FOOTBALL – TOTTENHAM Hotspur eased their Premier League relegation fears with a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa to move above West Ham United and out of the bottom three yesterday.
West Ham’s defeat by Brentford the day before opened the door for Tottenham and they took full advantage with Conor Gallagher’s low shot and Richarlison’s header punishing a lacklustre Villa inside the opening 25 minutes.
Fifth-placed Villa were poor and did not have an effort on target until Emiliano Buendia’s header halved the deficit seconds before the final whistle.
Tottenham had gone 15 games without a league win before stopping the rot at Wolverhampton Wanderers last week and despite a host of injuries they looked unrecognisable at Villa Park to the side that has struggled so badly.
New manager Roberto de Zerbi has now taken seven points from his first three games in charge and while Tottenham are not yet safe from a first relegation since 1977, they have momentum heading into their final three games.
Tottenham moved into 17th place with 37 points from 35 games with West Ham on 36 from 35. They also have a far superior goal difference to their London rivals. Villa remain in fifth place with 58 points.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo struck late to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory over rivals Liverpool as the home side secured their return to the Champions League next season after a two-year absence.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo had hauled Liverpool level in the second half after costly United errors, but Mainoo had the final say with a strike from the edge of the 18-yard box in the 77th minute to send Old Trafford into raptures.
Bournemouth moved another step closer to a first European campaign in the club’s history with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace that stretched their unbeaten league run to 15 games and moved them back up to sixth in the table.
Andoni Iraola’s side climbed to 52 points, one ahead of Brentford, who beat West Ham United by the same scoreline on Saturday.
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