LONDON: Leicester City qualified for the Champions League for the first time on Sunday and moved closer to the Premier League title with a 2-0 win at struggling Sunderland.

Jamie Vardy scored both goals to take his tally for the season to 21 goals, ending a five-game drought.

The goals kept Leicester seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Manchester United 3-0, and guaranteed a top-four finish for the central England team.

Although fourth place only secures a place in the Champions League playoff round, it is highly unlikely Leicester will even be dislodged from top spot.

With five games to go, Leicester have 72 points, seven points ahead of Spurs and 19 points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, who have played a game fewer than the top two.

The loss for United saw their hopes of a Champions League spot suffer a severe blow as they fell four points behind city rivals Manchester City in fourth.

Sunderland, meanwhile, are four points from safety with six games remaining — experiencing a relegation battle Leicester was embroiled in last season.

The hosts held off the leaders until the 66th minute when Vardy met Danny Drinkwater’s high ball. The England striker tapped in his second in stoppage time after rounding goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

It might have been very different at Sunderland had Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel not managed to react quickly to keep out Fabio Borini’s deflected shot as the first half drew to a close.

But now it appears little can stop Leicester completing its amazing transformation from a team fighting relegation a year ago to lifting the league trophy in May.

“We’ve got a few games left. It’s a step but a very big one,” Drinkwater said. “Coming off the Sunderland fans were clapping us as well which is brilliant. It was a great game, we knew it would be tough but managed to grind it out.”

Tottenham destroyed a lacklustre United at White Hart Lane, with a three-goal salvo in six second-half minutes to keep alive their title quest

Goals from Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela earning them a first home league win over United since 2001.

After a flat first half in which Lamela missed an open goal, Spurs broke the deadlock after 70 minutes when Alli fired home Christian Eriksen’s low cross.

Alderweireld rose to head in Lamela’s free kick four minutes later and Lamela swept in a third for a rampant home side who remain the only possible threat to Leicester’s march towards the title.

In Sunday’s other match, Liverpool romped to an easy victory over Stoke City despite manager Juergen Klopp resting a number of players ahead of Thursday’s second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against his former club Borussia Dortmund.

Klopp made seven changes from the side that had drawn 1-1 in Germany, giving first Premier League starts to youngsters Kevin Stewart and Sheyi Ojo.

Ojo set up the second goal for Daniel Sturridge with a fine cross and when he was substituted at halftime, replacement Divock Origi scored twice. Earlier Alberto Moreno had put the home side in front before Bojan Krkic equalised.

The victory sent Liverpool above Stoke into eighth position, one point ahead of them but nine short of the Champions League places.

In Saturday’s late match, Manchester City secured back-to-back league wins for the first time since October after rallying to a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion thanks to Samir Nasri’s second-half winner.

City played a weakened team ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris St Germain, which is 2-2 after the first leg on Wednesday.

Stephane Sessegnon rattled a shot inside Joe Hart’s near post in the sixth minute to put the visitors ahead, but he brought down Aleksandar Kolarov to allow Sergio Aguero to score from 19th-minute penalty.

Back in the team following five months out with a serious hamstring problem, Nasri settled matters in the 66th minute when he tucked home after Aguero had seen a shot blocked.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2016