Tottenham Hotspur moved closer to UEFA Cup football next season with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
A day after Chelsea won the Premier League title with a 2-0 win at Bolton Wanderers, the chase for European football continued with Spurs moving into a provisional UEFA Cup slot in seventh place with two games to play.
Spurs were 3-0 up inside the opening half hour after two goals from Mali international striker Frederic Kanoute and one from captain Ledley King, while Gareth Barry pulled one back from the penalty spot for Villa just before the break.
Andy Reid added the fourth with a superb 20-metre strike and Stephen Kelly completed a miserable afternoon for Villa's stand-in keeper Stefan Postma with a close-range effort on 90 minutes.
The win, before Manchester United took on Charlton Athletic at The Valley, was just enough to lift Spurs above Middlesbrough, who they face at the Riverside next Saturday, on goal difference.
Spurs manager Martin Jol told Sky Sports News: "We wanted to play good football and score goals, so you can't wish for more.
"It's a long time since Tottenham played for a European spot ...and we want to achieve something this year, not next year. So we will fight on and hopefully we'll manage."
Though Villa boss David O'Leary thought his team should have had a penalty before Kanoute's opener, for a challenge by Spurs Erik Edman on Mark Delaney, he was clearly not impressed by their overall display.
"I thought we were poor today," O'Leary said. "I've a good bunch of lads who let themselves down today...we gave a lot of easy goals away."
© 2024 Rediff.com -