It turns out there are more appealing opponents than those on the beach – those with their eyes elsewhere.
That is what two of Sunday’s three Premier League matches told us, anyway.
First, there was Bournemouth’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, a match sandwiched between the Eagles’ Europa Conference League semi-final legs against Shakhtar Donetsk, before 2025 Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur beat 2026 Europa League favourites Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park.
Palace head coach Oliver Glasner compared Sunday’s fixture at the Vitality to “a friend’s birthday” and Thursday’s second leg against Shakhtar as “your wedding” in perhaps the quote of the season.
“Let’s say you have a friend’s birthday and your wedding [a few days later]; you are more excited for the wedding. This is the same. Bournemouth’s semi-final was today – ours is Thursday.”
This is all very positive news for a Chelsea side chasing their first Premier League win since March 4, as they face Aston Villa’s Europa League semi-final opponents Nottingham Forest on Monday.
The performances of those Villa players tasked with the major inconvenience of a home match against Tottenham resembled those forced to attend a birthday party of their girlfriend’s friend you don’t have much time for.
Despite being given a chance to impress, Unai Emery’s fringe players produced a pathetic performance that left the Villa boss perplexed on the touchline.
Usually animated in his technical area, he was, as Darren ‘Fletch’ Fletcher put it, “dumbfounded”, and seemed to have the same expression on his face every time the camera cut to him – which was quite frequently, certainly more often than good patterns of play from his players.
While the Villa players showed no desire, effort or quality, Tottenham had all of the above in abundance to earn a priceless three points – their second Premier League win after their first in 2026 last time out.
After a typically limp performance at Sunderland in Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge, Spurs were clearly better in their home draw with Brighton, and that improvement continued away to Wolves last week. The momentum from that win carried into this weekend, inspiring an excellent performance – their best in the Premier League since the early weeks of Thomas Frank’s tenure.
Spurs certainly benefited from a disgraceful Villa performance, though this is not a team guaranteed to take advantage of poor opposition displays. They have had rotten luck all season, but this time they took their chances rather than hitting the woodwork or missing sitters, with standout performers all over the pitch.
Randal Kolo Muani had his best game in a Spurs shirt. Micky van de Ven was superb. Joao Palhinha, Conor Gallagher and Rodrigo Bentancur were a nightmare to play against all evening. It all came together on and off the ball, and De Zerbi will be a very happy man this evening.
The Spurs supporters seemed to be embracing the relegation battle for the first time, while the home support were miserable and rightly furious throughout.
It was the most ‘eyes elsewhere’ performance we’ve seen in, well, hours, as Villa clearly had all their eggs in the Europa League basket.
You can’t really blame them at the semi-final stage, with Champions League qualification all but secured via a top-five finish in the Premier League. It would take something remarkable for Villa to bottle it, but Bournemouth are in good form and the Villans have now won three, drawn three and lost six of their last 12 league matches. They have not been at the races this year, and Sunday’s match was their worst showing of the campaign.
It came at an unsurprising time given their European commitments, but at a perfect time for Spurs and an awful one for West Ham, who now take their London rivals’ place in the bottom three.
The relegation picture looks very different, changing the outlook on Forest’s trip to Chelsea on Monday and leaving Spurs in the awkward position of supporting title-chasing Arsenal away to the Hammers next weekend, while they face Leeds United, who may now be on the proverbial beach
We will soon find out whether those teams are more dangerous than ones with bigger priorities. For now, though, Spurs can enjoy an absolutely priceless win and at least seven days out of the relegation zone.