LONDON: Manchester United staged a superb fightback to shatter Tottenham’s top four bid with a 3-1 win, while West Ham climbed to fourth place in the Premier League as the revitalised Jesse Lingard inspired a 3-2 victory against Leicester on Sunday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side trailed to Son Heung-min’s first half strike, but United scored three times after the break through Fred, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood.
Second-placed United’s fourth successive league win avenged their embarrassing 6-1 home defeat against Tottenham in October.
They were denied a first half opener when Cavani’s strike was controversially ruled out by referee Chris Kavanagh after Scott McTominay’s clash with Son in the build-up.
Kavanagh consulted the pitchside monitor and decided McTominay’s flailing arm, which made the slightest contact with Son’s face, was worthy of a foul despite the Tottenham forward’s theatrical fall.
Son put Tottenham ahead in the 40th minute as the South Korean slotted home from close range after Harry Kane and Lucas Moura carved open the United defence.
But United deservedly equalised in the 57th minute when Paul Pogba played in Cavani, whose shot was saved by Hugo Lloris, with Brazilian midfielder Fred on hand to slam in his first league goal since 2018.
In the 79th minute, Cavani netted for the first time in seven games as the Uruguay striker dived to meet Mason Greenwood’s cross with a superb header.
Greenwood lashed in the third in stoppage time and United are now 11 points behind leaders Manchester City with a game in hand.
The defeat was a huge blow to troubled Tottenham’s top four ambitions.
They sit in seventh place, six points behind West Ham, and speculation will mount about close-season departures for boss Jose Mourinho and star striker Kane.
Lingard shines
At the London Stadium, Lingard struck twice in the first half to maintain his remarkable form since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United in January.
The 28-year-old has been reborn with West Ham, scoring eight times in nine appearances and earning a recall to the England team.
Jarrod Bowen scored West Ham’s third after half-time as David Moyes’ side moved one point ahead of fifth-placed Chelsea and two in front of sixth-placed Liverpool with seven games left for all three teams.
Qualifying for next season’s Champions League via a top four place would be an incredible achievement for Moyes, whose work this season has rehabilitated his reputation after his failures at Manchester United and Sunderland.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads. Where we are is way beyond anybody’s thoughts,” Moyes said.
“It would be an incredible achievement. But let’s be fair, with the standard of teams below us, it’s great credit we’re just about hanging in there.”
Kelechi Iheanacho scored in the 70th and 90th minutes for Leicester, but having looked certain to earn a top four place, the Foxes are now only one point above West Ham.
Adding to their problems, James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Ayoze Perez were left out by Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers after breaching coronavirus protocols.
“It was the consequence of an internal issue we had last weekend. We have a set of values. If you fall below that there is a consequence and there has to be or they won’t learn,” Rodgers said.
Newcastle took a big step towards securing their survival with a vital 2-1 win against Burnley. Steve Bruce’s side came from behind at Turf Moor to end their seven-game winless run.
Matej Vydra put Burnley ahead from close range in the 18th minute, but Jacob Murphy equalised in the 57th minute. Allan Saint-Maximin grabbed the priceless winner with a superb solo effort in the 64th minute.
Fourth-bottom Newcastle are now six points clear of the relegation zone and hold a game in hand on third-bottom Fulham.
Arsenal travel to bottom of the table Sheffield United in Sunday’s last match.
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