SOCCER: Tottenham climb out of relegation zone with win at Aston Villa

BIRMINGHAM, England — Tottenham Hotspur eased their Premier League relegation concerns with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday, moving above West Ham United and out of the bottom three.

West Ham’s defeat to Brentford a day earlier opened the door for Tottenham, and they made the most of the opportunity. Conor Gallagher opened the scoring with a low strike, before Richarlison doubled the lead with a header inside the opening 25 minutes, punishing a disjointed Villa defense.

Fifth-placed Villa struggled to find rhythm and did not register a shot on target until Emiliano Buendía’s late header reduced the deficit in the closing moments of the match.

Tottenham had gone 15 league matches without a win before ending that run against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week. Despite a long injury list, they appeared far more organized and confident compared to recent performances.

New manager Roberto De Zerbi has now collected seven points from his first three matches in charge. While Tottenham are not yet mathematically safe from relegation for the first time since 1977, their recent form has provided a boost heading into the final three games of the season.

The win lifted Tottenham to 17th place with 37 points from 35 matches, ahead of West Ham, who remain on 36 points from the same number of games. Tottenham also hold a significantly better goal difference than their London rivals. Aston Villa stay fifth with 58 points. -Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis/Reuters