Tottenham Hotspur closed the gap to Premier League leaders Leicester City to five points with a 4-0 win over Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night.
Harry Kane and Dele Alli both scored twice to seal an important away victory and narrow the points difference. On Sunday, Leicester saved a point against West Ham United after scoring a stoppage-time spot-kick to earn a 2-2 draw following Jamie Vardy’s red card.
Manchester City moved up to third in the rankings after Sergio Aguero’s treble inspired them to a convincing 3-0 thumping of defending champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Elsewhere, there were significant alterations in the fight for survival as Sunderland drew within one point of survival after trouncing closest rivals Norwich City 3-0 away from home. Fellow strugglers Newcastle also tightened the gap with three points, as Aston Villa’s relegation was confirmed.
Read on for further details regarding the rest of the weekend's action, as well as the final standings after Week 34 and the fixtures to look forward to in Week 35.
| Premier League Results Week 34 | ||
| Saturday, April 16 | ||
| Norwich City | 0-3 | Sunderland |
| Everton | 1-1 | Southampton |
| Manchester United | 1-0 | Aston Villa |
| Newcastle United | 3-0 | Swansea City |
| West Bromwich Albion | 0-1 | Watford |
| Chelsea | 0-3 | Manchester City |
| Sunday, April 17 | ||
| AFC Bournemouth | 1-2 | Liverpool |
| Leicester City | 2-2 | West Ham United |
| Arsenal | 1-1 | Crystal Palace |
| Monday, April 18 | ||
| Stoke City | 0-4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Sky Sports | ||
| Premier League Standings | |||||||||
| 1 | Leicester | 34 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 73 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 34 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 64 | 25 | +39 | 68 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 33 | 18 | 6 | 9 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 60 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 60 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 56 |
| 6 | West Ham | 33 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 53 |
| 7 | Southampton | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 51 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 32 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 43 | +9 | 51 |
| 9 | Stoke | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 47 | -10 | 47 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 33 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 44 |
| 11 | Everton | 33 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 53 | 44 | +9 | 41 |
| 12 | Watford | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 37 | -5 | 41 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 41 | 57 | -16 | 41 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 31 | 40 | -9 | 40 |
| 15 | Swansea | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 34 | 45 | -11 | 40 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 36 | 43 | -7 | 39 |
| 17 | Norwich | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 35 | 60 | -25 | 31 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 39 | 57 | -18 | 30 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 33 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 35 | 61 | -26 | 28 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 34 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 23 | 65 | -42 | 16 |
| Sky Sports | |||||||||
| Premier League Week 35 Fixtures | ||
| Tues, April 19 | 19:45 | Newcastle United vs. Manchester City |
| Wed, April 20 | 19:45 | West Ham United vs. Watford |
| Wed, April 20 | 20:00 | Liverpool vs. Everton |
| Wed, April 20 | 20:00 | Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace |
| Thurs, April 21 | 19:45 | Arsenal vs. West Bromwich Albion |
| Premier League | ||
Week 34 Recap
Tottenham's title tilt continued on Monday as they thrashed Stoke 4-0 to move to within five points of Leicester at the summit of the Premier League.
Harry Kane missed a good opportunity to open the scoring after seven minutes as he failed to sort his feet before being closed down in the box. Two minutes later Kane did notch his goal, collecting possession on the left of the box before bending his shot into the bottom corner.
The Spurs hitman moved clear of Jamie Vardy at the top of the scorers' charts with his 23rd strike in the league.
His individual goal tally is even more impressive when compared to an entire club, per Opta:
OptaJoe @OptaJoe44 - Since the start of last season Harry Kane has scored 44 Premier League goals, only 10 fewer than Aston Villa in the same period. Hot.
Spurs’ grip on the match tightened on 67 minutes when Dele Alli collected Christian Eriksen’s screened pass before dinking his shot over the grounded Shay Given.
The Tottenham fans were in full voice in Staffordshire, serenading their sublime attacking talent:
Tottenham Hotspur @SpursOfficial🎵🎶 We've got Alli, @Dele_Alli... 🎵🎶 #COYS
Seconds later, Alli missed a gilt-edged chance to net his team's third after rounding the Stoke goalkeeper but somehow fired his shot on to the post when clear of pressure.
Spurs were not to be punished, however, as England striker Kane netted his second of the game following a devastating counter-attack including Alli and Erik Lamela. With nine minutes to play, Alli then bagged his brace with a controlled volley into the bottom corner.
There was a shift in balance on Saturday in the fight to remain in the division, as Sunderland claimed a vital three points over relegation rivals Norwich to close the gap to within one point, with an additional match still yet to play.
Despite the Carrow Road hosts mounting early pressure, it was the Black Cats who struck the first blow four minutes before the half-time whistle.
Fabio Borini had threatened with an arrowed effort just wide of goal minutes earlier, but the Italian forward broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after he was brought down in the area by Andre Wisdom’s mistimed tackle.
The former Chelsea striker dusted himself down to strike an accurate effort low and hard into the bottom corner to help his side take the initiative in the relegation "six-pointer."
Sunderland’s official Twitter account acknowledged the importance of the result after the final whistle:
Sunderland AFC 🔴⚪ @SunderlandAFCFULL TIME: Norwich City 0-3 Sunderland - A HUGE result for the Black Cats! Get in!
Jermain Defoe added another shortly after the interval before youngster Duncan Watmore wrapped up the memorable encounter in the dying seconds.
Newcastle United recorded their first win of Rafael Benitez’s reign in charge on Tyneside with a surprise 3-0 victory over Swansea City at St. James’ Park. The result sees the Magpies close in on 17th-placed Norwich and the safety line, with three points now the difference with five matches still to play.
Jamaal Lascelles scored the game’s opener in the first period, bundling a corner kick over the goal line. The north-east supporters were then forced to sit through some agonising periods as the Swans began to dominate proceedings.
However, spurned opportunities from Bafetimbi Gomis and Jefferson Montero enabled Moussa Sissoko and Andros Townsend to net late goals and secure a first positive result in the league in seven attempts.
Former Spurs winger Townsend took to social media after the game to celebrate:
Andros Townsend @andros_townsendVery Important 3 points....1 down 5 to go.... Massive week ahead! Nice to score first SJP goal as well! #NUFC
At the top of the Premier League, title-chasing Leicester were handed a last-minute reprieve against European challengers West Ham in an action-packed encounter at the King Power Stadium.
Jamie Vardy netted his 22nd league goal of a sensational campaign to put the Foxes up midway through the first-period but was later shown a red card for two bookable offences in the second half.
Manager Ranieri believes the sending off had a detrimental effect on his team's performance:
After picking up a caution for a poor tackle earlier in the game, the England international saw red after referee Jonathan Moss accused Vardy of simulation in the area under pressure from Angelo Ogbonna.
Set to miss at least the next fixture against Swansea on Sunday, the official Premier League account shows just how effective the attacker has been this campaign:
Premier League @premierleague28 - @vardy7 has been involved in more #BPL goals this season than any other player (22 goals, 6 assists)
West Ham went on to score twice in the final seven minutes to turn the game on its head, but Claudio Ranieri’s men were handed a lifeline after Andy Carroll brought down N’Golo Kante in the area in the 92nd minute as Leonardo Ulloa grabbed a potentially decisive point.
Manchester City moved up to third in the table with their mauling of Chelsea on Saturday as Sergio Aguero scored all three goals in a 3-0 triumph.
The Argentina international struck past Thibaut Courtois twice in the first half before adding a late penalty after the Belgian stopper was shown a straight red for a late lunge on Fernandinho.
Aguero did not repeat his spot-kick failures from last Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League encounter with Paris Saint-Germain and calmly slotted his effort from 12 yards into the bottom corner.
The former Atletico Madrid front man has an enviable scoring record, as proven by SkySportsStatto:
Sky Sports Statto @SkySportsStattoSergio Aguero completes his 7th hat-trick for Man City (80th min penalty) - 5 PL, 1 CL & 1 FAC
In the day’s other fixtures, Everton’s poor league form dragged on with a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton. Roberto Martinez’s men have failed to take maximum points in any of their last six games in the league and were fortunate to take a share of the spoils at Goodison Park.
Ramiro Funes Mori put the Toffees in front, but Everton were unable to hold on to claim victory as Sadio Mane netted a deserved equaliser.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Aston Villa’s long-awaited relegation was finally confirmed with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Eighteen-year-old striker Marcus Rashford netted the only goal of the game to claim his seventh goal in 12 appearances in all competitions as Villa’s demise was sealed.
Liverpool dropped several first-team members owing to their upcoming UEFA Europa League clash with Villarreal but still managed to secure victory at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, beating Bournemouth 2-1.
The Reds’ top scorer Roberto Firmino added to his impressive tally to net the game's opener before Daniel Sturridge doubled the advantage for head coach Jurgen Klopp. Joshua King's late strike was merely a consolation in the third minute of second-half injury time.
Arsenal failed to complete their task this weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium despite entering the final 10 minutes in front.
SkySportsStatto reveals the stats behind the Gunners' poor form against their capital rivals:
Sky Sports Statto @SkySportsStattoArsene Wenger's side in PL London derbies this season: P8 W1 D4 L3 F9 A13
Alexis Sanchez netted for the third game in succession with a well-timed header, but Yannick Bolasie scored with a pile-driver eight minutes from time to snatch a point for Alan Pardew’s men.
