Antonio Conte smells blood in the water as Spurs lead rivals in top-four race

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte told his side to “feel the blood” of their top-four rivals after a potentially decisive weekend in the race for Champions League qualification.

After Manchester United and Arsenal both lost earlier in the day, Son Heung-min’s sensational hat-trick and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike earned a 4-0 win against Aston Villa that sent Spurs three points in clear in fourth.

It could not have been a bigger statement from Conte’s side and they will now be favourites to finish the job, having won six of their last seven Premier League games.

“It was a great win for us, it wasn’t easy. But a great win, especially when you play a game after the games of your rivals in the race for the Champions League and they lost,” the Italian said.

“Wolves, Manchester United and Arsenal. We had to show in this moment that you start to feel the blood of your opponent and it is important to not fail.

“For this reason we are working a lot on the mentality. The players are giving me great satisfaction in many aspects.

“I said this before Arsenal, United and then Wolves and West Ham are with us in the same race for a place in the Champions League.

“To know that your opponent lose their games, and for sure they have to give you the right desire, the right will to get three points because in one hand you know our rivals lose the game if we lose, but we are always in the fourth place.

“A little medium team can think this. A top, strong team think that it is the right moment to improve the distance over your rivals and exploit this situation.

“We did this despite the difficulty of the game. I repeat we didn’t play with a team (that is) no good, we played against Aston Villa in this stadium, it’s not easy for anyone to win