Aston Villa beats Tottenham and raises Champions League hopes

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa beat an under-strength Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 and moved into the Premier League top four on Friday.

Villa started the day in sixth, one of six teams battling for the four remaining Champions League places along with league winner Liverpool.

The win lifted Unai Emery’s men to 66 points, two points behind second-placed Arsenal, equal with Newcastle and one above Manchester City. All three teams have a game in hand, as do Nottingham Forest, which was seventh with 62 points.

Chelsea, playing Manchester United on Friday, started the night with 63 points, and was also in the running.

On a tense night at Villa Park, the home side had the better of the play but was forced to wait until the 59th minute to get the opener.

Ollie Watkins steered John McGinn’s corner back across goal and an unmarked Ezri Konsa turned in the ball.

Boubacar Kamara doubled the lead with a low drive from the edge of the penalty area.

The result extended Villa’s unbeaten home run to 21 games in all competitions, its best since 1977, and left Spurs in 17th place in the 20-team league.

More importantly for the London side was the lack of new injuries.

Coach Ange Postecoglou rested several regular starters ahead of next week’s Europa Conference League final against Manchester United.

Both Friday matches were brought forward by 48 hours to allow Spurs and United more time to prepare for next week’s final in Bilbao.

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