LONDON // TypicalTottenham. Once that would have meant a flaky collapse or buckling when the pressure was on. These days, it means a battling performance and a win sealed in the closing minutes by a brilliant goal from Gareth Bale.
It wasn't enough, though, since Arsenal's win at Newcastle meant they took the fourth Champions League qualifying spot.
So Tottenham finish fifth, one place worse than they did last season. Andre Villas-Boas's critics will use that as a stick with which to beat him, but Spurs collected three more points this season that they did last, and no side in a 20-team Premier League has ever achieved more than the 72 points they amassed and failed to finish in the top four.
"We would have ideally achieved the fourth spot, we did enough to deserve it," said Villas-Boas. "But in the end, moving forward is where we want to be."
After the departures of last summer - Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Vedran Corluka, Niko Kranjcar and Ledley King all leaving - there is a sense of a new team coming together, and if Bale stays, there is no reason they cannot improve next season.
In the end, Champions League football was lost in the back-to-back defeats that followed the victory over Arsenal in March - had they signed another forward in January, who knows what might have been possible.
Still, this wasn't a capitulation: Spurs took 18 points from their final eight games; it's just that Arsenal were relentless.
The big question, of course, is whether Bale will stay - Villas-Boas was adamant that he will. "If you want to develop the team, you have to keep hold of your best assets," he said.
Bale is importance to Spurs - not that it was in doubt after a year in which he was named Players' and Football Writers' Player of the Year, which was underlined again Sunderland.
At times, it seemed a straight fight between Bale and Sunderland's Simon Mignolet - comfortably their player of the season - a contest Bale eventually won with yet another trademark goal. Drifting in from the left with a little over a minute remaining, he thrashed a shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
That ended a siege that Sunderland had, improbably, seemed capable of withstanding. Their goal had been pounded with shot after shot, but Mignolet stood firm and defenders, admirably committed given how little was riding on the game for Sunderland, hurled themselves into blocks.
Twice Spurs should have had penalties.
The first came in the first half when Sebastian Larsson pulled at Bale's sleeve, an incident that, absurdly, earned the Wales international a booking for diving - his second of the season and the third of his career against Sunderland.
The second was even more ludicrous, with Carlos Cuellar slipping as he charged down a shot from Emmanuel Adebayor and beating the ball away with his hands.
Jack Colback cleared off the line from Scott Parker and then deflected Aaron Lennon's follow-up against the post, but after David Vaughan had become the third Sunderland player sent off in Paolo Di Canio's seven games in charge, the waves of Spurs pressure became intolerable.
Bale, at times, seems almost to be awaiting his moment, scoring his best goals at the moments of the highest possible drama. It brought another victory and a record points tally - but not Champions League qualification.
sports@thenational.ae
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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On sale: Available for preorder now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
