Tottenham beat Luton to move into fourth place in EPL, Chelsea held by 10-man Burnley

Luton Town’s Burkinese defender Issa Kabore (R) jumps to stop the shot by Tottenham Hotspur’s German striker Timo Werner but ends up scoring an own goal during their English Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on Mar. 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 30 March 2024
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Tottenham beat Luton to move into fourth place in EPL, Chelsea held by 10-man Burnley

  • Tottenham moved to fourth place, level on points with Aston Villa
  • Chelsea winger Cole Palmer became the fifth player to reach 20 goal involvements in his first Premier League

LONDON: Son Heung-min’s late goal lifted Tottenham over struggling Luton 2-1 in the English Premier League on Saturday and maintained the pressure on Aston Villa in the race for a top-four finish.
Spurs came close to conceding their first home draw against a Luton side locked in the relegation battle, but the South Korea captain decided otherwise in the 86th minute after a quick break, concluding the move with a shot that took a deflection.
Tottenham moved to fourth place, level on points with Aston Villa, which hosted Wolves later.
Third-placed Manchester City and leader Arsenal meet on Sunday with just one point separating them. Second-placed Liverpool host Brighton on the same day.

LETHARGIC SPURS
Tottenham were lethargic in the first half and were made to pay for it when Tahith Chong finished a fine collective move from the visitors. Spurs equalized in the 49th after defender Issa Kabore, under pressure from Timo Werner, put the ball into his own net.
Kabore made up for his mistake with decisive blocks in the second half as Tottenham pressed for a winner that finally came five minutes from time.

PALMER’S PANENKA
Chelsea winger Cole Palmer became the fifth player to reach 20 goal involvements in his first Premier League. Palmer’s brace at Stamford Bridge could help Chelsea only draw 2-2 with 10-man Burnley.
Chelsea were wasteful in the first half and had a goal ruled out after 20 minutes. The Blues took the lead from the spot when Palmer scored with a Panenka kick, chipping the ball down the middle.
The decision after a VAR check to award the penalty to Chelsea for a foul on Mykhailo Mudryk in the box left Burnley coach Vincent Kompany fuming. Kompany was issued a red card for his vehement protest. Lorenz Assignon, who received a second yellow card for dragging down Mudryk, was also sent off.
Burnley pushed back and leveled when Josh Cullen volleyed home from 25 meters.
Palmer restored Chelsea’s lead in the 78th from Raheem Sterling’s backheel pass.
Dara O’Shea snatched the equalizer with a header badly handled by Djordje Petrovic.


Trump lauds Infantino for ‘record breaking’ World Cup

Updated 25 sec ago
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Trump lauds Infantino for ‘record breaking’ World Cup

  • Trump said: “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman”
  • Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump turned the spotlight onto FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, praising the football boss’ organization of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Infantino has been criticized in recent months by some observers who accuse him of drawing uncomfortably close to Trump, whose administration has taken a high-profile role in US preparations for what will be the biggest and most logistically-challenging World Cup ever.
The soccer boss attended Trump’s inauguration in January and has previously said the US leader deserved global recognition for his role in brokering a ceasefire in the Middle East.
FIFA plans to unveil its own peace prize during the draw ceremony with Trump the expected recipient. Spotting Infantino in the audience during a ceremony in Washington marking the signing of a peace treaty between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trump congratulated him for what he described as record-breaking ticket demand for the first 48-team World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Gianni, thank you very much,” Trump said. “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman.”
Teams will learn their group-stage fate later on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in a draw for a tournament that stretches across three countries and 16 cities, from Vancouver to Mexico City.
Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before. “I can report to you that we have sold more tickets than any country anywhere in the world at this stage of the game,” he said, adding that demand had already “broken all records”. Over one million tickets have been purchased so far by fans from 212 countries, FIFA said last month.
After the presidential shout-out, Infantino did not speak publicly.
The FIFA president is overseeing his third men’s World Cup, after Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.