London – Tottenham Hotspur remained a worrying presence in Chelsea’s rearview mirror after a second successive 4-0 victory cut the gap in the Premier League title race to four points on Saturday.
Bournemouth became the 12th consecutive side to leave White Hart Lane empty-handed as Harry Kane hit the 20 league goal mark for the third season in a row with his side’s third.
Long-time leader Chelsea is away at Manchester United on Sunday for what looks the toughest fixture of its run-in.
“We got the three points and now the pressure is on Chelsea to win in Old Trafford,” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “It would be fantastic if tomorrow night, after the game, the gap is still four points. But four points is still a lot.”
With only two of its last six matches at home, Tottenham is still a rank outsider to snatch a first title since 1961.
Manchester City moved above Liverpool into third after it registered an impressive 3-0 win away at Southampton, with captain Vincent Kompany on the scoresheet.
Kompany’s impassioned celebration, following his 55th-minute opener, told the story of what has been two injury-hit seasons for the inspirational Belgian defender.
“I don’t really complain about what’s happened to me, I just carry on,” Kompany, whose goal was his first since August 2015, told BT Sport.
“When this happens, I feel I’m giving something back to the fans. I’m finally giving something back to the team and that’s what you see in that moment.”
Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero — with his 11th goal in 11 games in all competitions — were also on the scoresheet.
In the title run-in, Chelsea must still also visit Everton, which racked up an eighth successive home win when beating Burnley 3-1 to move above Arsenal and United into fifth, albeit having played more games than the teams around them.
Premier League top scorer Romelu Lukaku struck Everton’s third, taking his season tally to 24.
There was little movement in the relegation battle with none of the clubs in the bottom six managing a win.
Bottom club Sunderland scored its first goal in eight games as Fabio Borini’s late equalizer earned it a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham United, which left it nine points behind 17th-place Hull City which lost 3-1 at Stoke City.
Second-from-bottom Middlesbrough hosts seventh-place Arsenal on Monday while 18th-place Swansea City slumped to a fifth defeat in six matches in a 1-0 loss at Watford.
Swansea remains two points behind Hull while Crystal Palace, which battled back from two down to draw 2-2 at home to champions Leicester City, is seven points above the relegation trapdoor.
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Spurs striker Vincent Jansson scores during their 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. | REUTERS
