Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start to the Premier League season continued as Aston Villa secured their first league win of the campaign with a 3-2 victory in north London.
Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendia scored for Villa, while Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke replied late for Tottenham. Spurs were booed by their supporters at the final whistle after another disappointing display. The defeat also means they have now made a worse start than their previous record low at this stage of a Premier League season in 2008-09.
Tottenham had spent more than £300m on new players during the summer but struggled to turn their dominance into goals. Villa took a surprise lead when Manzambi reacted quickly to score while Tottenham captain Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment. Tottenham thought they had levelled around the hour mark when Mohammed Kudus bundled the ball over the line. However, VAR ruled that Andy Robertson had been marginally offside in the build-up, denying the hosts an equaliser.
The decision appeared to shift the momentum towards Villa, who soon extended their advantage. Jackson, who caused Tottenham problems throughout the game, found the bottom-left corner from the edge of the box as defender Van Hecke backed away from him. Buendia then produced another fine finish, curling the ball into the same corner from an even greater distance to put Villa firmly in control.
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A Little too Late
The visitors were also indebted to goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, who produced an impressive first-half display to keep Tottenham at bay.
Spurs finally found a way back into the game when Gallagher scored from close range late on. They pushed for an equaliser and Van Hecke headed in with the final touch of the match, but it was too late to prevent Villa from taking all three points.
The victory lifts Villa to 15th and moves them out of the relegation zone, while Tottenham drop to 18th as their early-season problems deepen.
