Tottenham’s deadly trio kill off Aston Villa in ruthless 4-0 win

The deadly trio were ruthless in the Midlands, ensuring Tottenham’s move into sole possession of fourth place with seven matches to play.

Thanks to Son Heung-min, who bagged a hat trick, Dejan Kulusevski, Harry Kane and, particularly in the first half, Hugo Loris, Tottenham ran out 4-0 winners against Aston Villa. The final scoreline looked improbable after a challenging first 45 minutes, but Spurs showed exquisite resolve in putting Villa to the sword.

The first half, dominated by Aston Villa, saw Hugo Lloris magnificently preserve Tottenham’s lead at the interval.

Villa were dangerously close to equalizing on at least a handful of occasions. Lloris showed his athleticism to keep the rampant home side at bay. Other than Sonny’s clinical finish in the third minute, Spurs didn’t have a sniff in the opening 45.

That changed drastically in the second half, as Spurs took control of the contest.

Sonny’s lethal strike off the post was followed by Dejan Kulusevski’s seeing-eye drive through Tyrone Mings’ legs. Harry Kane made his presence felt on the goal, heading into the Kulu’s path before the Swede made the most of the half chance.

Kane provided for Sonny on Spurs’ third. The England captain got his second headed assist of the match, this time playing in Son, who made no mistake with another superb finish.

Sonny deservedly bagged his hat-trick goal thanks to Kulu’s imaginative, patient set up. The Swede made up about 30 yards to receive Sonny’s initial pass. He made Mings look like a school boy before setting the South Korean up on a platter. Another strike off the post and in secured Sonny’s hat trick.

Spurs defended much better in the second half and were absolutely lethal in possession. It was a typically opportunistic Antonio Conte performance, one that put Spurs three points ahead of Arsenal and six ahead of Manchester United and West Ham.

And the commanding win put the other three top-four contenders on notice. There’s still a lot of work to do, but that was not only a statement performance but a best-case day for Conte and his battalion of warriors.