John Townley's Aston Villa player ratings after Unai Emery's side beat Tottenham away from home in the Premier League
Aston Villa secured their fifth successive victory in all competitions by defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the capital.
Spurs opened the scoring through Rodrigo Bentancur, who fired in from close range after Micky van de Ven headed the ball down for the midfielder following a recycled set-piece.
Morgan Rogers then opened his account for the season by looping an effort over Guglielmo Vicario from distance - Villa’s only shot on target in the first half.
Emi Buendia added his third goal in four appearances after coming off the bench, bending the ball past Vicario with his weaker left foot.
Ollie Watkins was only fit enough to start on the bench, so Donyell Malen led the attack but posed little threat on his own.
Minutes into the second half, Villa’s claims for a penalty were dismissed after Kevin Danso trod on Lucas Digne’s ankle while clearing the ball into touch.
Before Malen was replaced by Watkins on the hour mark, he had his first and only chance of the game. John McGinn slipped him in down the left side of the penalty box, but from a tight angle, Malen could only fire into the side netting.
Watkins' introduction changed the flow of the game, and a quarter of an hour after he came on, Villa turned the match around.
Matty Cash delivered a brilliant pass to Digne down the right channel, and the Frenchman controlled it before laying it off for Buendia, who finished with aplomb.
Player ratings
Emi Martinez Martinez could do nothing about Bentancur's goal. In the 28th minute, he spilt Wilson Odobert's shot but managed to gather the ball. He tipped João Palhinha's effort around the post in the 55th minute before denying Bentancur's header from the resulting corner, although the offside flag was subsequently raised. 7
Matty Cash Cash dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box in the first half and looked frustrated with himself for not hitting the target. He showed his quality by pinging an exquisite pass to Digne down the right, before Buendia then collected the ball and scored. Competed well and continued his impressive start to the season. 8
Ezri Konsa Konsa impressed today - steady in his defending and confident in possession, often stepping up to start attacks when he could. 7
Pau Torres Torres drove forward whenever he had the opportunity, as we’ve come to expect from him. 7
Lucas Digne Digne was an effective outlet on the left, stretching the pitch for Villa and delivering crosses into the box that either caused problems for the opposition or were blocked for corners. Took an excellent touch to control Cash's pass before playing it to Buendia to score. 8
Boubacar Kamara Kamara covered the pitch excellently, winning the most fouls (4) and duels (14) across the game. Ran out of superlatives for him. 8
Amadou Onana Onana returned to the starting XI today, replacing Lamare Bogarde. He played a short pass across the box to Konsa in the fifth minute, from which Spurs scored on the subsequent set-piece. He looked awkward receiving the ball at times and won only one of his five ground duels in the first half. The Belgian improved in the second half, but it seems the role he is playing doesn’t bring out the best in his profile. 6
Evann Guessand Guessand reliably provided defensive cover down the right, but there was limited attacking threat as Spurs contained him well. 6
John McGinn McGinn played in a more advanced role rather than in the double pivot. He threaded a ball through to Malen just before the hour mark, but the Dutchman fired into the side netting. 7
Morgan Rogers Rogers opened his account for the season with a lovely looping effort from distance, beating Vicario. Van de Ven picked up a yellow after being megged by Rogers - the Villa forward was simply too quick for him. Much better from Rogers today: scoring his first goal for England, and now his first for Villa this season, should do wonders for his confidence. 8
Donyell Malen Malen cut an isolated figure up front for most of the match, as Watkins was only fit enough to start on the bench. He had one real chance in the 57th minute. 6
SUBS
Emi Buendia (for Guessand, 61'): 'He's five foot seven, He's football heaven!' Outstanding off the bench today - Villa's match winner with another well taken finish. 8
Ollie Watkins (for Malen, 61'): Watkins was excellent after coming on. He stretched the Tottenham defence by running the channels and was a handful. 7
Ross Barkley (for Onana, 82'): N/A
Ian Maatsen (for Digne, 82'): N/A
Subs not used: Bizot, Lindelof, Sancho, Elliott, Bogarde.
GOALS
Tottenham: Bentancur (5')
Aston Villa: Rogers (37'), Buendia (77')
What did you make of Villa's performance? Tell us here
Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.
Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.
So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.
You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.
If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.