Premier League: Ville beat Spurs, Man Utd win, Forest and Leeds earn vital draws
Aston VIlla and Manchester United took huge steps towards finishing in the top four and six respectively, while Nottingham Forest and Leeds earned vital draws as they battle relegation.
Villa turn up heat on Tottenham
Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz ignited Aston Villa’s Europa League charge after a vital win over rivals Tottenham.
Unai Emery’s side moved level on points with sixth-placed Spurs with two games left in the race for Europe following Saturday’s 2-1 victory.
They were superior in every way, with Emi Buendia hitting the bar, and remain in the hunt for a surprise European spot after recovering from successive defeats following strikes from Ramsey and Luiz – despite Harry Kane’s late penalty.
Wretched Tottenham, aimless and lifeless, looked anything but a side competing for the top six.
Just 13 months ago at Villa Park they ran riot as a Son Heung-min hat-trick inspired a 4-0 win but, despite a brief second-half improvement, it was a performance which underlined their continued regression.
Sterling’s double earns Chelsea draw with Forest
Raheem Sterling rediscovered his scoring touch as he netted both of Chelsea’s goals in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge that could prove vital for relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Home fans had booed their team off at the break, trailing to a Taiwo Awoniyi goal for Steve Cooper’s side and looking no nearer in the first half to finding a solution to the lack of firepower that has derailed their season.
Then, in the space of seven second-half minutes, Sterling transformed the match. First a deflected shot bounced up into the corner after he was set up by Trevoh Chalobah, then he let rip with a brilliant solo goal that evoked the England forward at his electric best.
Yet instead of pressing on, Chelsea folded. Non-existent marking left Awoniyi free to head home and extinguish the lead four minutes later.
It ensured Forest stayed three points clear in their bid to beat the drop, and meant Frank Lampard’s long wait for a victory at this ground on his return as boss will go to the season’s final game.
Eze on form as Palace win again
Eberechi Eze scored twice as Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace continued their strong finish to the season with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
The midfielder struck either side of half-time at Selhurst Park to give the Eagles a fifth win from eight games since Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park following the sacking of Patrick Vieira.
Garnacho returns to put seal on United win
Alejandro Garnacho returned from injury with a bang as the Manchester United teenager wrapped up a victory against Wolves that gets their Champions League qualification quest back on track.
Back-to-back defeats at Brighton and West Ham allowed rivals Liverpool to move within a point of the Red Devils in fourth, as Erik ten Hag’s side risked allowing a positive season to end badly.
United alleviated the pressure somewhat by returning to winning ways thanks to Anthony Martial’s close-range finish and substitute Garnacho’s stoppage-time goal in Saturday’s 2-0 victory against Wolves.
Antony’s intelligent pass set up the France international to score the opening goal – just his fifth in the Premier League this term – in front of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Southampton relegation confirmed by defeat
Southampton suffered Premier League relegation after Aleksandar Mitrovic returned from his eight-match ban with a bang to help Fulham secure a 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Second-half finishes from Carlos Vinicius and substitute Mitrovic inflicted a club-record 24th defeat of the season on the division’s bottom club to leave them eight points from safety with just two fixtures remaining.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – a Saints fan – was among those in attendance on the south coast as the hosts’ 11-season stay in the top flight ended in tame fashion.
He witnessed a team lacking confidence, ideas and urgency produce another feeble performance of a miserable campaign featuring three managers and just two home league wins.
Leeds dig out point against Newcastle
Rasmus Kristensen’s late equaliser rescued Leeds a point in a 2-2 home draw against Newcastle but it was not enough to lift them out of the bottom three.
Kristensen’s deflected strike from outside the penalty area spared Leeds from a seventh defeat in nine matches, but their Premier League status was left hanging in the balance with two games to play.
Skipper Luke Ayling had given Leeds an early lead and after Patrick Bamford’s first-half penalty was saved, Callum Wilson converted twice from the spot to edge Newcastle in front.
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