Spurs make ‘fans happy’ with Arsenal win
LONDON: Toby Alderweireld gave Tottenham a late 2-1 win over Arsenal as Jose Mourinho’s men climbed above their north London rivals, while Bournemouth stunned Leicester 4-1 on Sunday.
Mourinho had endured a barrage of criticism as Tottenham slipped out of the race to qualify for the Champions League with just one win in three games.
But thanks to Alderweireld’s winner with nine minutes left, Tottenham took the local bragging rights and got back in contention for a place in next season’s Europa League.
Tottenham are eighth, two points above ninth placed Arsenal and two behind Sheffield United as they try to avoid missing out on European action for the first time since 2009-10.
“We are happy because we made the fans happy, we are happy because we are still in the fight to win a Europa League position,” Mourinho said.
“To be honest, Mikel [Arteta] found a way for them to play, to be stable and to improve. We felt that we should adapt slightly to them and we did it very well.”
Arsenal could miss out on Europe entirely and boss Arteta said: “We give them a goal again and we concede a setpiece and at this level, you cannot do it.”
At Dean Court, Leicester scored after 23 minutes as Jamie Vardy bagged his 23rd league goal of the season to extend his lead in the Golden Boot race.
But Bournemouth were handed a lifeline when Leicester imploded during two minutes of mayhem.
In the 66th minute, Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel booted a goal-kick into Wilfred Ndidi’s back, forcing his teammate to trip Callum Wilson.
Junior Stanislas stepped up to score the resulting penalty and 101 seconds later Dominic Solanke’s weak shot trickled under Schmeichel’s attempt to save.
Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off for kicking Wilson as he attempted to retrieve the ball from the net after Solanke’s goal.
Bournemouth’s first win in 10 games moved them to within three points of 17th placed Watford, while Leicester could miss out on a Champions League place.
RESULTS
Aston Villa 2 (Trezeguet 45+4, 59) Crystal Palace 0
Bournemouth 4 (Stanislas 66-pen, Solanke 67, 87, Evans 83-og) Leicester 1 (Vardy 23)
Tottenham 2 (Son 19, Alderweireld 81) Arsenal 1 (Lacazette 16)
Wolves 3 (Jimenez 45+2-pen, Dendoncker 46, Jota 74) Everton 0
FIXTURES
(kick-offs midnight Thai time unless stated)
Today
Chelsea v Norwich City (2.15am, Wed)
Tomorrow
Burnley v Wolves, Manchester City v Bournemouth, Newcastle v Tottenham, Arsenal v Liverpool (2.15am, Thu)