BRING ME SONSHINE!

Spurs have last laugh as top-four rivals flop

HEUNG-MIN SON stole the show as Tottenham took control of the race for fourth place.

With Arsenal having suffered a home defeat to Brighton earlier in the day, Spurs knew that victory would earn them a three-point cushion in the hunt for the final Champions League spot.

And, though they spent the majority of the first half at Villa Park on the back foot, Antonio Conte’s men got that win, as Son struck three times and Dejan Kulusevski once.

It was a victory that looked unlikely as Villa dominated the opening 45 minutes despite conceding an early goal.

But Tottenham responded brilliantly in the second half to send out a message to their north London rivals that their attacking prowess is likely to be the difference in the battle for a return to Europe’s top table.

The visitors looked all set for a straightforward afternoon when their first attack ended in a goal, Son finding the inside of the post with a left-footed shot after the ball had dropped at the edge of the box. But that strike ended up representing Spurs’ last positive moment of a half that the hosts dominated.

Only a phenomenal onehanded Hugo Lloris save prevented Jacob Ramsey from bagging an almost immediate equaliser after slaloming past Cristian

Romero and

Emerson Royal.

The French keeper was subsequently relieved to see

Danny Ings fail to connect with a clever free-kick from

Philippe Coutinho, before Ollie Watkins headed over in acres of space.

Tottenham’s first-half struggles largely resulted from the fact that Ings, Watkins and Coutinho were combining so well to stop the ball coming through midfield. And Conte’s solution to that quandary was apparent from Spurs’ very first attack following the restart.

Rather than attempt to beat a co-ordinated Villa press, the visitors went rather more route one, as man-of-the match Lloris lumped the ball up to Harry Kane.

The England man showed strength and poise to get in front of his opponent for a headed flickon straight into the path of Kulusevski, who then stood Tyrone Mings up before finding the net with his wand of a left foot.

As well as going over the press, Conte (above, celebrating Tottenham’s second) had also cleverly instructed his players to go around it – crossfield balls between the full-backs offering an alternative to passing through a congested midfield.

And it was from one such ball that Emerson found the space to play in Kane for an effort that Ezri Konsa did well to block.

But it was the old-fashioned straight ball forward to Kane that again did the trick for the third goal.

This time, the Spurs talisman met Romero’s flat ping with a flick-on that diverted perfectly into the path of Son, who showed his customary cool.

Predictably, Spurs’ No.10 was also at the heart of the fourth, taking the ball in a deep position before feeding Kulusevski on the right-hand side of the box.

From there, the Swede turned Mings inside out before picking out the late-arriving Son for the easiest of his three finishes.

The third goal had prompted Steven Gerrard to effectively accept that a fourth straight Premier League defeat was certain, with Coutinho and Ings withdrawn shortly after.

But the former Liverpool man was then dealt an added blow when Lucas Digne was forced off late on, nursing what looked like a shoulder injury.

The final minutes were played out to the sight of the home fans streaming out to beat the traffic.