West Ham United officially have Premier League survival in their own hands after Spurs lost and saw captain Cristian Romero leave the field injured in floods of tears.
The Hammers piled pressure on Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur with a 4-0 win over Wolves on Friday night.
While Tottenham did look more solid at Sunderland, they lost the game 1-0 – meaning West Ham remain out of the relegation zone for at least a week – for only the third time this season – with six games to go.
A deflected Nordi Mukiele strike from outside the box was the difference but profligate Sunderland should have won by more.
West Ham survival in own hands after Spurs loss
Tottenham showed very little in an attacking sense that would necessarily worry relegation rivals such as West Ham, Leeds and Nottingham Forest.
It means West Ham now have Premier League survival very much in their own hands while Spurs are relying on them or others to slip up.
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To make matters worse for Spurs, captain and star defender Cristian Romero went off injured after a clash with his own goalkeeper.
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Romero was down for some time and was comforted by a host of his Tottenham teammates as he broke down in tears when signalling to the bench he needed to come off.
The Argentine was inconsolable as he left the field, appearing to mouth and gesture to teammates that the injury was serious.
Losing their leader would be a bitter blow for Tottenham’s hopes of survival and can only boost the likes of West Ham, who now know that they will stay up if they match Tottenham’s results in the last six games.
With a two-point cushion, the Hammers can even afford to get one less result than their London rivals.
There was decent news for West Ham from Nottingham Forest too, although it could and should have been even better.
Spurs captain Romero breaks down in tears after serious-looking injury
Aston Villa led 1-0 at the City Ground but Forest drew level and that’s how the score remained, meaning Vitor Pereira’s side sit one point above the Irons.
West Ham won’t be thanking Morgan Rogers, though, after he somehow blazed the ball over an empty net from close range to win it for Villa.
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Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are one point off Leeds, who have three key players out until May and face Man United away on Monday night.
The state of play for West Ham for the last six games is now clear.
Two wins and two draws would put the Hammers on 40 points.
That would then mean Spurs have to win three and draw one of their last six – or win four – to finish above the Hammers.
West Ham may even have the chance to extend the gap on Spurs to five points when they go to Crystal Palace next Monday night.
Spurs have a difficult home game against De Zerbi’s former club Brighton on Saturday night.
Forest will be confident of a victory as they welcome Burnley to the City Ground on Sunday.
Leeds will also be confident of a home win as they welcome Wolves.
But with injuries and the fact Wolves have looked much-improved under Rob Edwards, that may not be as straightforward as it looks.
Relegation run-in remaining fixtures: