Spurs fire in four to leave Ipswich cut adrift

Ipswich are now five points from safety after losing 4-1 at home to Tottenham, who made it three wins on the spin in the Premier League.

It could have been so different for Ipswich had they scored one of three big chances inside the first five minutes but Liam Delap's luck was out and Spurs grabbed the all-important opener through Brennan Johnson after a neat assist from Heung-Min Son.

The same duo were at it again on 26 minutes, ruthlessly punishing Town, whose defending was questionable as Johnson fired home from another Son cross.

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Omari Hutchinson curled in a beauty to give Ipswich hope before the break.

Half-time substitute Luke Woolfenden thought he had levelled after 61 minutes when he headed home Hutchinson's cross, but the defender had strayed offside.

Djed Spence restored the two-goal cushion for Ange Postecoglou's team and Dejan Kulusevski wrapped up the points with a classy finish despite Ipswich's Jacob Greaves being down with a head injury.

With Wolves winning at Bournemouth, Ipswich are now cut adrift at the bottom and it looks increasingly likely that the three promoted clubs will be heading straight back down.

For Spurs, with key players returning, things are looking a lot rosier.

Premier League is a cruel mistress

Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:

"Football can be cruel. Ipswich did so many things right.

"The gameplan was to press Spurs hard and fast with an eye of playing direct balls to Delap in dangerous areas. It should have led to them being 3-0 up in the first five minutes - not an exaggeration.

"Delap missed two great openings from the left before hitting the crossbar with a deft header. But it has been one of those seasons for Ipswich where they have been punished for their underperformance in both boxes.

"Spurs didn't need three chances to score - they needed only two and scored from both. That is the harsh reality of this level. Ipswich have picked up seven points at Portman Road this season - only Southampton have picked up fewer home points. There's so much to like about this Ipswich team but results are proving so hard for them to come by."

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