Tottenham closed the gap in the race for the top four with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa whose captain, John McGinn, was sent off
This week James Maddison enjoyed going head to head against his Tottenham teammate Micky van de Ven in a darts challenge with elite players Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall and the Spurs No 10 stepped up to the oche here to twist a cagey contest into their favour. By the end, however, Tottenham were able to revel in a comprehensive evisceration of 10-man
When the fourth official, Darren Bond, indicated 10 minutes of second-half stoppage time, it spelled bad news for Villa, at that point 2-0 and a man down. Then Son Heung-min got in on the act, adding Spurs’ third in consummate style, and the substitute Timo Werner completed the rout, side-footing in.Until Maddison converted the ’s wicked cross from close range, it was a closely-matched contest with half-chances seemingly the order of the day.
Three minutes later, Spurs doubled their advantage, Brennan Johnson sweeping a first-time effort into the roof of the Villa net. Spurs’ hopes of returning to the Champions League next season are now back in their own hands.Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings , then Notifications.
McGinn, at the heart of Villa’s rise into the upper echelons on the division, had been on a one-man rampage to wrestle themselves back into the game but instead, hot-headed, he flew in on Udogie. Johnson and Maddison rushed to confront McGinn, who soon found himself on the touchline surrounded by Spurs players in front of a deeply unimpressed Ange Postecoglou.
It was effectively game over on 65 minutes. “Two-nil, in your cup final,” sang the travelling Spurs supporters rejoicing in Villa’s misery, after Johnson lashed in. Spurs hounded Villa high up the pitch, Dejan Kulusevski pinching the ball from Youri Tielemans and suddenly the visitors were three v one against the Villa defence. Son ran at Clément Lenglet and spied Johnson unmarked to his left. Inside three minutes, Spurs had left Villa in tatters.