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Heung-min Son scored a hat-trick for Tottenham as Antonio Conte’s side ran riot at Aston Villa to establish themselves as favourites for fourth spot.
Tottenham beat the Villans 4-0 in the west Midlands, with Dejan Kulusevski joining Son on the scoresheet. The impressive result came after Manchester United and Arsenal dropped points earlier on Saturday.
Tottenham now have a six-point advantage on the Red Devils and are three points ahead of rivals Arsenal, although Mikel Arteta’s side do have a game in hand.
Son scored early on, but it was Villa who took the initiative for the rest of the first half. Hugo Lloris was kept busy and did well not to concede.
However, Villa failed to capitalise on their chances, allowing Son and Kulusevski to take the game away from them after the interval.
Steven Gerrard made two changes to his starting lineup. Danny Ings and Douglas Luiz replaced Leon Bailey and Morgan Sanson. Following Tottenham’s 5-1 victory over Newcastle last weekend, Conte opted not to make any changes.
And his decision was justified three minutes in when Son put Tottenham in front. Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa failed to clear with his head, allowing Harry Kane to shoot. That effort came back off Matty Cash and Son was there to smash home, with the help of the post.
WHAT A START! ⚡
Son gives Spurs the lead at Villa Park inside three minutes! pic.twitter.com/sJu2A9FDXD
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 9, 2022
Jacob Ramsey almost brought Villa level in the 17th minute. He drove into the penalty area, leaving Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero in his wake. The youngster then smashed a left-footed effort towards goal, only to see Hugo Lloris react brilliantly and push it over the bar.
And the Tottenham captain had to save again one minute later when John McGinn hit a venomous effort from far out. Lloris managed to palm the ball away from danger.
Conte was then forced to bring Sergio Reguilon on after the in-form Matt Doherty repeatedly went down with an injury.
The game began to heat up, as Tyrone Mings went through Kulusevski and Ings picked up a yellow card for a late one on Reguilon.
Hugo Lloris kept busy for Tottenham
Villa controlled the rest of the first half and had several good opportunities to score. Ings failed to connect with a volley, sending it tamely into the hands of Lloris.
Cash had more power behind his volley in first-half injury time but could only hit it straight at the Frenchman.
The lively Philippe Coutinho was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in one of the final acts of the half. He whipped in a free-kick from a tight angle, only to see it kept out by a combination of Lloris and the post.
Villa were made to pay for their profligacy in the 50th minute when Kulusevski scored his third Premier League goal. Kane flicked a long ball into Kulusevski’s path, and he retained possession well before firing into the far corner.
Kane then flicked on another pass, this time from Romero, sending Son through on goal. The South Korean finished on his left foot to make it 3-0.
And it was four not long after when Son secured his hat-trick. He linked up with Kulusevski before nestling one into the bottom corner, once again with the help of the woodwork.
Conte protected star player Son by taking him off in the latter stages, with Lucas Moura coming on in his place.
Spurs saw out the win to make it 57 points from 31 matches. They are now in a commanding position to qualify for the Champions League ready for the 2022-23 campaign.
Villa, meanwhile, remain in 12th. This was their 17th league defeat of the season.
READ MORE: Conte makes firm decision on Tanguy Ndombele as £54m Lyon U-turn puts onus on Tottenham
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