Liverpool avoids damaging defeat to Man United but drops points in three-way race for the title

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Having ended Liverpool’s quadruple challenge, Manchester United looked set to deliver a major blow to Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of bowing out at the end of the season with a second Premier League title.

Time will tell how damaging a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday will be to the Merseyside club in the three-way fight at the top, but it could have been so much worse if not for Mohamed Salah’s late penalty.

“We should have won the game, that is clear,” Klopp said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a point more than we did before.”

It wasn’t only the prospect of defeat at the home of Liverpool’s fiercest rivals that felt so significant, but the nature of it.

Klopp’s team had totally dominated by raining down shots on United’s goal in a mismatched first half, but only managed to lead 1-0 at the break through Luis Diaz’s goal.

The atmosphere totally changed when Bruno Fernandes struck a stunning equalizer from inside the center circle after a Liverpool mistake and Kobbie Mainoo curled a superb shot into the top corner to give United the lead.

After victories for Arsenal and Manchester City on Saturday, Liverpool was heading toward a second defeat to United, after losing in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup last month.

That was until Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s reckless lunge at Harvey Elliott led to referee Anthony Taylor pointing to the spot and Salah converting.

The draw moved Liverpool level on points with first-place Arsenal, but behind on goal difference. City is a point behind in third in an ever-tightening title race.

“You shouldn’t do what we do today constantly, that won’t be enough. Definitely not,” Klopp said.

Klopp said in January that he would step down at the end of the season. He has already led Liverpool to the English League Cup and the club is still in contention to win the Europa League. Klopp is hoping to win the Premier League title for a second time after ending the club’s 30-year wait for the trophy in 2020.

UNITED FIGHTS

Erik ten Hag needed a performance from his players in front of new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe.

A desperately disappointing week had seen his team blow winning positions in stoppage time at Brentford and Chelsea to deliver blows to United’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

While this was another late setback, United’s response to being totally outplayed in the first half will have provided some encouragement to the manager.

But the pressure will still be on him to salvage a campaign that has failed to live up to expectations.

“When you put yourself three times in a week in a winning position, just before the end of the game, but then drop points, it is very disappointing,” Ten Hag said.

LATE DRAMA

On Thursday, it was Chelsea pulling off a late comeback to stun United.

On Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino’s team was on the wrong end of stoppage-time drama as last-place Sheffield United fought back to earn a 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane after Ollie McBurnie’s equalizer in the third minute of added time.

Chelsea twice squandered the lead after opening the scoring through Thiago Silva and going in front again through Noni Madueke.

While Sheffield United looks almost certain to be relegated this season, it showed fight in front of its home fans.

Jayden Bogle leveled the game in the first half before McBurnie’s late effort.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Tottenham moved up to fourth after a 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest to take charge of the race for the last guaranteed Champions League place.

Spurs moved above fifth-place Aston Villa on goal difference and also has a game in hand on its closest rival.

Forest, meanwhile, missed the chance to move further clear of the relegation zone and is above 18th-place Luton on goal difference alone.

An own-goal from Murillo put the hosts ahead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before Chris Wood leveled for Forest in the first half.

But two goals in the space of six minutes from Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro after the break sealed the win for Ange Postecoglou's team.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tottenham's Son Heung-min, right vies for the ball with Nottingham Forest's Andrew Omobamidele during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forrest t White Hart Lane stadium in London, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Tottenham's Pedro Porro celebrates after scoring his side third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forrest t White Hart Lane stadium in London, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou applauds the fan after the end of the during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forrest t White Hart Lane stadium in London, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Sheffield United players greet fans after the English Premier League soccer match between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Sheffield United's Oli McBurnie, centre, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Chelsea's Thiago Silva reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag applauds during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes scores his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, centre, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, left, scores his side's second goal by a penalty past Manchester United's goalkeeper Andre Onana during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool's manager Jurgen Klopp reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, April 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two Broadway shows celebrating the spark of sonic creativity — the musical “Hell’s Kitchen” fueled by Alicia Keys songs, and the play "Stereophonic" about a '70s rock band at the edge of stardom — each earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, a list that also saw a record number of women nominated for best director.

“This is totally crazy. It took me about an hour to get myself together. I couldn’t even formulate words,” Keys said after her special morning where the show loosely based on her life was nominated for best new musical and four acting awards as well as best scenic design, costumes, lighting, sound design, direction, choreography and orchestrations. “This is unbelievable. This is so special. All of the collaborators that have been a part of this process, everybody being able to get recognized for their beautiful brilliance. I am totally at a loss for words. Don't ask me to write a song.”

A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nod or more, with the musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of the beloved S. E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film, earning 12 nominations; a starry revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne, nabbing nine; and "Appropriate," Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ searing play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has competing motivations and grievances, grabbing eight.

The nominations marked a smashing of the Tony record for most women named in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards had held the record for most female directing nominees, with four total across the two races — musical and play. Only 10 women have gone on to win a directing crown.

This year, three women were nominated for best play direction — Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”) and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”) — while four were nominated in the musical category — Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along“), Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”) Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).

“The one thing I feel is it’s starting to feel less remarkable, which is great news,” Stone said after her nomination. “We are directors and not women directors. I’m noticing it more and more and that’s a wonderful thing to think about. It’s a wonderful place to be."

“Stereophonic,” which became the most-nominated play in Tony history, earned nominations for playwright David Adjmi and for its songs by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire. It's the story of a Fleetwood Mac-like band over a life-changing year, with personal rifts opening and closing and then reopening. Butler says it is about art's “horror and its beauty.”

An album of the rock-roots music heard during the play will be available next month and Butler has high hopes: “We wanted it to stand up against Tom Petty and ‘Rumors’ and the new Beyoncé country record,” he said. “Making it was its own reward.”

Rachel McAdams, making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a best actress in a play nomination, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, got his first ever nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy of the People” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” fame nabbd one for leading "Doubt." Jessica Lange in “Mother Play,” Sarah Paulson in “Appropriate” and Amy Ryan, who stepped in at the last minute for a revival of “Doubt,” also earned nominations in the best actress in a play category.

"The Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons earned a supporting nod for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe on his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim's “Merrily We Roll Along,” won his first nomination.

Radcliffe, caring for his infant son on Tony nominations morning, said he felt incredibly lucky and called being in the musical alongside Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez — both also nominated — “one of the most special experiences of my professional career.”

“I have always felt like doing stage and particularly doing it here has been such a huge part of my career and sort of like finding out who I was as an actor outside of Harry Potter,” he said. “I think it’s kind of been the making of me.”

Redmayne in his second show on Broadway got a nod as best lead actor in a musical, as did Brian d’Arcy James for “Days of Wine and Roses,” Brody Grant in “The Outsiders,” Jonathan Groff in “Merrily We Roll Along” and 73-year-old Dorian Harewood in “The Notebook,” the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks romantic tearjerker. Harewood, in his first Broadway show in 46 years, landed his first Tony nomination.

It was one of three nominations for “The Notebook,” but the musical’s composer, Ingrid Michaelson, didn’t earn a nomination, nor did Barry Manilow for his show “Harmony.” A revival of “The Wiz” also failed to garner any nominations.

Redmayne's “Cabaret” co-star Gayle Rankin earned a nomination for best actress in a musical, as did Eden Espinosa in “Lempicka,” Maleah Joi Moon in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses” and 71-year-old Maryann Plunkett, who plays the elderly wife at the heart of “The Notebook.”

Steve Carell in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya” failed to secure a nod, but starry producers who earned Tony nods include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (for “Suffs”).

The best new musical crown will be a battle between “Hell's Kitchen,” “The Outsiders,” the dance-heavy, dialogue-less stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’s 2005 album “Illinois,” “Suffs,” based on the American suffragists of the early 20th century, and “Water for Elephants,” which combines Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.

The best new play Tony will pit “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s play about a mother and her kids spanning 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a young boy with health issues; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama that deals with Zionism, religious fervency and antisemitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women working at a salon.

Lamar Richardson, an actor-turned-producer, had many reasons to smile Tuesday. He helped produce the new revivals of “The Wiz, "“Merrily We Roll Along“ and “Appropriate.”

“I really think this is Broadway at its best,” he said. “There’s really something for everyone. There’s the quintessential big jukebox musical. There’s the niche moving three-hander plays. I think that this really is a smorgasbord of what Broadway can offer up, and showing it still, of course, is a major player on the art scene. And it’s here to stay.”

A spring barrage of new shows — 14 shows opened in an 11-day span this year — is not unusual these days as producers hope their work will be fresh in the mind of voters ahead of the Tony Awards ceremony on June 16.

There were some firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love” with Broadway's first all-Filipino cast, which earned four nominations, including best original score for David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim. And seven openly autistic actors starred in “How to Dance in Ohio,” a first for Broadway but which got no Tony love.

Academy Award winner and Tony Award-nominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted both the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will be back this year and will produce and choreograph the opening number.

This year’s location — the David H. Koch Theater — is the home of New York City Ballet and in the same sprawling building complex as Lincoln Square Theater, which houses the Broadway venue Beaumont Theater.

Like last year, the three-hour main telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. EDT/5 p.m.-8 p.m. PDT with a pre-show on Pluto TV, and some Tony Awards handed out there.

This season's Broadway numbers — about $1.4 billion in grosses and 11.1 million tickets — is running slightly less than the 2022-23 season, off about 4% in grosses and down 1% in tickets.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

This image released by O&M/DKC shows promotional art for "Stereophonic." (Julieta Cervantes/O&M/DKC via AP)

This image released by Polk & Co. shows Kecia Lewis, left, and Maleah Joi Moon during a performance of "Hell's Kitchen." (Marc J. Franklin/Polk & Co. via AP)

This image released by Polk & Co. shows Maleah Joi Moon, left, and Chris Lee during a performance of "Hell's Kitchen." (Marc J. Franklin/Polk & Co. via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows, from left, Alison Luff, Olive Ross-Kline and Adam Jacobs during a performance of "The Who's Tommy." (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Maryann Plunkett, left, and Dorian Harewood during a performance of "The Notebook." (Julieta Cervantes/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Ryan Vasquez, right, and Joy Woods during a performance of "The Notebook." (Julieta Cervantes/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

FILE - The stage appears before the start of the 75th annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2022 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)