LONDON: Son Heung-min fired a sensational hat-trick as Tottenham took control of the race for a Premier League top-four spot with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.

After Manchester United and Arsenal both lost earlier in the day, Son’s treble and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike sent Spurs three points in clear in fourth.

It was a fourth win in a row, a seventh from the last nine and makes it difficult to look past them in the battle for Champions League qualification following Antonio Conte’s transformation of this team.

Their deadly front three, with Harry Kane creating two of the goals, sealed the victory, but Spurs also have skipper Hugo Lloris to thank just as much.

After Son’s early opener they were on the rack for most of the first half, with the Frenchman’s heroics keeping a rampant Villa at bay.

Their lethal quality on the break in the second half saw them run away with it and inflict a fourth straight defeat on Steven Gerrard’s side.

Everton upset United

Anthony Gordon immeasurably boosted Everton’s hopes of Premier League survival as his first-half strike proved the difference in a scrappy affair against Manchester United.

Gordon’s deflected effort before the half hour alleviated the pressure on Frank Lampard after a 3-2 midweek defeat at relegation rivals Burnley had left Everton just a solitary point above the drop zone.

This was far from a vintage display from either side but a 1-0 win for the Toffees puts daylight between themselves and the bottom three as United’s top-four ambitions suffered another untimely dent.

Ralf Rangnick had made half a dozen changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Leicester last week – Lampard himself made four – as Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford were restored to the starting line-up – all in vain.

Chelsea revive

Timo Werner hit the woodwork three times but still scored twice as Chelsea arrested their mini slump by hammering sorry Southampton 6-0 at St Mary’s.

Germany forward Werner produced a perfect hat-trick of sorts by striking the left post, right post and crossbar – but shrugged off those misses with a morale-boosting brace.

Mason Mount helped himself to a double too, with Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz also on target to hand Chelsea a much-needed winning tonic.

Chelsea’s fourth win in their last five Premier League matches inched the Blues ever closer to a third-place finish, with London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham starting to lag behind in the table.

Arsenal’s hopes of a top-four Premier League finish took another blow as they were deservedly beaten by Brighton following a lacklustre display.

Enock Mwepu was the star of the show for the visitors, creating Leandro Trossard’s opener before his own fine strike doubled the lead. Martin Odegaard’s late consolation meant Brighton left with a deserved 2-1 win.

Arsenal were already reeling from a 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Monday night and, with Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey missing through injury, their small squad was exposed once more.

Gabriel Martinelli had a goal ruled out for offside but other than that the Gunners rarely threatened and lost more ground in their hopes of returning to Champions League action.

Raphinha underlined his value to Leeds as Jesse Marsch’s men took a significant step towards Premier League survival with a 3-0 win which pushed Watford closer to relegation.

The Brazilian – who has been heavily linked with a summer switch to Barcelona – stylishly ended a six-game goal drought to set his side on course for a vital three points at Vicarage Road.

In-form duo Rodrigo and Jack Harrison capitalised on some calamitous Hornets defending to seal victory as the West Yorkshire club moved nine points clear of the drop zone.

The beleaguered Hornets had little answer as they slipped to a ninth successive home loss for the first time since the 1971-72 campaign.

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