Dempsey goal, assist lift Spurs into EPL 4th place

LONDON (AP) ? Clint Dempsey scored the tying goal on a sliding shot into an empty net from 30 yards, then crossed to Emmanuel Adebayor for the a goal-ahead in the 83rd minute to lead Tottenham over Stoke 2-1 Sunday and into fourth place in the Premier League.

Steven Nzonzi gave Stoke the lead in the third minute, and Dempsey put the ball in the net in the 15th, only to have it disallowed for offside.

Five minutes later, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic rushed out for a long ball into the penalty area by Scott Parker as defender Mark Wilson cleared it near Dempsey. The American midfielder, seeing Begovic off his line, chipped the ball into the net for his seventh league goal of the season and 12th overall.

Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam was ejected in the 47th after earning a second yellow card for a foul on Jan Vertonghen. American defender Geoff Cameron entered in the 75th minute for host Stoke.

In the race for the Premier League's final two berths for next season's Champions League, Chelsea (21-7-9) is third with 72 points, followed by Tottenham (20-8-9) with 69 and Arsenal (19-7-10) with 67.

Arsenal hosts FA Cup champion and relegation-threatened Wigan on Tuesday night. The season ends next Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Everton, Tottenham is home against Sunderland and Arsenal is at Newcastle. Because of a superior goal difference, Chelsea likely needs at most a draw.

Newcastle and Norwich secured their Premier League survival with victories. Newcastle won 2-1 at already relegated Queens Park Rangers and Norwich won 4-0 at home over West Bromwich Albion.

Wigan, which is 18th, probably will need to win its last two games to have any chance to avoid relegation. Sunderland opened a four-point gap for 17th by tying visiting Southampton 1-1. Phil Bardsley scored on a deflected shot in the 68th but Jason Puncheon tied it in the 74th.

Manchester United beat Swansea 2-1, giving manager Alex Ferguson a winning sendoff in his final game at Old Trafford. Rio Ferdinand scored in the 86th minute, his first Premier League goal since January 2008.

David Moyes won his final home game as Everton manager, with Kevin Mirallas scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over West Ham. Moyes is taking over from Ferguson at Manchester United at the end of the season after leading the Toffees for 11 years.

In the League Championship, Watford will play Crystal Palace or Brighton in the promotion playoff final on May 27 at Wembley after a thrilling 3-1 win over Leicester for a 3-2 aggregate win. Manuel Almunia saved Anthony Knockaert's penalty kick in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time and Knockaert's shot off the rebound. Troy Deeney scored the decisive goal for Watford about 30 seconds later.

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PARIS (AP) ? Paris-Saint German clinched its first French league title since 1994, winning 1-0 at Lyon on Jeremy Menez's goal in the 53rd minute.

PSG (22-5-8), which has spent about $329 million to acquire players during the past two years, holds a seven-point lead over second-place Marseille (21-8-7) with two games remaining.

PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham have won league titles in four different countries.

"It wasn't easy to win here," PSG manager Carlo Ancelotti said after winning his third league title to go along with championships at AC Milan and Chelsea. "It's been difficult in a league with a lot of intensity and speed. But the team has been solid and compact since December. We've fulfilled the objective of winning Ligue 1 and going far in the Champions League."

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MADRID (AP) ? Barcelona celebrated its 22nd Spanish league title and fourth in five year, by rallying for a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid after Lionel Messi reinjured his right hamstring.

Messi left in the 68th minute, after Barcelona used its three substitutes, and his record league scoring streak ended at 21 matches, more than double the previous record of 10.

Barcelona (29-2-4) clinched the title Saturday when second-place Real Madrid (25-5-6) tied Espanyol 1-1. Radamel Falcao put Atletico ahead in the 52nd minute, but Alexis Sanchez scored in the 72nd and Gabi Fernandez had an own goal in the 80th.

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MILAN (AP) ? Fiorentina closed within two points of AC Milan for third place ? the final Champions League berth ? with a 1-0 win over Palermo that relegated the visitors to Serie B next season. Luca Toni scored against his former team in the 41st minute.

Milan missed a chance to clinch third, playing a 0-0 tie against Roma in a match briefly suspended in the second half because of racist chanting directed at Italian forward Mario Balotelli by the visiting Roma fans.

Genoa tied 0-0 at home against Inter Milan, a result that relegated Siena before its 2-1 loss at second-place Napoli.

Milan (20-8-9) closes next Sunday at Siena (9-19-9), while Fiorentina (20-10-7) finishes at last-place Pescara (6-27-4) already was assured of relegation. Genoa (8-16-13), which is 17th, cannot be overtaken by Palermo (6-17-14).

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Kaiserslautern won 3-1 at Regensburg to clinch third place in Germany's second division, securing a slot in the home-and-home playoff for a place in the Bundesliga next season.

Kaiserslautern's opponent will be the 16th-place team from the Bundesliga: Fortuna Duesseldorf, Augsburg or Hoffenheim. The playoff will be May 23 and May 27.

Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Braunschweig have earned promotion, and Greuther Fuerth has been relegated from the Bundesliga.

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American defender Clarence Goodson scored the opening goal in the 37th minute, helping Brondy to a 1-1 tie at Aalborg in Denmark's Superliga.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dempsey-goal-assist-lift-spurs-epl-4th-place-164147911.html

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