Brace from Alli helps Tottenham end drought at Chelsea
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur ended 28 years of hurt and took a massive stride in the race for a topfour finish in the English Premier League as Dele Alli struck twice in a 31 victory at Chelsea yesterday.
Not since Gary Lineker scored the winning goal in 1990 had Tottenham taken three points home from Stamford Bridge and in 2016 its title hopes were ended by the Blues in a rumbustious draw dubbed the Battle of the Bridge.
Fourthplaced
Tottenham, unbeaten in the league since December, began the day five points clear of
Chelsea, but it looked like being a familiar tale of woe for Spurs when Alvaro Morata punished a Hugo Lloris mistake to head the home side in front.
Christian Eriksen bamboozled Willy Caballero with a dipping effort just before the break though and Alli, whose form and temperament has been questioned of late, struck twice in four minutes in the second half.
The sight of fit again Harry Kane coming on as a substitute added to the joy of Tottenham’s fans who could finally celebrate at Stamford Bridge after 27 league games there without a win — a run of 18 defeats and nine draws.
Tottenham has 64 points to Chelsea’s 56 with seven games remaining. Spurs is only two points behind thirdplaced Liverpool, having played a game fewer.
‘‘After 28 years it is important to win here. It’s a happy day for everyone — fans, players — and we feel very proud,’’ Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
‘‘We dominated the game but Chelsea created the chances and scored. In the second half we were much better and we deserved the victory.
‘‘The players deserve praise because we showed character at 10 down. It’s a day to feel very proud.’’
Arsenal dealt Stoke City’s Premier League survival hopes a cruel blow at the Emirates yesterday with three late goals in a 30 victory that left the visiting side secondbottom with six games left to play.
After a dreary hour and aquarter of play punctuated by occasional booing from the home crowd, Mesut Ozil won a penalty when he raced into the box only to be brought down by Stoke’s Bruno Martins Indi.
PierreEmerick Aubameyang scored from the spot and then struck again from close range 12 minutes later, before Alexandre Lacazette converted another penalty, having been brought crashing to the ground by Badou Ndiaye. It was the Gunner’s first backtoback win in the top flight since November, but until the late goalfest it often made for painful viewing, as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said at a news conference afterwards.
‘‘We didn’t play well in the first half at all. In the second half we rectified that.
‘‘That’s the difference basically of the attitude of the team — that explains nilnil at halftime and threenil at fulltime,’’ Wenger said.