Aston Villa beat Spurs as De Zerbi’s side are booed off

Aston Villa took all three points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium despite two late consolation goals from Spurs. Even with the damage control, the result underlined Tottenham’s grim start: after five Premier League games they have just two points and a goal difference of -6, their worst-ever beginning to a league campaign, as The Guardian reports.

Control before the break

Villa made the most of the opening half’s momentum and punished Spurs for a moment of disruption when Micky van de Ven required attention on the touchline. Buendía slipped another pass over the line and after the ball ricocheted into the box, Johan Manzambi was on hand to finish from close range to put Villa ahead before half-time.

In the second half, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendía turned the match into a rout. Jackson struck with clinical, predatory finishing after collecting a long ball from Suzuki and firing into the bottom corner. Buendía then capped it with a curling long-range effort that moved beyond the goalkeeper and crashed into the top corner.

VAR, chances, and boos

There was still a headline moment for the VAR screen: Mohammed Kudus, introduced at the break for Mateus Fernandes, appeared to score within minutes, only for the assistant to be flagged offside and the goal to be ruled out.

Zion Suzuki set the tone early with a string of saves. The Guardian highlights a particularly impressive double stop in the 11th minute and another crucial denial of Archie Gray from a tight angle, as well as the fact that Suzuki fed the final third more times than any other player. For Spurs, those stops eventually fed into frustration.

With Tottenham piling forward, Conor Gallagher reduced the gap from the bench shortly before the end, ending a run of 492 Premier League minutes without scoring, and Jan Paul van Hecke added a late goal, but the boos still rose. Opta adds further context, including that Spurs have not won any match where they conceded first in their previous 48 games across all competitions.

As the stands reacted to another tough night, Villa’s performance suggested they may have moved on from their early struggles, while Tottenham will now face a real test in responding to yet another Premier League setback, The Guardian notes.