 |
| Alderweireld (partly hidden) heads in the the winner |
Toby Alderweireld’s 81st-minute header sealed a 2-1 Premier League victory for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal in the first north London derby in their new stadium on Sunday.
The match appeared to be heading for a draw but Alderweireld claimed all three points for Spurs to move Jose Mourinho’s side above Arsenal into eighth place in the battle for local pride.
With three games left Tottenham have 52 points to Arsenal’s 50, but are seven points behind fourth-placed Leicester City.
Arsenal took the lead in spectacular fashion with Alexandre Lacazette’s 17th-minute pile-driver but they were pegged back almost immediately as Son Heung-min punished a defensive error.
Both sides were denied by the woodwork and Arsenal were in the ascendancy after the break before Tottenham’s strong finish sealed a third successive home win since the restart.
Wolverhampton Wanderers boosted their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with an emphatic 3-0 home win over Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Victory lifted Nuno Espirito Santo’s side up to sixth in the standings with 55 points — four points behind fourth-placed Leicester City who play Bournemouth later on Sunday.
Everton remained in 11th place on 45 points, with Carlo Ancelotti’s dreams of European qualification fading with only three games left in the season.
“What was important was the timing when we scored, the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half,” Santo told Sky Sports.
“It’s very difficult for Everton to react at that moment and we were able to manage the game better.”
Wolves took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Daniel Podence was fouled by Lucas Digne and Raul Jimenez maintained his 100% penalty conversion rate this season to score his 16th goal of the league campaign.
Leander Dendoncker doubled the lead straight after the interval when he directed a glancing header past the outstretched arm of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Podence nearly made it 3-0 just after the hour mark when his shot on goal was spilled by Pickford but the Englishman recovered quickly to claw the ball back before it crossed the line and technology confirmed he had made the save.
Diogo Jota sealed the three points after midfielder Ruben Neves found him with a pinpoint cross-field ball and the Portuguese forward chested it down before firing an emphatic half-volley past Pickford at the near post.
Everton defender Seamus Coleman said their performance was “shocking” after the Merseyside club failed to win a third game in a row.
“There’s no hiding, they were better all over the pitch and we need to ask some serious questions of ourselves,” Coleman said. “The attitude and desire is not there, we got beat by the better team.
“As individuals, as a club we need to be expecting better and the lads really need to dig in or that won’t be good enough for this manager or this football club.”
Aston Villa revived their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League and ended a 10-game winless streak as two goals by Egyptian forward Trezeguet gave them a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The result lifted Villa one place to 18th on 30 points from 35 games, but they are still four points adrift of safety, while Palace stayed 14th on 42 points after a fifth successive defeat.
Villa manager Dean Smith praised his lively forward Trezeguet, who has endured a patchy start to his Premier League career since joining Villa from Turkish side Kasimpasa last year.
“He’s performed really well in the last two games,” said Smith. “He fully deserves his place. It’s funny, Trez is another one who came into the place last summer and it’s taken a while to adapt. His attitude is spot on, he works his socks off.”
Palace made a bright start and had a goal disallowed in the seventh minute after a VAR check deemed that the ball came off Mamadou Sakho’s arm although it appeared to have struck his shoulder.
Trezeguet fired Villa ahead in first-half stoppage time when he met a Conor Hourihane free kick at the far post and side-footed it superbly into the opposite corner from close range.
The home side had a penalty awarded by referee Martin Atkinson overturned after a lengthy VAR check, before Trezeguet doubled their lead in the 59th minute with a clinical finish from seven metres.
Atkinson sent off Palace striker Christian Benteke, a former Villa player, after the final whistle when the towering Belgian aimed a kick at home defender Ezri Konsa.
Tempers also flared in the first half when Villa‘s Tyrone Mings and Palace winger Wilfried Zaha were both booked after a scuffle involving several players from the two teams.
REUTERS
