Two goals by Son Heung-min helped Tottenham Hotspur thrash Watford 4-0 to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to four points in Saturday’s early game.
After Dele Alli’s majestic curler broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute in the sunshine at White Hart Lane, an 11th consecutive home league win never looked in doubt.
Eric Dier made it 2-0 six minutes later, before Son added a third with a low shot just before halftime.
Photo: Reuters
Son crashed in his second on the volley in the 54th minute after which the hosts cruised through to fulltime.
Second-placed Tottenham’s sixth successive league victory took them to 68 points from 31 games with Chelsea, who were to face Bournemouth after press time last night, on 72.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho last weekend suggested that he had considered abandoning a push for the Premier League’s top four to focus on European competition.
Photo: AFP
Failure to beat Sunderland today might see that pledge become a reality.
United’s best hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League increasingly appears to be by winning the Europa League, with the first leg of their quarter-final against RSC Anderlecht in Belgium on Thursday.
Mourinho’s team face a congested fixture list — the visit to Sunderland is to be their third of nine matches this month.
The first two ended in disappointing home draws against West Bromwich Albion and Everton, leaving United four points adrift of the top four with a game in hand.
At least Mourinho has his leading scorer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, back. The former Paris Saint-Germain striker was not at his best against Everton on his return from a three-match domestic ban, but showed the calmness required to convert the 94th-minute penalty that secured United a point.
Ibrahimovic, with 27 goals in all competitions for United this season, is a reassuring presence in an attack that is otherwise struggling. Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford have scored 21 goals between them this season, but only nine of those have come in the league. Rashford’s last league goal was on Sept. 24 last year and he has looked desperately short of confidence lately.
A failure to convert chances is certainly a factor in United’s inability to close on the top four. In the two matches against West Brom and Everton, they managed a total of 36 efforts on goal, yet scored only once.
“Looking to next season, I think it’s a good feeling to know we haven’t lost many matches,” Mourinho said.
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