you have to have that momentum going into half-time when we’ve scored so late,” he said.

“The whole place was flattened by the second goal and it’s so hard to pin it back especially against better opposition.

“We could’ve been at our absolute best today and still lost the game, and we have to respect that.”

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery knows his side missed the opportunity to show they can be contenders at the top end of the Premier League after going down 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

Villa were below their best as they lost for the first time in six games as Forest won thanks to goals from Ola Aina and Orel Mangala.

Emery’s side, who have enjoyed an excellent start to the season, could have moved above Arsenal and into the top four, but they fluffed their lines.

“Today was a key moment, if we could really be a contender to be in the top seven teams and we lost the opportunity,” Emery said. “I believe in the players, I know they can but we have to be very demanding. We can’t concede chances like we did today.

“If we want to be in the top seven teams we have to try to reduce the mistakes we made today.

“The key moment in 38 matches is every match. Today was a key moment to take some distance with the other teams and get in the top-four positions but we lost this opportunity, now the next match against Fulham next week is a challenge and it is again a key moment.”

Forest took a fifth-minute lead when Aina converted from 20 yards and they doubled their lead after a rare Emiliano Martinez error shortly after restart.

The Argentina World Cup winner won the Yashin Trophy, effectively making him the best goalkeeper in the world, at last week’s Ballon D’Or, but this effort will not be winning him any awards after he could only palm Martinez’s effort into his own net.

Emery added: “We are human and we can make a mistake. I never punish the mistakes of the players because I want to try to get the confidence of everybody, practising, trying to do everything well and when we are facing other teams we have to be better than them.

“But never punishing mistakes, not only for Emiliano, for everybody.”

Forest won for the first time since September 2 with an impressive performance where boss Steve Cooper won the tactical battle against Emery.

Villa played with a high line and Forest exposed them with their pace.

Cooper said: “The players massively followed the game plan. I said to them, I’ve got real gratitude to them for committing to the plan we put in place.

“We came up against a really in-form team with loads of good players and an excellent manager. You have to respect them, but you have to look at a plan where you can win.

“I’m really pleased that the goals we scored were from how we thought we could create chances. Once you get there, you want the players to back themselves to convert.

“Even though they had a lot of the ball, I never really thought we would concede. I never felt the goal was getting peppered. Defensively, we were excellent, both tactically and our defensive intuition backed up with desire and commitment.

“I’m really pleased with the players. They showed a great attitude to the plan. It was an incredible atmosphere to support the players’ performance. I thought today was a really good example of what we’ve become over the last couple of years, and I think that needs a bit of recognition.”

League One Derby left it late to avoid an upset at Crewe as last-gasp goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Conor Hourihane secured a 2-2 draw at Gresty Road.

Goals from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt in either half had swept the League Two front-runners into a two-goal lead and the Rams fell away after dominating the first period.

Crewe goalkeeper Harvey Davies saved Conor Washington’s header with his leg and Baker-Richardson cleared Sonny Bradley’s set-piece header off the line.

The Railwaymen were dangerous on the break and Joe Wildsmith blocked a Rio Adebisi effort after Ryan Nyambe lost possession on the edge of the box.

Tom Barkhuizen dragged an effort past a post and Washington curled over, but the visitors were caught out when Adebisi delivered a superb cross to the far post where Baker-Richardson finished in the 41st minute.

Wildsmith saved from Nevitt and Conor Thomas either side of the interval, but Mendez-Laing should have equalised when Korey Smith delivered a cross and the attacker headed over with the goal at his mercy.

Nevitt’s finishing, though, was spot on as he took Baker-Richardson’s pass and fired in off the far post in the 54th minute.

Paul Warne made a raft of changes and Kane Wilson’s lofted drive was saved by Davies at the near post and another Rams substitute, James Collins, saw a close-range finish chalked off for offside.

With time running out Mendez-Laing’s 89th-minute shot slipped through Davies’ hands to reduce the arrears and the attacker then set up Hourihane, who finished into the top corner in the third minute stoppage time.

Craig Levein has revealed he has held talks with St Johnstone about becoming the club’s new boss.

The McDiarmid Park club are looking for a replacement for Steven MacLean, who departed the Perth outfit last week.

Speaking on BBC Scotland Sportsound, the 59-year-old former Scotland, Hearts and Dundee United manager said: “I’m really looking forward to it, but until the ink has dried on the paper, nothing is done.

“I want to have another go at it, throw the dice and see if, in the latter stages of my career, I can make a difference to St Johnstone and get them up the league.

“There have been conversations. This opportunity is something that I looked seriously at – looked at the squad, the results, spoke to a few people – and had a good feeling about it.”

MacLean left Saints last week following a 4-0 defeat at St Mirren which left the club bottom of the cinch Premiership with just four points from nine games.

Coach Alex Cleland assumed interim charge and guided the Perth side to a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock in midweek, but Saints remain three points behind second-bottom Livingston.

Norwich head coach David Wagner vowed to battle on after seeing his side’s poor form continue with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Blackburn.

The Canaries have now lost eight games out of 10 in all competitions, slipping to 17th in the Championship as a result after a bright start to the campaign.

“If I get the chance I will work to turn this around but I am not the right person to ask (about my future),” he said.

“I take responsibility, for sure, because I am the manager of this team, and today wasn’t good enough, I know that, and the longer this run goes on the more difficult it gets.

“But this squad proved what it’s capable of early in the season and as I said I am ready to work hard to put things right.”

Wagner, who confirmed he would not be resigning, added: “I thought we actually started quite well, winning the ball in dangerous positions, but after that our press wasn’t right and they punished us.

“At 3-0 we had a mountain to climb. I cannot fault the effort of the lads but we were not clinical enough, we didn’t take the good chances we created.”

Norwich were punished for a slow start as a slick Blackburn side scored twice in the first 15 minutes at Carrow Road.

A simple pass inside from Joe Rankin-Costello put Tyrhys Dolan in to run through and smash the ball high into the roof of the net and then Andrew Moran slid Sammie Szmodics in to make it two.

It was all too easy for Blackburn, with the home fans making their discontent clear, and four minutes after the restart it got even bleaker for the hosts as Szmodics got his second of the game.

Dolan did well to pick out an unmarked Moran on the right and his low cross was tapped in at the back post by Rovers’ top scorer, who got the benefit of a tight offside call.

The visitors were quickly reduced to 10 men when Scott Wharton saw red for a professional foul on Onel Hernandez, but Norwich had to wait until the second minute of injury time to pull one back from Gabriel Sara, who was in the right place to pounce on a loose ball in the area.

Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson was understandably pleased with his side’s comfortable win.

“I thought it was an excellent win and performance – we played at a very high level for long periods,” he said.

“Norwich are going through a difficult spell at the moment but they are still a good team with good players and it was important we got on the front foot immediately. We scored two good goals and had other good chances and it could easily have been 4-0 at half-time.

“We stuck to our principles, with plenty of one and two-touch football, and I thought we played some really good stuff at times.

“We scored another well-worked goal in the second half and then got the red card, which obviously affected the game.

“After that I thought we defended like lions to keep them out, showing great team spirit, which was another positive from our young team.

“We put in a good show at Chelsea and we have followed that up today with another good performance, which is very pleasing. We can now enjoy this and then prepare for the derby against Preston on Friday.”

Danny Webb believes Chesterfield deserve their place in the FA Cup second round after Tom Naylor’s first-half header knocked out League One leaders Portsmouth at the SMH Group Stadium.

Former Pompey midfielder Naylor headed the National League pacesetters into a round-two tie with mid-table League One side Leyton Orient, and Spireites assistant manager Webb thinks they were value for the 1-0 win in front of a sell-out crowd.

Chesterfield claimed a deserved lead just after the half-hour as Liam Mandeville curled in a free-kick and Naylor beat goalkeeper Will Norris to the ball to head home.

Chesterfield had chances in the second half to add to their lead but were rarely troubled by a Portsmouth side who lost Regan Poole and Tino Anjorin to injuries before the break.

Webb said: “We needed them to be a little bit off their game and we had to be on it and both things married up today.

“I’m going to be biased but I think the best team won today. Portsmouth made it a real tough cup tie with their supporters and how they played at times.

“Supporters want to see flair, they want to see wins. They want to see goals but they want to see passion.”

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho admitted his side were second best.

He said: “We got punished by a very decent side. There were plenty of things I thought we did well up until half-time but I thought second half Chesterfield were all over us to be honest.

“We don’t want to overreact but sometimes the best thing to do is take a breath and we will review the game on the bus on the way home.

“Our quality was very poor in the second half. We got in some very good spots but the ball kept going behind for a goal kick.”

Chelsea's spending should have the Blues competing for the Champions League but Jan Vertonghen says the quality of the Premier League and injury issues have hampered them.

The Blues once again splashed on big-money arrivals ahead of the 2023-24 season, bringing in the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer.

Caicedo's arrival broke the British record after his £115million move from Brighton, a mark only set in the previous season when Chelsea signed Benfica's Enzo Fernandez for £107m.

Their aggressive activity in the transfer market is yet to pay dividends, with Chelsea winning just three of their opening 10 Premier League games before Monday's visit to Tottenham.

Having also signed Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson and Robert Sanchez for significant fees, Vertonghen believes Chelsea's acquisitions should have helped a top-four challenge.

Former Tottenham defender Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform: "They had to make it into the Champions League.

"They signed so many players. When I saw the squad at the start of the year, I thought they had to reach the Champions League, with so many good young players and the signings they made."

Talented young midfielder Lavia and former RB Leipzig talisman Nkunku are yet to play a minute in the league for Chelsea due to injury.

With injuries taking their toll and the likes of Aston Villa, Brighton and Newcastle United exceeding expectations, Vertonghen acknowledged the struggles Chelsea face.

"They suffered a lot of injuries, and when you look how strong the Premier League is – it's not just Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, you've got Spurs doing well, Brighton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Arsenal.

"It's not a top four or six anymore, it's a top nine or 10 at the moment, especially when you see United and Chelsea being so far out.

"It's not easy. Chelsea should do better, but they've suffered a lot of injuries."

While referencing the challenges his former rivals are up against, Vertonghen suggested Chelsea are in safe hands with Pochettino.

The Belgium defender worked closely with the Blues head coach when at Spurs, helping Pochettino's former side to the Champions League final in the 2018-19 campaign.

"He's very good at shaping a team, shaping a squad," added the 36-year-old, who made 232 appearances for Tottenham.

"I think that's what he did very well at Tottenham. He got the right players in, the right characters, who wanted to work in his system and we had the perfect squad for that.

"A very good young core of guys who wanted to work hard and achieve big things and in his team I learned how to work and get the best out of my body. That's what I learned from him."

Arsenal have called for refereeing standards to be addressed and thrown their support behind manager Mikel Arteta’s after he branded the VAR decision not to rule out Anthony Gordon’s match-winner at Newcastle “an absolute disgrace”.

The Premier League club issued a statement on Sunday, saying they “wholeheartedly support” Arteta’s post-match comments after “yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors”.

Gordon’s controversial goal secured a 1-0 victory for Newcastle and ended Arsenal’s 10-game unbeaten Premier League start.

“Arsenal Football Club wholeheartedly supports Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments after yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors on Saturday evening,” read a club statement.

“We’d also like to acknowledge the huge effort and performance from our players and travelling supporters at St James’ Park.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players, coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better.

“PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies.

“We support the ongoing efforts of chief refereeing officer Howard Webb and would welcome working together to achieve the world-class officiating standards our league demands.”

Arteta failed to hide his anger at St James’ Park after referee Stuart Attwell awarded the Newcastle goal following a triple VAR check to see whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel and whether Gordon had been offside.

Tom Naylor dumped his old club Portsmouth out of the FA Cup as Chesterfield won their first-round tie 1-0 at the SMH Group Stadium.

Former Pompey midfielder Naylor headed home in the first half as the National League leaders defeated opponents who hold the same position in the League One table.

Ollie Banks forced Will Norris into the first save and then curled a shot just wide as the Spireites started well.

Portsmouth’s Paddy Lane shot at the near post but Harry Tyrer saved low to his left at the expense of a corner.

Chesterfield claimed a deserved lead just after the half hour as Liam Mandeville curled in a free-kick and Naylor beat Norris to the ball to head home.

Colby Bishop’s downward header was too close to Tyrer as the home side comfortably held their lead to the break.

Banks shot at Norris early in the second half and Armando Dobra twice saw penalty appeals denied as Chesterfield continued to dominate with an hour gone.

Portsmouth substitute Abu Kamara headed wide as the visitors looked for a way back into the tie.

But Paul Cook’s side had done enough to reach round two.

Norwich’s slump continued as they fell to a painful 3-1 defeat at the hands of 10-man Blackburn at Carrow Road.

The Canaries have now lost eight times in 10 games in all competitions, slipping to 17th in the Championship, and there were calls for head coach David Wagner to go during another below-par showing.

Blackburn scored twice in the opening 15 minutes through Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics to take control, and a second from Szmodics early in the second half ended the game as a contest, even through Rovers’ Scott Wharton was sent off shortly afterwards.

Norwich got one back in injury time through Gabriel Sara, but it was no more than a consolation for the struggling hosts.

The Canaries were well off the pace in the early stages and were duly punished as the visitors scored two well-taken goals.

At times a slick Rovers side were able to play their way through a nervous looking City backline at will and it was no surprise when they took the lead after eight minutes with a goal of classic simplicity.

Joe Rankin-Costello found himself in some space on the right and slid the ball infield to Dolan who burst into the box before producing an emphatic finish into the roof of the net.

It got worse for the hosts in the 15th minute when Rovers added a second. Their defence was again caught square as Andrew Moran put Szmodics in and the striker buried an unstoppable low shot into the bottom corner to make it two.

There were chants of ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ from the Norwich fans when that one went in, with head coach Wagner already under pressure after his side’s poor run of form.

The Canaries did improve as the half wore on, and Ui Jo Hwang and Marcelino Nunez both got decent efforts of target before Onel Hernandez fired just wide from the edge of the area after being fed by Jack Stacey.

But overall it was still a poor first-half showing, and the second started in similar fashion for the Canaries as they shipped another soft goal four minutes after the restart.

This time Dolan had all the time in the world to clip a ball out to an unmarked Moran on the right and crossed low for Szmodics to tap in at the far post, with the Rovers top scorer getting the benefit of a tight offside call.

Norwich desperately needed a boost at that point and got one a few minutes later when Wharton was red-carded after bringing down Hernandez as the Cuban raced through on goal, although the subsequent free-kick from Nunez was comfortably gathered by Leopold Wahlstedt.

Wagner made a quadruple substitution on the hour mark in an attempt to change the course of the game and one of them, Christian Fassnacht, brought an excellent reaction save out of the Rovers keeper with a powerful back-post header.

Norwich were now firmly on the front foot, with Nunez blasting just wide and Sara seeing a goal-bound shot well blocked and they finally reduced the arrears in the second minute of injury time.

Wahlstedt could only parry a low cross from Przemyslaw Placheta and it fell nicely for Sara to side-foot home from just outside the six-yard box.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe revealed his side’s hard-fought 1-0 win against Arsenal came at a price with Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy both sustaining injuries.

Anthony Gordon’s controversial second-half winner halted Arsenal’s unbeaten Premier League start to the season after a triple VAR check.

But Howe faces an anxious wait to learn the full extent of Burn’s back injury, while Murphy will have surgery after popping the same shoulder he dislocated last month and now faces three months out.

Howe, already without eight senior players through injury, said: “Two injuries that I don’t think you can do a lot about. Dan jumps for a ball, lands on his back and he’s in a lot of pain at the moment.

“So that looks worrying for us. Jacob – he knew there was a chance he could do his shoulder again, but he was prepared to take the risk.

“Unfortunately we lost him and we will lose him now to an operation, so a difficult moment, but the players just responded superbly.”

Newcastle extended their unbeaten league run to seven games and closed the gap on the title-chasing Gunners to four points after edging a tetchy, physical encounter of few chances.

“The players, the group have been unbelievable,” Howe said. “They’ve really stepped up. We’re in a difficult moment, we’ve got a lot of injuries.

“We’re playing in a lot of competitions, a lot of football, but the players are committed to everything and I can’t praise them enough.

“Again, we had to step up in a really difficult game against a top opponent. We’re stretched with injuries, losing players within the game again.

“We’ll have to see how Dan’s injury is. Dan’s been magnificent for us, we desperately don’t want to lose him, he gives us so much in different ways. Let’s see how feels.”

Howe admitted the decision to send second-half substitute Murphy into the fray had been a risk the player and medical team had been prepared to take.

When asked how long his rehabilitation would be, Howe added: “Off the top of my head I’m not sure, but it will probably be three months I think.”

Furious Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said VAR Andy Madley’s decision to award Gordon’s goal was “an absolute disgrace”.

In his post-match rant, the 41-year-old Spaniard said he was “embarrassed” by the standard of the Premier League’s officiating.

Madley’s four-minute check looked at whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock crossed for the winner, whether Joelinton had fouled Gabriel and if Gordon had been offside.

Arteta was delighted with his players’ performance, adding: “I have to praise them. It’s not in their hands, it’s not in their control. I have to praise the players the way they played here.

“How much they limited Newcastle and how much we tried, it’s incredible. The way we competed against this team, because they are a top team.

“So to get out of the game like this, I feel sick. That’s how I feel, sick to be part of this.”

Newcastle have condemned the racist abuse sent to Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock on social media following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal.

Anthony Gordon’s controversial second-half winner ended the Gunners’ unbeaten start to the Premier League season.

Willock revealed the abuse he had been sent on Instagram and urged the platform to find those responsible.

“Newcastle United strongly condemns racist abuse sent to Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock via social media following Saturday’s victory over Arsenal,” a Newcastle statement read.

“Our message is clear. There is no room for racism in football or society.

“We are providing support to Bruno and Joe and will work with relevant authorities and social media platforms to identify those responsible so that they can be held to account.”

Micky Hazard will applaud former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino when he returns with Chelsea and hopes “class and dignity” will be shown by the club’s supporters.

Pochettino will come back to Spurs for the first time since his 2019 dismissal on Monday night, but could be greeted with boos due to a fanbase split over his decision to join bitter rivals Chelsea despite a memorable five years in N17.

The climax of Pochettino’s tenure was a remarkable run to the Champions League final, while he also masterminded two ultimately unsuccessful title challenges.

Ex-midfielder Hazard has walked in Pochettino’s shoes after he left boyhood club Spurs in 1985 to move to Stamford Bridge, but remembers his return 12 months later where he scored twice in a 3-1 win for Chelsea.

“When I went back, I would like to think I got applause and cheers because the fans respected the job I did for them,” 1984 UEFA Cup winner Hazard told the PA news agency.

“They also respected I had a job to do because I was at another club and it was no slur on Spurs that I scored two goals. And it almost felt like it was two own goals because Spurs is my team.

“When Pochettino comes back and while the rivalry is that much greater nowadays, I think it is important as a fanbase we rise above it.

“We can show dignity and class by welcoming him back – not giving him a guard of honour as Ange (Postecoglou) says but when his name is read out, to give him a round of applause as acknowledgement and recognition of what he achieved.

“Then we go out and try to win the game and Poch is the enemy then, but ultimately we have to respect the job he did. I for one will certainly give him a round of applause when his name is read out.”

Pundits had expected Pochettino to hit the ground running at Chelsea and Tottenham to struggle without record scorer Harry Kane.

The opposite has occurred, with Postecoglou embarking on a superb 10-game unbeaten start to the Premier League season, and Hazard lauded the impact of summer signing James Maddison.

He added: “Look, anyone that loses a player of the stature and quality of Harry Kane is not going to be a better side because of it, but what Ange has managed to do is introduce a style where the players enjoy playing to that style.

“Of course James Maddison has come in and been the hub of the team with the creativity. That’s something we haven’t had for a while, that instinctive, creative, flair player that can unlock tight defences, play telling passes and score the odd goal, so he has been a revelation.

“It has been a real pleasure for me to see and he has ignited quality elsewhere in the team as well, which is brilliant.

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“It feels like the players have all been given the freedom of expression within the framework of what Ange wants. There are smiley, happy faces on the pitch and we’re playing smiley, happy football, so they both go hand-in-hand and for me it is a joy to watch.”

While Hazard acknowledged there are “bigger tests” to come for Spurs, they pale into insignificance compared to the challenge his family has faced in recent times.

Hazard’s nephew Jay took his own life in 2019 but through the darkest of periods Hazard’s sister Michelle joined forces with her brother to set up Legend on the Bench charity.

It aims to raise funds to put benches in parks across the UK with telephone numbers on to help with suicide prevention and the first bench in memory of Jay, which will have the numbers of mental health helplines lit up, will be installed on February 28 in Sawbridgeworth.

The next fundraising event will occur at Fishers Green Car Park on November 18 with a 10-kilometre trek.

“We set the charity up in memory of Jay and we decided to go down the path of fundraising to help people in similar situations because we had no idea Jay was about to do it. He never spoke to anybody,” Hazard reflected.

“We named it Legend on the Bench and people sometimes think we mean like former players, but no, it is the name of the telephone numbers because they are the people who are the legends, the people that people will ring and who will save them.

“And the message is talk. There is always someone there to listen or to talk to, so if you are sitting there in your moment of need, just give those numbers a call and someone will be ready to talk to and possibly we save a life.”