Jurgen Klopp turned up the heat on Newcastle and Manchester United as Liverpool moved within a point of the Champions League spots by crushing relegation-threatened Leicester.

Liverpool registered their seventh consecutive victory, securing qualification for European football in the process, thanks to Curtis Jones’ first-half double and a sensational strike from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the second half.

Both third-placed Newcastle and Manchester United in fourth have a game in hand on Klopp’s team, although such is Liverpool’s momentum that they are firm favourites to take maximum points from their final two games against Aston Villa and Southampton.

‘I have been in that position before,’ said Klopp. ‘You hope the team chasing you loses, and you have that pressure off your shoulders. We have had it in the past, where we have had to win and win and win.

‘I expect Newcastle and Manchester United to do the same but our form keeps them on their toes and that’s our job. We have a super difficult game against Aston Villa at the weekend.

Jurgen Klopp has hailed Liverpool’s ‘crazy run’ of victories in pursuit of a top four finish

Curtis Jones got two of the visitors’ goals as they beat Leicester City 3-0 on Monday night

‘But we have qualified for Europe, which six or seven weeks ago I didn’t believe could happen. There was only one chance to get there, by winning all the games, and that’s what we’ve done. It’s crazy.’

Leicester are two points adrift and could be relegated if Everton win at Wolves on Saturday and the Foxes lose at Newcastle next Monday. They were chants of ‘We are going down’ and ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ from the home fans, many of whom left long before the final whistle.

Dean Smith said: ‘I wouldn’t question our fight or attitude but if you lose at home when you’re fighting relegation, I understand why fans react in certain ways. I still believe we will stay up.’

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Jurgen Klopp hails Liverpool’s ‘crazy run’ of wins which has put them in the European places

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The head of a boarding school unknowingly hosted more than 70 overnight guests at her on-campus home.

The epic prank was hatched last month by the graduating class at St. Andrews school in Middletown, Delaware.

In a now-viral Instagram video, Joy McGrath, who is clad in a bathrobe and yellow Crocs, wanders into her kitchen at 6 a.m. and discovers a pile of students camped out on her floor. McGrath’s jaw drops and she dashes out of the room.

“I was in shock. They were in every possible corner like sardines,” McGrath tells TODAY.com. “It took me a second to realize, ‘This is a senior prank!’”

McGrath returns moments later, and takes in the full scene. There are kids everywhere. 

“Good morning, little bunnies!” McGrath says in the clip, as the class of 2023 erupts into laughter. 

McGrath’s husband, Ty Jones, was in on the wholesome gag and left the front door unlocked so they could sneak in at 1 a.m. 

KaiChun “Austin” Chuang, who filmed McGrath’s reaction, tells TODAY.com that he and his peers dreamed up the idea after their senior prom.

“Mrs. McGrath invited all of us over for breakfast at like 12 a.m.,” Chuang, 18, recalls. “Someone joked that they wouldn’t mind going to bed right there in the living room. Then a couple of us glanced at each other like, ‘hmmmm.’”

Their plan went went off without a hitch.

“I can sleep through anything,” McGrath says. Case in point: McGrath, who graduated from St. Andrews in 1992, can’t remember her own senior prank.

“I slept through that one, too!” she says.

Before heading back to their dorms, the seniors enjoyed a breakfast of doughnuts and coffee with McGrath and her husband. 

“Mrs. McGrath takes such good care of us,” Chuang says. “Whenever people have a problem, they feel comfortable talking to her. She works hard to build trust.”

The Denver Broncos agreed to terms on a trade with the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday evening that will allow Sean Payton to become Denver’s new head coach.

Payton will now coach the team’s players and general manager George Paton will continue overseeing the club’s personnel department. Meanwhile, former quarterback Peyton Manning does not have an official role with the Broncos, but he remains closely connected to the team.

So that’s Paton, Payton and Peyton — all pronounced “pay-ton.”

The trio of shared (but spelled differently) names has fans and pundits in Denver expecting plenty of confusion going forward.

Even the Broncos’ official Twitter account got in on the fun with a tweet using the popular Spider-Man meme format:

Here’s a sampling of how the rest of Twitter has reacted to the creation of Paton-Payton-Peyton.

Peyton Manning
George Paton
Sean Payton

The Broncos have a type

RIP to broadcast journalists in Denver who will now have to distinguish Paton, Payton and Peyton, which all have the same pronunciation.

— Vic Vela (@VicVela1) February 1, 2023

Please hire Peyton Manning as SOMETHING over at Dove Valley.
I need the Law Office of Paton, Payton & Peyton to happen.

Almost got the law firm of Paton Payton and Peyton ready to open for business….#BroncosCountry

Payton, Paton and Peyton always and forever 👍🏻❤️🙏 https://t.co/8EeXWLmcFh

— Byron Kerr (@bkerrpxp) January 31, 2023

The Denver Broncos: Peyton/Paton/Payton’s Place

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) January 31, 2023

It won’t be at all confusing that the Broncos head coach is Payton, the GM is Paton and actively involved very famous player is Peyton.

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) January 31, 2023

Get Manning in the room for a ceremonial photo op just for the historic Peyton-Paton-Payton meeting. https://t.co/6p2CZr5clY

— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) January 31, 2023

— Jon Evans  (@maybejonevans) January 31, 2023

Here’s a handy guide to try to help prevent confusion.

A guide:

❌Sean Peyton
❌Sean Paton
❌Payton Manning
❌Paton Manning
❌George Peyton
❌George Payton
✅Sean Payton
✅Peyton Manning
✅George Paton

— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) February 1, 2023

Along with Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner, the Broncos are in good hands thanks to the Paton-Payton-Peyton trio. This will never get old.

William Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s past is prologue.” Over the four centuries since, that line has become a popular cliché, and the reason that it has become a popular cliché is that it’s often true. Of course, “The reason it’s a cliché is that it’s true” has also become a popular cliché. I don’t have a good explanation for that one, and I’m glad I don’t, because in Philadelphia, we don’t have time to hurl ourselves into an endlessly spinning and self-perpetuating void of language theory. We have important matters to address. Like the 76ers’ search for a new head coach.

» READ MORE: Who should be the next Sixers coach? You decide.

Doc Rivers’ past was definitely prologue for his three years here. He arrived having won a championship with the Celtics in 2008 but carrying a reputation as a coach whose teams failed to finish off playoff series that they ought to have won. Sure enough, in 2021, the Sixers were heavily favored over the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals, took a two-games-to-one lead, took an 18-point lead in Game 4 and a 26-point lead in Game 5 … and lost the series. Then, just this month, the Sixers took a three-games-to-two lead on the Celtics and held a two-point lead with 4½ minutes to go at home in Game 6 … and lost the series. Rivers, in turn, lost his job.

Each of Rivers’ potential replacements has his or her own history and baggage. Likewise, the Philadelphia market has some traits and trends that can make coaching the Sixers particularly challenging. So in the interest of honesty and openness, let’s lay everyone’s cards on the table (another awesome cliché) and explore how the past could be a prologue or a preface or a preview of the Sixers’ future.

Mike Budenholzer

From a big-picture perspective, Budenholzer would seem a terrific choice. Anybody who can win 60 games in a season with the Hawks, then guide the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 years, has a resumé that speaks for itself. But there’s long been a caveat with Budenholzer: He has not been as successful as he could have been, in part because of his unwillingness or inability to make the sorts of in-game adjustments and instinctual decisions that might help his team.

Reporter: The Heat went on a 27-0 run there in the fourth quarter, and you never called timeout. Why?

Budenholzer: We don’t need to waste a timeout there. We need to be able to pull ourselves out of those situations.

Reporter: But Joel Embiid fell to the court.

Budenholzer: I know.

Reporter: And didn’t get up for six minutes.

Reporter: Mike, he passed out.

Budenholzer: Exactly.

Nurse earned a ring when he, Kawhi Leonard, and the Toronto Raptors went on an enchanted ride through the 2019 postseason. He also, according to a recent report in The Athletic, tends to rely heavily on veterans — perhaps too heavily — and has sometimes criticized players in the media before speaking to them privately.

Reporter: Nick, you guys went scoreless over the final three minutes. James Harden had the ball in his hands a lot during that time. What did you see from him?

Nurse: Nothing. I saw nothing. Other than one guy driving the lane, trying to get foul calls, and turning the ball over too much.

Reporter: Have you talked to James about that?

Nurse: Who?

Reporter: Tyrese Maxey didn’t play most of the fourth quarter, either. How come?

Nurse: Who?

Frank Vogel

On paper, Vogel probably ought to be one of the more prominent candidates for this position. He grew up in South Jersey, was a Sixers assistant coach for a season, and as a head coach won two division titles with the Pacers and the 2020 NBA championship with the Lakers. As a native of Wildwood Crest, though, Vogel might be tempted to wear an “I’M WITH STUPID” tank top and “IT WON’T SMACK ITSELF” jean shorts to his introductory press conference, which would be a bad look for Josh Harris and Daryl Morey.

Dawn Staley

My colleagues Mike Jensen and Marcus Hayes already have made compelling arguments for why the Sixers should consider hiring Staley. She has the background, the intelligence, and the credibility as a local and national heroine to thrive in the job. But there’s no predicting how a coach without any NBA experience will fare once he or she enters the league. And no matter how focused Staley herself would be on the performance of her team and the outcome of each game, there would always be an element of novelty to her tenure. That novelty would inevitably lead to the kind of patronizing coverage that someone as accomplished and competitive as Staley would only resent.

NEW YORK — Dawn Staley struck another blow for equality and social justice Friday, becoming the first NBA head coach who identifies as Black and female to lose seven consecutive games as the Sixers fell to the Nets at Barclays Center, 113-98.

Jay Wright

Wright’s name always comes up whenever the Sixers have a coaching vacancy, despite all the facts and factors that have always made it unlikely at best that he would ever take the job. He is already a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and a beloved figure in the region. Like Mike Krzyzewski or Staley or any marvelous college coach, he doesn’t necessarily need to work in the NBA to validate his greatness.

» READ MORE: Jay Wright is becoming the TV face of college hoops. He’d be nuts to coach again.

More than anything, Wright has been smart enough to understand how good he has it now — he’s pulling in plenty of coin as a college basketball analyst and through his endorsement deals — and how good he had it at Villanova. If he and the Wildcats bowed out early in the NCAA Tournament, it was a broad discussion topic and a cause for widespread criticism around here for 24 hours at most. Then, everyone moved on to wondering whether the Eagles would draft a running back and worrying about who the Phillies’ fifth starter would be. He wouldn’t have that luxury with the Sixers, so why would he put himself through the headache?

Radio host: You were a great coach at Villanova. Now you stink. What happened?

Wright: I just think we’re going through a tough time right now.

Radio host: No, you stink. You’re not even handsome anymore. Get out.