Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte on Monday challenged his team to push for a top-four finish in the English Premier League after their 5-0 rout of Everton pushed the woeful visitors deeper into relegation danger.
Tottenham ran riot in north London after Michael Keane’s own-goal started the spree early in the first half.
Son Heung-min increased Tottenham’s advantage and Harry Kane bagged the third before the interval.
Photo: Reuters
Sergio Reguilon made it four and Kane netted again to complete the demolition.
Tottenham’s second successive league victory moved them up to seventh position, three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, who have played one game less than their north London rivals.
Conte has frequently bemoaned the “ups and downs” of life as Tottenham manager, pointing to the club’s history of inconsistency as proof that it would take time for him to make an impact.
The past few weeks have underlined Conte’s concerns, with victory at champions Manchester City followed by a dismal defeat against lowly Burnley.
The swaggering display against Everton, which came immediately after an embarrassing FA Cup loss at second tier Middlesbrough, at least provided hope that the Italian could turn the tide eventually.
“A good game. Also a good answer after the last defeat,” Conte said. “It’s not enough. The players and I want to fight for a position at the top of the table.”
“We have to take this responsibility in the last 12 games to give everything. I want an answer from my players against Manchester United on Saturday,” he said. “I want to see if we’re getting better in a tough game against an important team fighting with us for the top four.”
For slumping Everton, the alarm bells are ringing after a fourth defeat in five league games since Frank Lampard replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez as manager.
Lampard’s team are languishing just one point and one place above the relegation zone.
Although they have a game in hand on third-from-bottom Burnley, their wretched surrender suggests there is a serious chance of Everton being condemned to play outside the top tier for the first time since 1954.
“I could tell there was a fear of relegation when I came in. This challenge isn’t bigger than I expected, I knew it would be [hard],” Lampard said. “Individual errors led to goals which took the game away from us. When you know what’s coming and fall foul of it, that’s the most disappointing thing.”
“The reaction was not good enough. It was the reaction of a team used to losing away from home. We need to sort it out,” he said.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
RSS