Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham: Spurs thump 10-man Villans behind four second-half goals to close in on top four

Tottenham Hotspur defeated 10-man Aston Villa 4-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, thanks to four second-half goals, closing the gap on their Birmingham rivals to two points in the race for Champions League football next season.

Villa's decision to start with a five-man backline backfired in the second half, as they conceded four goals, with John McGinn being sent off for a violent tackle that will likely result in a three-match ban.

Villa began the day fourth, five points ahead of their fifth-placed visitors, but struggled from the start as Spurs pressed them high up the pitch, forcing them to turn over the ball.

Villa had a penalty appeal turned down in the 34th minute after Leon Bailey went down under an innocuous challenge from Yves Bissouma, and their only promising chance of the first half came in stoppage time, when Lucas Digne sent a looping header just wide from a well-worked corner.

Spurs scored twice early in the second half, with James Maddison volleying the opener in the 50th minute and Son Heung-min setting up Brennan Johnson to score three minutes later after Villa conceded the ball cheaply.

McGinn was shown a straight red card in the 65th minute for clattering Spurs defender Destiny Udogie, effectively ending the home side's chances of a comeback.

With Villa on the ropes, Spurs captain Son scored the third goal in stoppage time, and he added his second assist of the day three minutes later, setting up substitute Timo Werner to score.

Spurs now have 53 points, two behind Villa, who have a game in hand and a better goal difference.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou was ecstatic after his team's outstanding second-half performance.

"Get excited, why not? The supporters, if they don't get excited by a performance and result like that, in what was a significant game...you've got to enjoy that," he told Sky Sports.

Villa manager Unai Emery was upbeat despite his team's second-half collapse.

"We have to accept that we were facing a Tottenham who are contenders to finish in the top four, like us," he told the BBC.

"We have to be consistent, we needed more. Of course we are still fourth but today we lost a very good opportunity."

SportsLigue