Football: Spurs tighten grip on top-four spot as Arsenal, Man Utd lose

LONDON -- Tottenham thumped Aston Villa 4-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on fourth spot in the Premier League after Manchester United and Arsenal both slipped up.

Third-placed Chelsea ended a tough week by hammering Southampton 6-0 while Leeds climbed nine points above the relegation zone with a comfortable 3-0 win at Watford.

Six wins in seven league games for free-scoring Spurs have made them firm favorites to qualify for next season's Champions League along with Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Son Heung-min scored a hat-trick for Antonio Conte's men at Villa Park, with Dejan Kulusevski also chipping in as Spurs put their opponents to the sword.

The impressive Harry Kane provided two assists while Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made seven saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep Villa at bay.

The win takes Spurs to 57 points -- three clear of fifth-placed Arsenal and six ahead of West Ham and Manchester United.

"I'm very happy because I have a group of players who want to show me that they will improve in many aspects," Conte told the BBC.

"When you have this you have to be happy to work with them and to try to do something important at the end of the season. Seven games to go and we are showing that we are deserving to stay in the race for a place in the Champions League."

In the early kick-off Frank Lampard's Everton beat misfiring United 1-0 to climb four points above the relegation zone while Arsenal slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Brighton -- their third loss in four games.

The decisive moment at Goodison Park came midway through the first half when Anthony Gordon hit a shot that took a huge deflection off England defender Harry Maguire and wrong-footed David de Gea in the United goal.

Lampard said he was proud of his battling side, who are trying to maintain Everton's record of being ever-present in the English top flight since 1954.

"Beautiful football can come later on," he told BT Sport. "I have ambitions for this club to stay up, play well, but in the position we are in, fighting comes first and foremost."

United's interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who has a two-year contract to remain as a consultant at United beyond this season, was asked whether speculation over the club's next manager was creating a state of limbo.

"I don't think this should be an excuse for anybody," he said, with Ajax boss Erik ten Hag touted as a strong favorite to be the next permanent boss.

"We're Manchester United, we've got a lot of international players."

-Arsenal stumble - 

Arsenal are having a wobble at the wrong time after putting themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League -- they have not played in Europe's elite competition since the 2016/17 season.

Brighton took the lead at the Emirates Stadium when Leandro Trossard turned home a low cross from Enock Mwepu and the Zambian midfielder himself added a second. Martin Odegaard scored a late consolation.

"It has been a difficult week and we've lost some big players, but if you get what you want, not everything is going to be with a blue sky," Mikel Arteta told the BBC. 

"This is our team in the good moments and especially the defeats. There are many games to play but we have to be concerned about that performance, especially first half."

Chelsea suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brentford last week before losing 3-1 against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

But they restored confidence on Saturday, racing into a 6-0 lead in the 54th minute, with two goals apiece for Mason Mount and Timo Werner.

"The performance changed, the commitment and the discipline," said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel. "This is how we want to play and we gave an answer finally because you could see it on the scoreboard."

Manchester City and Liverpool go head to head at the Etihad on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ronaldo takes United joint top with Chelsea, City win and Spurs slump

MANCHESTER, England - Two goals from returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo sent Manchester United joint top of the Premier League after early season pace-setters Tottenham Hotspur fell to a surprise 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace.

Champions Manchester City made it three wins out of four with a 1-0 win at Leicester City while Arsenal got their first victory of the campaign, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on target in a 1-0 win over Norwich City.

Manchester United and Chelsea lead on 10 points with an identical goal difference after four games with Manchester City a point behind along with Brighton & Hove Albion, who won 1-0 at promoted Brentford, and Spurs.

Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-0 in the late game to register their 600th victory in the Premier League.

Romelu Lukaku and Mateo Kovacic finally opened their accounts at Stamford Bridge, with the Belgian striker scoring twice, while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy denied Villa numerous times to keep his third clean sheet.

Ronaldo's return to United from Juventus last month brought with it the promise of excitement and goals at Old Trafford and his second debut certainly lived up to the billing.

The 36-year-old fired his side ahead just before the break, pouncing to slot home from close range after Newcastle keeper Freddie Woodman was unable to hold on to a low drive from Mason Greenwood.

After Javier Manquillo brought Newcastle level following the break, Ronaldo produced a trademark strike. He burst into the box as he collected a through ball from Luke Shaw before drilling it through the legs of Woodman.

Bruno Fernandes made it 3-1 with a wonderful strike from 25 metres out and substitute Jesse Lingard completed the rout.

SPURS SEE RED

Ronaldo was not the only celebrating debutant -- Odsonne Edouard scored twice on his debut for Palace as 10-man Tottenham Hotspur fell to a 3-0 loss at Selhurst Park.

Spurs centre back Japhet Tanganga was shown a second yellow card in the 58th minute for a foul on Jordan Ayew, five minutes after the defender was adjudged to have illegally blocked winger Wilfried Zaha.

Matters got worse for the visitors as Palace were awarded a penalty when Ben Davies handled from a Conor Gallagher cross in the 75th minute, and Zaha dispatched the spot-kick past Hugo Lloris.

Palace scored again six minutes from time through Edouard, who slotted home from Zaha's cross 27 seconds after coming on, and the Frenchman completed his dream debut in stoppage time following a slick team move.

Another Portugal international, Bernardo Silva, scored the only goal for Pep Guardiola's City at Leicester.

City striker Ferran Torres had a number of good chances in the first half but Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel was alert.

Jamie Vardy had a goal ruled out for offside four minutes into the second half but it was Manchester City who finally broke the deadlock as Silva pounced on a loose ball in the box to fire home in the 62nd minute.

Leicester piled forward looking for an equaliser and Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman both went close, but Brazilian keeper Ederson was quick off his line twice.

BRIGHTON UP TO FOURTH

Brighton's excellent start to the campaign continued with their third victory in four league games.

Leandro Trossard's curler from the edge of the penalty area in the 90th minute secured the three points from Graham Potter's side who are now fourth in the standings.

Arsenal moved off the bottom of the Premier League standings and scored their first goal of the campaign after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's scrambled 66th-minute effort gave them a 1-0 home win over Norwich.

Mikel Arteta's side produced an improved performance after their opening three defeats but were made to work hard by a rugged Norwich side before Aubameyang, who missed two first-half chances, broke the deadlock.

The Gabonese striker fired wide in the 10th minute and was denied in the 20th by a superb save from visiting goalkeeper Tim Krul before Takehiro Tomiyasu volleyed over the bar for the dominant hosts on the stroke of halftime.

Pepe twice hit the post within a few seconds from a flowing move and the second rebound fell kindly to Aubameyang, who was perfectly positioned to tuck the ball into an empty net. 

(Reporting by Simon Evans, additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

-reuters 

Cops probe 'intentional' New York blast in crowded Chelsea enclave; 29 hurt

NEW YORK - An  explosion rocked one of the most fashionable neighborhoods of New York on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, one seriously, a week after America's financial capital marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated the blast was not accidental, even if there was no known link to terrorism.

"We believe it was intentional. As soon as we're able to determine what specifically caused this explosion, we will report it," de Blasio said.

James O'Neill, who took over as New York police chief only on Saturday after his predecessor resigned, described the Manhattan explosion as "large" and said it happened outside 131 West 23rd Street at 8:30pm.

He added that the building has not been evacuated and that an "extensive search" was being conducted.

The blast occurred in Chelsea -- an area packed with bars, restaurants and luxury apartment blocks -- at a typically bustling time of the weekend.

Police investigated 27th Street for a secondary device as public officials scrambled to reassure the city's 8.4 million residents.

That device -- described by US media as resembling a pressure cooker -- was "safely removed by the NYPD for further analysis" early Sunday, tweeted police spokesman J. Peter Donald.

The explosion came two days before world leaders led by President Barack Obama were due to gather in New York for the UN General Assembly, a time when parts of Manhattan grind to a standstill under draconian security measures.

"There is no evidence at this point of a terror connection to this incident, this is preliminary information," de Blasio told a late-night news conference.

"There is no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time, from any terror organization," he added.

AFP reporters saw a massive police presence at the crime scene, where they were joined by FBI and counter-terrorism squads, as police helicopters circled overhead and sirens wailed.

Obama was "apprised" of the explosion and would receive updates on the situati as they become available, a White House official said.

Large boom, then quiet
Of the 29 people who sustained injuries, 24 were taken to hospital with various degrees of scrapes and abrasions from glass and metal, said Fire Department commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Witnesses living three blocks away told AFP they heard a large boom from their fifth floor apartment, followed by quiet, then the sound of sirens.

A photograph shared by New York's local NY1 television station showed shattered glass in a doorway, apparently caused by the blast.

Public officials were tight-lipped on the cause of the blast, saying it was still under investigation but confirmed it had not been a gas leak.

New York lauds itself as the safest big city in America. Violent crime has become rare in Manhattan and stringent security checks the norm in many areas since the 2001 Al-Qaeda hijackings destroyed the Twin Towers.

Trump jumps the gun

Any confirmed attack in New York could impact the country's already deeply divisive presidential election.

Republican nominee Donald Trump jumped the gun on the news reports by saying in Colorado Springs that "a bomb went off in New York."

"We better get very tough, folks, we better get very, very tough," he said.

His Democratic rival Hillary Clinton immediately took swipe at her opponent.

"I think it's always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions," she said.

De Blasio said investigators believe there was "no specific connection" to a pipe bomb explosion hours earlier in a trash can in New Jersey.

"It is again too early to say anything definitive on those questions, but there's no specific evidence of a connection at this point," he said.

The New Jersey blast occurred in Seaside Park during a Marine Corps charity run. It caused no injuries but forced officials to cancel the event.

There were up to four timed explosives but only one detonated, Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County prosecutor, told CNN.

The mayor said that the police department and all other agencies -- including the city's "anti-terror capacity in particular" -- were on full alert.

The city routinely goes on extra security alert following attacks in other American cities or in Europe, and police claim to have foiled multiple terror plots since September 11, 2001 when nearly 3,000 people were killed.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said state officials were coordinating with federal and city authorities.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and urge New Yorkers to, as always, remain calm and vigilant," Cuomo said in a statement.

source: interaksyon.com