Tottenham Delights in Rivals’ Dropped Points

Saturday brought more than just an important win for Tottenham. Two of the team’s principle rivals for Champions League spots and perhaps the title also dropped invaluable points as well.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool lost before Tottenham even kicked off. After Spurs’ win they found themselves three and four points behind respectively in the race for second.

Unfortunately, Arsenal’s loss came at the primary gain of league-leaders Chelsea. Antonio Conte’s side increased their lead over the pack in the early morning match at Stamford Bridge. Even after Spurs’ win they own what increasingly feels like an unassailable nine point lead.

The manner of that loss should top off Tottenham fan’s level of schadenfreude. Without several key players in midfield due to injury, Arsenal spent most of the match looking hopeless. Chelsea’s own midfield and the formidable attack of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro ripped into them over and over again. The match would end 3-1 in the host’s favor.

A return to health of those midfielders should improve things, at least in theory. Their upcoming two-legged Champions League matchup against Bayern Munich looks pivotal to even their Premier League chances.

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Succeed there and maybe Arsene Wenger can get his team back on track. Fail, and it might be hard to muster the motivation to even qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Under normal circumstances, Arsenal might be anxious for next weekend’s visit to Hull City. The newly promoted side have looked on the verge of disaster all season and might prove an easy — and crucial — win.

That’s not as sure of a thing as it seemed prior to Hull’s match against Liverpool later in the day on Saturday. Even with Jürgen Klopp’s struggles with the Reds, a win against Hull should have been simple. Instead, they fell 2-0.

In all fairness, this was hardly a fluke result. Despite the fact that Hull had sold two of their best players in Robert Snodgrass and former Tottenham player Jake Livermore in January, new coach Marco Silva seems to be shaking things up. Since his appointment at the beginning of the year Hull have won against Bournemouth and held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw. Beating Liverpool was unlikely, but not impossible.

Liverpool, meanwhile, seem disjointed and dispirited even after they welcomed Sadio Mané back from the Africa Cup of Nations and Joel Matip from suspension. it remains unclear if they can rediscover the form that once made them co-contenders for the title with Chelsea.

They will get a chance to prove what mettle they have left next week when Tottenham travel to Anfield next weekend. With Spurs also stuttering in recent weeks despite still earning points, that match could prove something of a tipping point.

Next: Tottenham Player Ratings: 1-0 vs Middlesbrough

Not all the news was good over the weekend, of course. Manchester City managed a winning goal in the dying moments of their match with Swansea, while their crosstown rivals Manchester United easily waltzed passed once-champions Leicester City.

The race for the Champions League spots remains a close affair, but should matters continue on like this Tottenham and its fans will be very content.