Bale double lifts Tottenham, Inter, Atletico keep clear at top
Tottenham’s Gareth Bale turned backed the clocks against a hapless Burnley and brought his side a win that will lift pressure off Jose Mourinho
GARETH Bale produced his most impressive performance since returning on loan to Tottenham Hotspur with two goals in his side’s 4-0 win over Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Welshman continued his recent resurgence by marking only his third league start of the season with the opening goal after only two minutes, prodding in from close range.
He then set up Harry Kane for Tottenham’s second after 15 minutes before Lucas Moura made it 3-0 before halftime.
Bale then claimed his second of the game with a clinical finish after 55 minutes as Tottenham returned to form in the league having lost five of its previous six games.
The impressive win left Tottenham in the eighth spot with 39 points from 25 games and revived its hopes of finishing in the top four.
Later in the day, Chelsea missed a chance to regain its place in the Premier League’s top four as it largely dominated second-placed Manchester United but had to be content with a drab 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The home side carved out the best chances but United, who had a decent first-half penalty appeal turned down, defended solidly throughout to earn a point.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel remains unbeaten in nine games since taking over from sacked Frank Lampard but a second successive Premier League draw left him frustrated.
His side remains fifth with 44 points
from 26 games, one point behind West Ham United, while Manchester United is second with 50 points from 26 games, 12 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City.
INTER EXTEND SERIE A LEAD
Inter Milan, meanwhile, moved seven points clear at the top of Serie A as Romelu Lukaku scored after 32 seconds and bagged an assist in a 3-0 win over midtable Genoa.
The Belgian striker drove through the heart of the visiting defense and fired in his 18th league goal of the season to register his club’s second-fastest Serie A strike since Opta started taking records in 2004.
Lukaku teed up Matteo Darmian for Inter’s second after 69 minutes and was again involved for its third when his shot was saved but headed in on the rebound by substitute Alexis Sanchez.
The result leaves league leader Inter
four points ahead of second-placed AC Milan, who beat Roma 2-1 later on Sunday.
Genoa, whose seven-match unbeaten league run came to an end, is 13th with 26 points.
ATLETICO CLAIMS VILLARREAL
La Liga leader Atletico Madrid secured a vital 2-0 win away to Villarreal to reaffirm its title ambitions following a difficult run of results.
Diego Simeone’s side was smarting from defeat to Levante and Champions League loss to Chelsea but went ahead in the 25th minute courtesy of an Alfonso Pedraza own goal following a goalmouth scramble, the strike being flagged offside then given after a VAR review.
Atletico survived another video review just before halftime when Thomas Lemar was shown a yellow card rather than a red for elbowing an opponent before
record signing Joao Felix came off the bench to double its lead in the 69th on the volley.
A first win in four games in all competitions moved Atletico on to 58 points after 24 games, five clear of secondplaced Barcelona, who has played 25, and six above third-placed Real Madrid.
Real play at home to Real Sociedad on Monday before visiting Atletico next Sunday in a crucial game in the title race.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence and puts us back on the path we were on before and now we’re really looking forward to the derby,” said Stefan Savic.
“This was a very important game in a ground that is always difficult for us, we were on a bad run, but we stood tall.”
Villarreal slid down to seventh in the standings on 37 points and is without a win in its last seven league games.