Tottenham blow away Manchester United to maintain title hopes

Football Soccer - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United - Barclays Premier League - White Hart Lane - 10/4/16 Manchester United's Jesse Lingard, Chris Smalling and David De Gea look dejected at the end of the match Reuters / Eddie Keogh Livepic

LONDON, (Reuters) - Tottenham destroyed a lacklustre United with a three-goal salvo in six second-half minutes to keep alive their Premier League title quest.

Starting the match 10 points adrift of leaders Leicester, Tottenham shaved the gap to seven with 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 City's march towards the title.

Fifth-placed United managed only one shot on target as their hopes of a Champions League spot suffered a severe blow.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)