Emiliano Buendia scored a superb winner as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Sunday.
Buendia came off the bench to seal a hard-fought victory for Unai Emery’s team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Morgan Rogers had cancelled out Rodrigo Bentancur’s earlier effort.
Bentancur broke the deadlock in the fifth minute with his first Premier League goal of 2025, but Rogers fired the visitors level before half-time with his maiden top-flight strike of the campaign.
The game appeared to be drifting towards a draw until the 77th minute, when Buendia curled in brilliantly from the edge of the box.
Brennan Johnson blazed over a chance for Spurs to equalise in stoppage time, as Villa held on to move up to 10th place on 12 points. They are now just two points behind Spurs, who are sixth.
How the match unfolded
Spurs came flying out of the blocks and hit the front after just five minutes. Joao Palhinha nodded Mohammed Kudus’ deep ball back across the area for Bentancur to finish, via a slight deflection off Amadou Onana.
Kudus thought he had doubled the lead moments later, but was quickly denied by the offside flag, while Emiliano Martinez just about gathered Wilson Odobert's fierce low drive.
However, Villa responded against the run of play in the 37th minute, Rogers jinking away from Xavi Simons before whipping a wonderful 20-yard effort beyond Guglielmo Vicario's despairing dive.
Spurs went close to regaining their lead early in the second half – Odobert seeing a shot blocked by Ezri Konsa and Martinez tipping Palhinha’s effort around the post.
But Villa snatched all three points when Lucas Digne took in Matty Cash’s brilliant pass and laid it off to Buendia, who curled a low strike past a flat-footed Vicario and into the bottom-left corner, with Johnson’s wild effort late on the closest Spurs came to a leveller.
Spurs’ home struggles continue
Spurs’ seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions came to an end, as they suffered their 11th defeat in the space of 18 Premier League home games.
The hosts made a bright enough start. The loss of Cristian Romero, who was injured during the warm-up, initially did not appear to affect them, as they twice had the ball in the net inside the opening stages – albeit the latter effort was rightly ruled out for offside.
Spurs had won each of their four previous league games when scoring the opening goal this season. However, Rogers showed his quality when he left the helpless Vicario grasping at thin air for Villa’s equaliser.
Thomas Frank, who stuck with Mathys Tel up top to start with after the forward’s goal against Leeds United last time out, got a response from his players after the break but a lack of cutting edge in front of goal handed Villa the impetus they needed to claim a spirited victory.
Spurs, who also have matches against Monaco and Newcastle United coming up in the UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup respectively, are back at home in the top flight when they host Chelsea on 1 November, before then welcoming Manchester United to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a week later. Before that, though, they head to Everton next Sunday.
Three in a row for resurgent Villa
Villa have recovered from a slow start to their Premier League season, winning each of their last three matches to move into the top half of the table.
Martinez and Konsa were celebrating their 200th starts in the English top flight, but they were fishing the ball out of their own net in only the fifth minute after Spurs’ superb start, and Emery will have been hugely frustrated with his team’s marking in that instance.
The visitors took a while to find their rhythm but, when they did, their man back in form delivered the goods; Rogers demonstrating he is brimming with confidence after dancing around Simons and beating Vicario from distance, with the England international now looking sharp after a sluggish start to the campaign.
Villa’s defensive resolve was tested again early in the second half, but a combination of smart goalkeeping and important blocks kept Spurs at bay.
Buendia, though, was the matchwinner. He has now scored three goals in his last four games as Villa made it five straight wins in all competitions.
With Manchester City, Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth providing their next three league opponents before the November international window, Emery’s side will certainly head into those fixtures full of momentum and confidence.
Club reports
Spurs report | Aston Villa report
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Key facts
Since the start of last season, Spurs have dropped more points from winning positions at home in the Premier League (19) than any other side. They have lost five times after leading at home in the division in this period, also a league-high tally.
Villa enjoyed their first Premier League comeback win away from home for exactly one year (since 19 Oct 2024 v Fulham), having lost 10 of their previous 11 away league games in which they trailed before today (D1).
With just four points in four home league games this season (W1 D1 L2), this is Spurs' poorest home start to a league campaign since 2008/09, when they had one point from their opening four at home.
Since the start of 2023/24, Spurs have won just 23 per cent of their league games without Romero (6/26), compared to a 50 per cent league win rate when he has played in this period (29/58).