Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa: No sign of recovery from struggling Spurs
It was all so predictable.
The closer Tottenham went to scoring the more it seemed likely they would concede.
"Too fragile" was how boss Roberto de Zerbi described his side after the 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa.
Comfortable and on top until Johan Manzambi's scrappy opener for the visitors - while Spurs were temporarily down to 10 men as Micky van de Ven had treatment - they never recovered.
It only got worse as goals from Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia put the visitors 3-0 up.
De Zerbi's men now go into a three-week international break still waiting for a first Premier League win this season as Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke's late goals - the club's first in the league - were of little consolation.
In the bottom three after spending over £300m in the summer there appears to be no end in sight to Spurs' struggles.
Tottenham have failed to win any of their last 36 Premier League matches when conceding first so the writing was on the wall at half-time.
They dominated the opening 20 minutes and Villa keeper Zion Suzuki denied Savio and Archie Gray but, without a goal, they were always going to be vulnerable at the other end.
And so, in first-half injury time, a Villa goal was almost inevitable.
Andy Robertson tried to stop a corner but only gifted the ball to John McGinn and, after Boubacar Kamara's effort, Manzambi prodded in from close range. It added the insult to Van de Ven's injury, a blow to the face that kept him off the pitch.
Some Tottenham fans missed the goal as they headed for their half-time refreshments but several thousand did not bother to stay until the end.
They streamed out of the stands after Buendia's brilliant 25-yard bullet found the top corner in the 79th minute, missing Gallagher and Van Hecke's late efforts.
De Zerbi said: "My focus is why we concede the first goal with 10 players, we can stay stronger, communicate more and more, defend in a compact way.
"I put [Rodrigo] Bentancur as a centre-back in that minute and Mateus Fernandes as a midfielder. If we have a red card we can play 70 minutes with 10 players.
"In the second half we scored the goal with [Mohammed] Kudus, offside, I don't know if some players lost energy but we conceded an unacceptable goal. We knew this season Aston Villa are playing 86% more long balls than last season.
"We had many meetings [about it] and we have to explain another game like Newcastle where we played the first half well and then we lose. It's my responsibility.
"I take my responsibility but in that moment of the game we have to defend, we have to defend compact, the leaders have to be leaders.
"I am very sad and frustrated with the performance. We cannot lose this game in this way. The second goal we conceded was incredible."
"Sacked in the morning" chanted the Villa fans to De Zerbi who, at times, looked out of ideas once his side fell 2-0 behind.
It was Tottenham's worst start to a top-flight season since 2008-09, when they also had two points after five games.
Juande Ramos was dismissed as manager after three more defeats before Harry Redknapp lifted them up to eighth. Spurs have also now gone five league games without a win at the start of a season for the first time since 1986.
Former Brighton striker Glenn Murray, however, says De Zerbi needs time.
"He is trying to build something, it will take time," he told BBC's Final Score. "Taking the emotion out of it, looking at the stats, they have had more shots in three of the past four games, more possession and more touches in the opposition box.
"They are positives, be patient, the metrics are there to say he will turn it around. They need to be patient with Roberto De Zerbi, with all the signings, it takes time to gel and get to know each other."
A decisive moment came when Kudus thought he had levelled on the hour, but Robertson was ruled just offside having delivered the cross. Seven minutes later Jackson scored from Suzuki's long launch downfield and it was game over.
Villa's rebuild, the club committing to spending more than £250m was out of necessity because of their own high-profile exits.
There was an expectation change was forthcoming and the Europa League winners were always going to go through a period of transition.
But a first league victory was vital for them too after three defeats in their opening four games.
While Villa look in better shape as new players settle, Spurs have thrown money at their problems after two relegation battles, but are no closer to solving them.
Sandro Tonali, the £100m midfielder from Newcastle, was overshadowed by Villa's tenacious skipper McGinn - a £2.75m buy from Hibs eight years ago.
Brazil winger Savio was denied three times by the impressive Suzuki but faded, while Omar Marmoush was signed to bring goals, but provided nothing.
De Zerbi added: "I didn't speak with the players [afterwards], I didn't want to say anything. The players who go to the national team, they have to play and work.
"The others, [James] Maddison, Gallagher, [Dominic] Solanke, Tosin [Adarabioyo, [Marcos] Senesi, Savio have to work more because their physical condition, I didn't like in this game."
