Key takeaways: 

• Son Heung-min's hat-trick was his second in the Premier League, scoring four goals in a 5-2 victory at Southampton in September 2020.
• Son Heung-min's hat-trick saved Tottenham's Premier League top-four fate in their own hands as Spurs delivered a masterclass in clinical finishing to beat Aston Villa.

After South Korea forward steered the guests into an early lead, Spurs fought a Villa onslaught to stay ahead at the interval, with veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris making a series of excellent saves.

But they moved to win with a stunning, counter-attacking second-half performance as Son cleaned home two more pleasing finishes, either side of an equally intelligent strike from Dejan Kulusevski.

In the fourth Champions League spot race, a fourth-successive victory drove Antonio Conte's side three points further north London rivals Arsenal - defeated at home by Brighton earlier on Saturday.

Meanwhile, despite dominating long periods of the first half, Villa was left to contemplate a fourth-straight loss, as returning forward, Danny Ings wasted two superb chances to get them level.

Son shines - but he's distant from alone for the Spurs

While the scoreline failed to reflect the general balance of play - or changes made - in the West Midlands, Spurs had the difference-making unique talents.

Top among them, of course, was Son, who never stops to amaze - his first and third goals beautifully hit first-time actions that both went in off the post, with a written one-on-one finish to defeat Emi Martinez in between.

On-loan Juventus midfielder Kulusevski again ingrained, teeing up Son for his hat-trick after shooting an authentic finish through the legs of Tyrone Mings and beyond Martinez to set the result beyond doubt.

Harry Kane grabbed a back seat but was still concerned in three goals, flicking on headers in the build-up to two, but Lloris was arguably Spurs' stand-out entertainer.