Spurs give Mourinho win over old rival Guardiola
LONDON— Jose Mourinho, with his team atop the English Premier League, enjoyed bragging rights over Pep Guardiola in their long-standing rivalry as Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday.
Chelsea moved up to second place while Aston Villa’s strong early form continued to fade.
In a typical Guardiola-vs.Mourinho game, Cuty enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, only to be frustrated by Tottenham’s compact defence and sliced apart on counterattacks.
“Everyone worked their socks off,” Tottenham captain Harry Kane told Sky Sports. “We knew in the second half that chances would be available and thankfully we took some in the end.”
Kane has either scored or assisted on at least one goal in each of his last eight league games.
Son Heung-min gave Tottenham the lead in the fifth minute when Kane pulled both City centre-backs out of position, leaving the way clear for the South Korean to latch onto Tanguy Ndombele’s pass and score. With a one-goal advantage, Tottenham was happy to sit back and deflect City’s attacks.
City has yet to score at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in three visits since Tottenham moved in last year. Aymeric Laporte briefly thought he had ended that run, but his goal was disallowed because Gabriel Jesus controlled the ball with his arm before passing to Laporte.
City pushed up and left space for Tottenham to counter. Kane had three passing options on a 65th-minute break and he opted for Giovani Lo Celso, who scored with his first action after coming on as a substitute.
Tottenham has 20 points, two more than Chelsea and Leicester.
Chelsea 2, Newcastle 0: Timo Werner missed chances to score for visiting Chelsea, but he still lifted the team past Newcastle.
The German forward brought the ball out of his own half on a lightning solo counter before laying it off to Tammy Abraham to score the winning goal. It was Abraham’s third goal in his last three games for Chelsea. Chelsea had earlier taken the lead when Newcastle defender Federico
Fernandez knocked Mason Mount’s cross into his own net. Scoring at the correct end of the field was much tougher for Newcastle; its first shot on goal didn’t come until a deflected shot in the 82nd minute. Brighton 2, Aston Villa 1: After its high-flying start to the season, Aston Villa looks increasingly earthbound. Solly March’s goal from the edge of the box gave Brighton a win at Villa. Villa has lost three of its last four league games, while Brighton claimed its first win since Sept. 20 and now has a six-point cushion to the relegation zone.