Gareth Bale hat-trick helps Tottenham to a 4-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa
Last Updated: December 26, 2012 11:14pm
Gareth Bale's stunning second-half hat-trick helped Tottenham to cruise to a 4-0 Premier League victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Despite dominating the opening 45 minutes, it took until the 57th minute before Jermain Defoe opened the scoring for Spurs.
Best of the Match
- Man of the match: Gareth Bale was simply magnificent and deserved his second career hat-trick after a wonderful individual performance
- Goal of the match: Tottenham's fourth goal was sublime but the pass to Bale by Gylfi Sigurdsson was worth the entrance fee itself
- Moment of the match: The Welsh star was subbed after his treble and he got a well-deserved round of applause from both sets of fans
- Saves of the match: Brad Guzan made a number of fine saves to deny Spurs the opening goal in the first-half, showing why he's now Villa's No.1
- Stat of the match: Spurs have now lost only two of their last 19 league games played in December
- Talking point: Can Villa's kids come through this barren run, or will their heads sink?
Wales international Bale then took over with three goals in just 23 minutes to lift the north Londoners back into fourth position in the Premier League after their fifth win in their last seven.
Villa, meanwhile, set an unwanted record of their own having now conceded 12 goals in just two matches and they remain in 16th position.
Spurs went close early on when Bale saw a curling effort from outside the box kept out by a fine diving save from Brad Guzan, who was in inspirational form for the hosts in the first half.
Emmanuel Adebayor then nodded a Bale corner goalwards, with Guzan just managing to hold on to the ball.
Villa threatened towards the end of the half as Matthew Lowton delivered a ball that the sliding Brett Holman could not finish at the far post.
There were some encouraging signs for the home side in the opening minutes after the restart, albeit with Lowton ballooning a shot off-target and Christian Benteke being flagged offside as he brought a fine save out of Hugo Lloris.
The Villa fans' mood soon darkened as Spurs went ahead in the 57th minute when Defoe nut-megged Guzan to register his 14th goal of the season after a sumptuous through-ball by Kyle Naughton.
Bale then stole the show, netting in the 61st, 73rd and 84th minutes to take his own tally for the campaign to 10.
He took his first calmly following a counter-attack which he finished off by rounding Guzan and prodding home from close range.
It took a further 12 minutes for Bale to grab another goal and effectively end the game as a contest, the Welshman collecting Aaron Lennon's pass in the box and dispatching it into the bottom corner.
He then completed his treble with six minutes of normal time remaining, sending the ball into the roof of the net from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson's delightful tee-up.
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Matches
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Barclays Premier League
Table
Barclays Premier League
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 38 | 89 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 38 | 78 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 38 | 75 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 73 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 72 |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 63 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 38 | 61 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion | 38 | 49 |
| 9 | Swansea City | 38 | 46 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 38 | 46 |
| 11 | Norwich City | 38 | 44 |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 43 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 38 | 42 |
| 14 | Southampton | 38 | 41 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 38 | 41 |
| 16 | Newcastle United | 38 | 41 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 38 | 39 |
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 36 |
| 19 | Reading | 38 | 28 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 25 |
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