Tottenham looked like a team destined to secure Premier League survival after they beat a dire Aston Villa 2-1 to move out of the bottom three.
Spurs put in their best performance of the season to claim three crucial points at Villa Park, thanks to first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison.
They look a different side under Roberto De Zerbi, registering back-to-back league victories for the first time since August, and are now favourites to beat the drop.
The north London club leapfrogged West Ham in the table and with a home game to come against Leeds, after the Hammers host Arsenal, their position could be even rosier next week.
The way they pressed and won back possession all over the pitch was reminiscent of De Zerbi’s Brighton, giving every indication Spurs will be a top flight team next season.
They were fortunate to come up against a Villa side who produced their worst display of the season, with their attention clearly on Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest.
Indeed, Villa were so bad they scored in the sixth minute of time added on with their only effort on target, with Emiliano Buendia heading home.
Unai Emery’s men still have their league business to look after, though, and missed the chance to all but seal a Champions League spot for next season.
Tottenham came into the game buoyed by West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday and they will have been further enthused when they saw a Villa side featuring seven changes from their midweek loss to Forest in Europe.
They were the better team from the off and had a great chance to open the scoring inside two minutes.
Gallagher pressed well and forced Villa into a mistake playing out from the back, with the ball finding Richarlison 12 yards out, but his shot was blocked.
A deserved lead came in the 12th minute as Gallagher scored his first goal for the club.
A long throw was headed out to the on-loan Atletico Madrid midfielder, who slammed a 25-yard shot into the bottom corner.
Spurs were within inches of making it 2-0 five minutes later. Paulinha shot from distance and his low 20-yard shot was heading into the bottom corner until Emiliano Martinez tipped it onto the post.
Villa were abject and were again reliant on their Argentinian goalkeeper to keep the deficit at one as he palmed Randal Kolo Muani’s far-post effort over the crossbar.
However, from the resulting 25th minute corner, Spurs doubled their advantage.
Tel’s cross was begging to be converted and Richarlison obliged, nodding into an empty net after Martinez went walkabout.
Spurs were in dreamland and deserved every bit of their success.
They were quicker, stronger and smarter than their opponents, who looked like their hearts were not in it.
Villa did not improve after the break either and failed to test Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky until late on, when Buendia headed home Matty Cash’s cross.
But this was to be Tottenham’s night as they made a big move towards securing survival.
PA
