Rampant Newcastle wins big again as Man United held by Spurs

London, April 28 (BNA): After scoring 10 goals in four days, Newcastle United are one way or another close to qualifying for the Champions League, reports the Associated Press.

A top-four finish in the Premier League looks increasingly likely for Newcastle after their 4-1 win over Everton on Thursday. It wasn’t quite as certain as Sunday’s 6-1 defeat of Tottenham, but it wasn’t far off.

In third place and eight points behind teams struggling to stay in touch with the top four, Newcastle United will certainly join Manchester City and Arsenal in the Champions League next season.

Manchester United are favorites to be the fourth English team to reach the Champions League, but a second-half collapse against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday gave chasing teams – including Tottenham – some hope.

Their fans came back from 2-0 down at half-time, Tottenham’s players bounced back, drew it 2-2 and took back some pride from that poor performance at Newcastle which was one of the darkest days in the London club’s modern history.

It was so bad – Newcastle scored five times in the first 21 minutes – that the team refunded the fans who traveled to the match, and caretaker manager Christian Stellini was sacked.

Spurs, under another caretaker boss in Ryan Mason, are fifth on goal difference and lead the race behind fourth-placed United, six points clear with seven matches remaining.

The battle to avoid relegation is closer to the division, although bottom-placed Southampton look doomed after a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to south coast rivals Bournemouth.

That left Saints, who have been playing in the Premier League since 2012, six points from safety with five games remaining.

Everton remain penultimate after crushing Newcastle and have only won one of their last 10 games under Sean Dyche, whose appointment did not have the impact many expected.

Big game coming up on Monday against third-from-bottom Leicester, one point between the two teams. Whoever loses will be in real trouble.

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