Tottenham blow away Villa to boost chances of top-four spot

Tottenham Hotspur battered Aston Villa yesterday to boost their hopes of a top-four Premier League finish.

Villa were reduced to 10 men after captain John McGinn was shown a red card just after the hour mark as Spurs ran out 4-0 winners at Villa Park.

Son Heung-min scored Tottenham’s third goal to move into fifth place in the list of all-time scorers for the club.

The South Korean produced a stunning strike to notch his 159th goal for Spurs and now sits behind only Harry Kane (280), Jimmy Greaves (266), Bobby Smith (208) and Martin Chivers (174).

The result means Tottenham are now just two points behind fourth-placed Villa with a game in hand over the Midlanders. James Maddison opened the scoring for the visitors early in the second half before Brennan Johnson doubled their lead on 53 minutes.

Things got even worse for the hosts as skipper McGinn was sent off for scything down Destiny Udogie after 65 minutes. Son and Timo Werner struck in stoppage-time to complete a dire day for Unai Emery’s side.

“We were outstanding in all facets,” Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said “First half we made them work really hard. It was a big game with plenty of significance so for us to perform like that was a big credit to everyone.”

Villa manager Emery said: “In the second half, the first two goals were crazy. After the red card it was more difficult to get a result. Of course John McGinn is always very, very important. He wishes to compete after the second goal. Then the match was difficult to come back.”

Danny Ings grabbed a stoppage-time leveller as West Ham came from behind to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Burnley at the London Stadium. Ings, who came on as an 82nd-minute substitute, controlled a cross into the area from Mohammed Kudus before spinning and firing home.

Wesley Fofana had opened the scoring for Vincent Company’s visitors 11 minutes into the game before a Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal doubled their lead in first-half injury time.

But David Moyes’s side battled back with Luis Paqueta scoring early in the second period before Ings’s lastgasp equaliser gave them a share of the points. Ings said: “Our rhythm wasn’t there, in parts of the second half it still wasn’t there. It was one of those performances. It was nice to get a goal and they were unlucky at the end.”

Brighton piled the pressure on 17th-placed Nottingham Forest with a 1-0 win at the Amex Satdium. A 29th-minute own goal by Forest defender Andrew Omobamidele handed the home side the points.