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| Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min scores their third goal REUTERS/David Klein |
Tottenham Hotspur moved into the Premier League top four after a second-half blitz of goals from Matt Doherty, Son Heung-min, Emerson Royal and Steven Bergwijn fired them to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Newcastle United on Sunday.
Spurs are now level on 54 points with Arsenal but their London rivals have two games in hand and can move back into fourth place when they visit Crystal Palace on Monday. Newcastle are 15th with 31 points, nine clear of the relegation zone.
Much of the first half was played in Newcastle territory but Tottenham failed to find a way through their opponents before the away side grabbed a surprise lead in the 39th minute through Fabian Schar, who drilled a low free kick past Hugo Lloris.
Newcastleโs lead lasted only four minutes as Ben Davies got in front of his marker to head home a delightful Son cross and bring to life a dour half that had initially promised little.
Spurs took the lead almost immediately after the restart thorugh wing back Dohertyโs diving header from a Harry Kane cross before the dangerous Son doubled their advantage in the 54th minute as he finished off a sweeping move.
Dejan Kulusevski, who joined Tottenham on loan from Juventus in January, was a constant threat down the right as he set up Sonโs goal and often combined brilliantly with the South Korean and England striker Kane to stretch the Newcastle defence.
โWhen you see your team play this way, you enjoy it,โ said Spurs manager Antonio Conte. โWe played a really good game. Newcastle are not easy to face. They try to be compact and deep to not concede space.โ
Newcastle made a double switch just before the hour, bringing on Jacob Murphy and Bruno Guimaraes, but Tottenham heaped more misery on the visitors as Emerson and substitute Bergwijn added two more goals to complete the rout.
โIn the second half we controlled the game and had the chances to secure the result. Newcastle are well prepared and have good players. We are in a good moment. The team are growing in every aspect,โ added Conte.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said the second goal made all the difference after his side had displayed great defensive solidity in the opening stages.
โWe contributed to that (scoreline). We were 1-0 up and executing a good plan. We were controlling them as best we could. The second goal is the key thing,โ he said.
โWe chased the game in a way you canโt against this type of team. We took risks and didnโt execute it well enough,โ added Howe, whose team have now lost their last three league games.
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| West Ham Unitedโs Michail Antonio in action with Evertonโs Mason Holgate and Demarai Gray REUTERS/Tony Obrien |
West Ham sink 10-man Everton as Cresswell, Bowen strike
West Ham United boosted their bid for European qualification as defender Aaron Cresswellโs brilliant free kick and forward Jarrod Bowenโs second-half strike sealed a 2-1 Premier League win over 10-man Everton at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Victory saw West Ham climb three spots to fifth with 51 points from 31 games, three points behind fourth-placed London rivals Arsenal having played three games more, while Everton remain in 17th, three points above the drop zone.
Bowen stroked the winner into the net in the 58th minute after Michail Antonio had his effort saved, but relegation-threatened Everton only had themselves to blame as Alex Iwobi had gifted possession to David Moyesโ side in the build-up.
The goal marked a memorable return for Bowen from a right heel injury that had ruled him out of the last four games and the 25-year-old, who has scored nine goals and provided eight assists this season, was delighted.
โThatโs what you want when you have been out. It has been four weeks. The time has been annoying but to come back into the starting eleven and get the three points, I donโt think you can ask for more,โ Bowen told Sky Sports.
โWe knew they would come out chasing the game, it was just about dealing with it. They got the goal and it was a kick in the teeth. Itโs about the reaction and we showed it.โ
Earlier, boyhood Liverpool fan Cresswell heaped the misery on their 17th-placed Merseyside rivals in the 32nd minute as he curled the ball into the top right corner to make it 1-0 after Bowen drew a foul from Mason Holgate in a promising position.
โIt was a great feeling to do that,โ Cresswell told the BBC. โDelighted with the goal but the main thing is three points.
โWe practice free kicks before a game. You can practice all you want but it is what happens out there. I have a few mates who are Everton fans and they have been giving me stick this week so I might have gone over the top in my celebrations.โ
Holgate, a late addition to the Everton team after Donny van de Beekโs injury during the warm-up, made it 1-1 after the break with his first league goal of the season although his shot took a big deflection to go past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Everton were reduced to 10 men for the third straight league match as skipper Michael Keane was shown his second yellow card for a lunging tackle on Antonio, leaving Frank Lampardโs side facing an even more daunting task for more than 25 minutes.
West Ham can now look forward to Thursdayโs Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash at home to Olympique Lyonnais, while Everton visitfellow Premier League strugglers Burnley on Wednesday looking for only their second away win of the season.
โThe performance today was a lot better than we had been doing, but ultimately it doesnโt equal three points,โ Holgate said. โThe game on Wednesday is huge now. We have to win.โ
Second-bottom Burnley are four points behind Everton, who have 25, and a point off Watford, who have played 30 games โ two more than the other two teams. Norwich City have 18 from 30.
REUTERS
