Tottenham Hotspur have moved into the Premier League top four, after a second-half blitz fired them to an emphatic 5-1 home win over Newcastle United.
Spurs are now level on 54 points with Arsenal, but their London rivals have two games in hand and can move back into fourth place, when they visit Crystal Palace on Tuesday (NZ time). Newcastle are 15th with 31 points, nine clear of the relegation zone.
Much of the first half was played in Newcastle territory, but Tottenham failed to find a way through their opponents, before the away side grabbed a surprise lead in the 39th minute through Fabian Schar, who drilled a low free-kick past Hugo Lloris.
Newcastle's lead lasted only four minutes, as Ben Davies got in front of his marker to head home a delightful Son Heung-min cross and bring to life a dour half that had initially promised little.
Spurs took the lead almost immediately after the restart through wing-back Matt Doherty's diving header from a Harry Kane cross, before the dangerous Son doubled their advantage in the 54th minute, as he finished off a sweeping move.
Dejan Kulusevski, who joined Tottenham on loan from Juventus in January, was a constant threat down the right, as he set up Son's goal, and often combined brilliantly with the South Korean and England striker Kane to stretch the Newcastle defence.
"When you see your team play this way, you enjoy it," said Spurs manager Antonio Conte. "We played a really good game.
"Newcastle are not easy to face. They try to be compact and deep to not concede space."
Newcastle made a double switch just before the hour, bringing on Jacob Murphy and Bruno Guimaraes, but Tottenham heaped more misery on the visitors, as Emerson Royal and substitute Steven Bergwijn added two more goals to complete the rout.
"In the second half, we controlled the game and had the chances to secure the result," added Conte. "Newcastle are well prepared and have good players.
"We are in a good moment. The team are growing in every aspect."
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said the second goal made all the difference, after his side had displayed great defensive solidity in the opening stages.
"We contributed to that [scoreline]. We were 1-0 up and executing a good plan.
"We were controlling them as best we could. The second goal is the key thing.
"We chased the game in a way you can't against this type of team. We took risks and didn't execute it well enough," added Howe, whose team have now lost their last three league games.
West Ham 2 Everton 1
West Ham United have boosted their bid for European qualification, as defender Aaron Cresswell's brilliant free-kick and forward Jarrod Bowen's second-half strike sealed a Premier League win over 10-man Everton at the London Stadium.
Victory saw West Ham climb three spots to fifth, with 51 points from 31 games, three points behind fourth-placed London rivals Arsenal, after playing three games more, while Everton remain in 17th, three points above the drop zone.
Bowen stroked the winner into the net in the 58th minute, after Michail Antonio had his effort saved, but relegation-threatened Everton only had themselves to blame, as Alex Iwobi had gifted possession to David Moyes' side in the build-up.
The goal marked a memorable return for Bowen from a right-heel injury that had ruled him out of the last four games and the 25-year-old, who has scored nine goals and provided eight assists this season, was delighted.
"That's what you want when you have been out, " Bowen told Sky Sports. "It has been four weeks.
"The time has been annoying, but to come back into the starting XI and get the three points, I don't think you can ask for more.
"We knew they would come out chasing the game, it was just about dealing with it. They got the goal and it was a kick in the teeth - it's about the reaction and we showed it."
Earlier, boyhood Liverpool fan Cresswell heaped the misery on their 17th-placed Merseyside rivals in the 32nd minute, as he curled the ball into the top right corner to make it 1-0, after Bowen drew a foul from Mason Holgate in a promising position.
"It was a great feeling to do that," Cresswell told the BBC. "Delighted with the goal, but the main thing is three points.
"We practice free-kicks before a game. You can practice all you want, but it is what happens out there.
"I have a few mates who are Everton fans and they have been giving me stick this week, so I might have gone over the top in my celebrations."
A late addition to the Everton team after Donny van de Beek's injury during the warm-up, Holgate made it 1-1 after the break with his first league goal of the season, although his shot took a big deflection past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Everton were reduced to 10 men for the third straight league match, as skipper Michael Keane was shown his second yellow card for a lunging tackle on Antonio, leaving Frank Lampard's side facing an even more daunting task for more than 25 minutes.
West Ham can now look forward to Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash at home to Olympique Lyonnais, while Everton visit fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley on Wednesday, looking for only their second away win of the season.
"The performance today was a lot better than we had been doing, but ultimately, it doesn't equal three points," Holgate said. "The game on Wednesday is huge now - we have to win."
Reuters
