Tottenham beats Luton to move into fourth place in EPL; Chelsea ...
LONDON (AP) — Son Heung-min's late goal lifted Tottenham over struggling Luton 2-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday and maintained the pressure on Aston Villa in the race for a top-four finish.
Spurs came close to conceding their first home draw against a Luton side locked in the relegation battle, but the South Korea captain decided otherwise in the 86th minute after a quick break, concluding the move with a shot that took a deflection.
Tottenham moved to fourth place, level on points with Aston Villa, which hosted Wolves later.
Third-placed Manchester City and leader Arsenal meet on Sunday with just one point separating them. Second-placed Liverpool hosts Brighton on the same day.
LETHARGIC SPURS
Tottenham was lethargic in the first half and was made to pay for it when Tahith Chong finished a fine collective move from the visitors. Spurs equalized in the 49th after defender Issa Kabore, under pressure from Timo Werner, put the ball into his own net.
Kabore made up for his mistake with decisive blocks in the second half as Tottenham pressed for a winner that finally came five minutes from time.
PALMER’S PANENKA
Chelsea winger Cole Palmer became the fifth player to reach 20 goal involvements in his first Premier League. Palmer's brace at Stamford Bridge could help Chelsea only draw 2-2 with 10-man Burnley.
Chelsea was wasteful in the first half and had a goal ruled out after 20 minutes. The Blues took the lead from the spot when Palmer scored with a Panenka kick, chipping the ball down the middle.
The decision after a VAR check to award the penalty to Chelsea for a foul on Mykhailo Mudryk in the box left Burnley coach Vincent Kompany fuming. Kompany was issued a red card for his vehement protest. Lorenz Assignon, who received a second yellow card for dragging down Mudryk, was also sent off.
Burnley pushed back and leveled when Josh Cullen volleyed home from 25 meters.
Palmer restored Chelsea’s lead in the 78th from Raheem Sterling’s backheel pass.
Dara O’Shea snatched the equalizer with a header badly handled by Djordje Petrovic.
FROM 3-1 DOWN TO VICTORY
Newcastle edged a seven-goal thriller against West Ham, coming back from 3-1 down with just 13 minutes remaining to win 4-3 at St. James’ Park.
Substitute Harvey Barnes scored twice for the home side, including a beautiful winner in added time from outside the box into the bottom right corner that left goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski no chance.
“Today’s a day we’ll never forget,” Barnes said. “It’s been a tough season for me. I’ve missed that feeling so much, it’s what you want as a player, it’s amazing.”
Newcastle also got two goals from Alexander Isak from the penalty spot.
Mohammed Kudus, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen scored for West Ham. The London side remained one point above Newcastle, which moved up to eighth in the standings.
In a spectacular game that was goalless at the break, Sheffield United and Fulham drew 3-3 after the host blew a 3-1 lead. Nottingham Forest left the bottom three after drawing with Crystal Palace 1-1.
__
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
