Spurs keep pace with Villa
Aston Villa and Tottenham didn’t give up an inch in their fight for fourth place in the English Premier League on Saturday. Battling for Champions League soccer next season, both clubs won their respective games and Villa, in fourth, remained three points ahead of Spurs.
Tottenham, which has a match in hand, kept the pressure on Villa early in the afternoon when a late goal from Son Heung-min sealed a 2-1 win over struggling Luton. Villa restored its lead barely two hours later by defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0.
Villa did not play particularly well in a scrappy match that lacked intensity. A great first half strike by Frenchman Moussa Diaby for his first league goal this year put the hosts in the lead. Ezri Konsa, assisted by Diaby, capped an excellent buildup to make it 2-0 with 25 minutes remaining.
Third-placed Manchester City and leader Arsenal meet on Sunday with just one point separating them. Second-placed Liverpool hosts Brighton on the same day.
Brentford 1, Manchester United 1
Manchester United used to be famous for scoring decisive winning goals late in matches. On Saturday, Erik ten Hag watched witnessed his players relinquish an undeserved lead deep in stoppage time and draw at Brentford.
Following yet another uninspired display that further dented the club’s Champions League hopes, Manchester United was in sixth place, eight points behind fifthplaced Tottenham.
Chelsea 2, Burnley 2
Chelsea winger Cole Palmer became the fifth player to reach 20 goal involvements in his first Premier League season. But his brace at Stamford Bridge only helped Chelsea draw with 10-man Burnley.
Chelsea was wasteful in the first half and had a goal ruled out after 20 minutes. The Blues took the lead from the spot when Palmer scored with a Panenka kick, chipping the ball down the middle.
Newcastle 4, West Ham 3
Newcastle edged a seven-goal thriller against West Ham, coming back from 3-1 down with just 13 minutes remaining to win at St. James’ Park.
Substitute Harvey Barnes scored twice for the home side.
“Today’s a day we’ll never forget,” Barnes said. “It’s been a tough season for me.”