Newcastle and Spurs grab late wins, Forest edge out of drop zone

LONDON (Agencies): Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United both sealed comeback victories to boost their European qualification hopes while at the other end of the table Nottingham Forest edged back out of the relegation zone on Saturday. Chelsea’s struggles continued as they were held to a 2-2 home draw against relegation-threatened Burnley. Son Heung-min’s 86th minute strike earned Tottenham a 2-1 victory over Luton to put the pressure back on Aston Villa in the battle for fourth spot. Newcastle’s win over West Ham United was far more dramatic as they trailed 3-1 with 77 minutes on the clock but two goals from Harvey Barnes gave them a 4-3 victory. With Aston Villa playing Wolverhampton Wanderers later, Tottenham climbed into fourth place with 56 points from 29 games, ahead of Villa on goals scored. Newcastle are in eighth spot but now only a point behind seventh-placed West Ham with a game in hand. “It was one of the maddest games I have played in for sure,” Barnes told the BBC. “We were obviously disappointed to be where we are in the game and then we had a mountain to climb.

“This team is all about team spirit and never give up and that showed in abundance today.” Alexander Isak’s early penalty gave Newcastle the lead but West Ham hit back with goals by Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. Isak’s second penalty 13 minutes from time gave Newcastle hope and the livewire Barnes then equalised before lashing in a 90th-minute winner. There was still more drama as Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was show a second yellow card for kicking the ball away. Luton dropped back below Forest into the relegation zone as they were stung by Son’s late winner. Tahith Chong gave the visitors a surprise early lead but Issa Kabore’s own goal in the 51st minute levelled it up. Tottenham captain Son then started and finished a flowing late move to bag his 160th goal for the club. Forest, whose four-point penalty during the international break had dropped them to 18th in the table, fell behind at home to Crystal Palace at the City Ground. But Chris Wood rescued a point which lifted Forest to 17th place, level on 22 points with Luton Town after 30 games but with a marginally superior goal difference.

Below them, Burnley and Sheffield United are showing some fighting spirit with both earning points on Saturday. Despite being down to 10 men when Lorenz Assignon was shown a second yellow card for a foul which resulted in Cole Palmer netting a 44th-minute penalty, Burnley did not wilt. Clarets’ captain Josh Cullen stunned Stamford Bridge by scoring two minutes into the second half and although Palmer restored Chelsea’s lead, Dara O’Shea’s powerful header squared it up before Jay Rodriguez almost won it for Burnley. Chelsea remained in 11th place while Burnley are 19th, four points behind Forest. Bottom club Sheffield United led 3-1 at home to Fulham but goals by Bobby Decordova-Reid and Rodrigo Muniz denied them a victory that would have raised hopes of survival. United, for whom Ben Brereton Diaz scored twice and Oli McBurnie once, thought they had gone 4-1 ahead but McBurnie’s second goal was ruled out by VAR. And the home crowd was stunned in the third of 14 minutes of stoppage time when in-form Brazilian Muniz met Adama Traore’s cross with a spectacular overhead volley. Sixth-placed Manchester United conclude the day’s action at struggling Brentford as they seek to keep pace with Villa and Tottenham in the top-four scrap. The title race resumes on Sunday with leaders Arsenal at Manchester City and Liverpool hosting Brighton.