Two goals from Son Heung-min helped Tottenham beat West Ham 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, strengthening their hopes of a top-four finish while hurting those of their opponents.
Antonio Conte’s men took advantage of the fact that a majority of their rivals were involved in FA Cup action on the weekend – or had to sit out because of the ones who were – and strengthened their hopes of a top-four finish. Spurs had to respond following Arsenal’s 1-0 win away to Aston Villa, which they did by beating rivals West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday night.
Harry Kane continued to prove his credentials as a remarkable playmaker-scorer by setting up all three goals of the game. The Englishman’s squared ball across the box for Son Heung-min opened the floodgates in the ninth minute; the South Korean missed his cue, but the ball hit Kurt Zouma and crept past Lukasz Fabianski for the first goal.
In the 24th minute, Kane released Son again with a perfectly-timed through ball, and the latter’s shot goalwards deflected off an unlucky Zouma before looping over Fabianski – this time, though, the goal was awarded to the Spurs man.
Said Benrahma pulled a goal back for the Hammers in the 35th minute, side-footing a Craig Dawson flick-on from close range. The Algerian’s goal ensured a nervy second half for Spurs, during which they nearly conceded again to Michail Antonio, only for the Hammers forward to blaze his volley over the bar from close range.
Son wrapped up the win in the 88th minute, latching onto a flick from Kane, before confidently beating Fabianski at the near post. Having matched Manchester United in terms of matches played (29 each), Spurs overtook them in the table, thanks to the win.
Before all that, Leicester City continued their mini-resurgence by beating Brentford 2-1 at the King Power Stadium, courtesy of two sensational strikes. Timothy Castagne, back from a lengthy absence, rocketed in the opening goal from outside the box in the 20th minute after receiving the ball from Harvey Barnes and cutting inside onto his favored right foot.
Minutes later, James Maddison doubled the Foxes’ lead with a superb free-kick – that was only halved in the 85th minute through Yoane Wissa’s consolation goal.
Brendan Rodgers’s side climbed up to tenth following their win, while their opponents on the night remained perilously close to danger.
