London: Gareth Bale scored twice and Luka Modric added another goal as Tottenham beat Wigan 3-1 on Tuesday to move within sight of the Premier League lead after Manchester City lost at Everton.
Bale's volley in the 29th minute was followed up by Modric's cool finish five minutes later from 18 yards to give Spurs a 2-0 half-time lead. Bale struck again for his 11th goal of the season in the 64th, before James McArthur scored a consolation goal for Wigan in the 80th.
Bale's first goal came courtesy of a brilliant Modric pass and fine individual skill from the Welshman before Modric doubled the lead, collecting a failed Wigan clearance and firing low past Ali Al-Habsi. The former Southampton man's second goal was simple, yet clinical, as he shifted the ball onto his left from the corner of the box and drilled past Al-Habsi.
Coming off a draw against Wolves and a loss to Man City, Tottenham are now only five points behind City and Manchester United.
Spurs are also seven points clear in the final automatic qualifying spot for the Champions League from fourth-placed Chelsea, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Swansea.
Spurs fashioned the first chance of the game after just five minutes but Younes Kaboul's header from a corner was pushed away by Al-Habsi at the far post.
Tottenham were allowed plenty of possession and inevitably created chances from then on. Niko Kranjcar, operating off the right flank, had license to drift inside and his early movement proved tricky for Wigan's defenders to follow.
After Rafael Van der Vaart's flick to Emmanuel Adebayor was knocked down in the area, Kranjcar timed his run perfectly. With the goal at his mercy, Kranjcar opted for the dummy, before cutting the ball back to Modric on the edge of the box. However his Croatian teammate curled the ball high and wide.
Kranjcar continued to probe, finding space on the left-hand side of the box as he alternated flanks with Bale. The recalled Croat found space for a shot on 20 minutes but drove into Al-Habsi's arms - who predictably was the much busier goalkeeper.
A pattern had emerged and it was an identical Van der Vaart corner on the 23rd minute that was met by Kaboul again - this time from more central. Al-Habsi gave up on his goal-bound header but, to the relief of the away side, James McCarthy dropped to the goal-line to hook to safety.
The tide kept coming though and it wasn't long before the home fans had reason to cheer. A counter-attack had slowed in part because of Kranjcar's hold-up play, however, as the gaps around them closed, Modric utilised that famed vision to spy Bale at the back-post. His sublime driven pass was trapped on the chest by the Welshman as he ghosted in behind Jean Beausejour, volleying the ball past Al-Habsi at his near post.
Bale's performance was electric from then on. Drifting from the left to the centre and the right flank periodically, Wigan could not cope with his movement.
By 33 minutes, Spurs were coasting. Benoit Assou-Ekotto advanced down the left and fed Modric on the edge of the Wigan box. His control initially escaped him and Gary Caldwell stabbed the ball into the recovering Jordi Gomez. The deflection wasn't kind though and allowed Modric to swivel and drill a fine strike past Al Habsi into the bottom right corner.
With a dominant lead in place, Tottenham kept composed and rode the wave of cheer to the half-time whistle. The only downside was the withdrawal of Van der Vaart, who succumbed to injury between goals.
Victor Moses had Wigan's first real chance early in the second half, taking advantage of some lax defending to cut inside and arrow a shot just over Brad Friedel's crossbar.
Roberto Martinez's side certainly had more of the ball and Tottenham were a bit more relaxed and consequently sloppy in possession, at least up until the hour mark. That was as good as it got for Wigan, however.
A Modric cross-field pass to Assou-Ekotto shifted the nature of Spurs' attack and the left-back gathered the ball before knocking it inside to Bale. The Welshman, who had moved to the left corner of the box, took a touch, shifted the ball onto his left foot and drove the ball hard and true beyond Al-Habsi's despairing left hand. The stadium erupted once more and Tottenham could coast home to a valuable three points.
There was a sour note with 20 minutes to play as Assou-Ekotto's loose control led a studs-first lunge at Franco di Santo. The Wigan striker was floored by the rake down his shin and duly replaced by Connor Sammon.
This provided a pause for Martinez to collect the composure of his side and substitute James McArthur soon pulled one back for the visitors. His left-footed strike appeared to take a deflection and loop over Friedel, nestling into the net via the back post.
Wigan pressed for a second and Friedel was called into action a number of times but Tottenham held on and deserved the win.
For Tottenham this was a performance that will inspire confidence ahead of a daunting trip to Anfield next week. Bale and Modric showed their class in taking Wigan apart and will no doubt relish the prospect of repeating the feat on Monday.
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