Tottenham Hotspur suffered yet another defeat at home in the Premier League as Aston Villa stunned them with two brilliant goals after an early opener.
Tottenham Hotspur fans would’ve been quite happy to finally watch their team play again after the two-week international break, but had they known what kind of football they were about to witness, they would probably have wished the break went on for a few more weeks.
Even before the afternoon turned sour, it had already started badly. Destiny Udogie wasn’t in the matchday squad for what Thomas Frank described as a “minor irritation”, and Cristian Romero was pulled out of the starting eleven just minutes before kick-off after picking up an injury during the warm-up, forcing Kevin Danso to start in his place.
First half: Tottenham 1-0 Aston Villa
It took Tottenham less than five minutes to open the scoring. Mohammed Kudus whipped in a dangerous cross to the back post, where Joao Palhinha headed it across goal, and Rodrigo Bentancur was on hand to smash it in from close range.
Barely two minutes later, Spurs thought they had doubled their lead when Kudus finished smartly from a tight angle after being released by a long ball from Micky van de Ven, but the flag was up for offside.
Aston Villa struggled to pass Tottenham’s very physical midfield, with Palhinha everywhere and Xavi Simons surprisingly involved defensively, even going on to register the most defensive actions of any player before the break.
But all it took was one lapse for Villa to punish them. No one in a Spurs shirt wanted to close down Morgan Rogers on the edge of the box, and the Villa midfielder made full use of the space, curling a dipping effort past Guglielmo Vicario to level the score.
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Tottenham should have restored their lead before half-time, but Mathys Tel failed to tap into an open net after Kudus sent in a brilliant low cross. Both sides went into the interval level at one apiece.
Second half: Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa
Many Spurs fans expected changes at the break after sloppy displays from Wilson Odobert and Tel, but Thomas Frank stuck with his starting eleven.
At first, it looked like he might have been right as Spurs started the second half with a bit more energy, creating a flurry of half-chances.
Kevin Danso’s long throw caused chaos in the Villa box, and Odobert’s shot was blocked by Ezri Konsa, before Emiliano Martinez produced an acobatic save to deny Palhinha’s long-range strike seconds later.
But the momentum didn’t last long. Villa began to find their rhythm again, with Donyell Malen hitting the side netting before the visitors finally took the lead through a slick move.
A long pass from Matty Cash found Lucas Digne on the flank. The Frenchman’s first touch was excellent, and he squared the ball for Emiliano Buendia, who cut inside and guided a low finish into the far corner beyond an idle Vicario.
FT: TOTTENHAM 1-2 ASTON VILLA.
Spurs Web man of the match: Joao Palhinha
What’s next for Spurs?
Tottenham have now won just three of their last 18 Premier League matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a run that feels somewhat unfair on the home crowd.
The midfield pair of Palhinha and Bentancur were solid defensively, but both struggled to create anything going forward. Simons had to drop deep to help, which meant Spurs lacked someone to link play in attack.
It’s worth remembering that this is only Thomas Frank’s second defeat in twelve matches in charge, but performances like this will test the patience of the fans.