Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham match report: De Zerbi carries Spurs out of the bottom three

For the first time since the opening two weeks of the Premier League season, Tottenham have won back-to-back league games, following an impressive and dominant 2-1 victory over a heavily rotated Aston Villa side. Let’s take a look at our match report.

Last week, Tottenham finally put an end to their 118-day wait for a Premier League win with a narrow 1-0 victory over Wolves, and now, they have gone one step further by ending another unwanted streak, securing consecutive league wins for the first time in 253 days.

Roberto De Zerbi named what was arguably his strongest available side, including a midfield trio of Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, and Conor Gallagher that, if we are being honest, did not exactly inspire confidence before kick-off. However, what followed over the next 90 minutes was nothing short of a De Zerbi masterclass.

With one eye firmly on the second leg of their Europa League semi-final, Unai Emery made sweeping changes, resting most of his key players, and Villa never quite looked at the races as a result.

First half: Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham

Tottenham set the tone almost immediately, as their aggressive pressing forced an early opening inside three minutes, although Richarlison wasted a golden opportunity by turning and shooting when a simple pass to the unmarked Randal Kolo Muani would likely have resulted in a certain opener.

That miss did not come back to haunt them, though, as Spurs deservedly took the lead just under ten minutes later when Conor Gallagher rifled a stunning strike from the edge of the box after Kevin Danso’s long throw had only been half-cleared, with the midfielder opening his account for the club in emphatic fashion.

Joao Palhinha then came close to doubling the advantage with a similarly powerful effort from distance, but Emiliano Martinez reacted sharply to tip the ball onto the near post, before producing another fine save to deny Kolo Muani from close range.

However, there was little the Argentine World Cup Winner could do to prevent Tottenham’s second, as Richarlison rose highest to head home an excellent inswinging cross from Mathys Tel’s weak foot, doubling their advantage.

Second half: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham

Tottenham came out of the break with no drop in intensity, continuing to dominate proceedings even as Villa showed marginal improvement and at least began to see more of the ball. However, they still struggled to create anything of real note against a well-drilled Spurs side.

Whenever possession was lost, which was rare, De Zerbi’s men reacted superbly, be it Kevin Danso commanding in the air, Micky van de Ven using his pace to recover, or both Bentancur and Palhinha intercepting danger before it could develop into anything meaningful.

In truth, it always felt as though the only way Tottenham would concede was if the final whistle was not blown on time, and that proved to be exactly the case in stoppage time. Despite the five minutes of added time having already elapsed, Villa were allowed one final attack, with substitute Emiliano Buendia heading home from a Matty Cash cross, remarkably from their first effort on target of the night

FT: ASTON VILLA 1-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Spurs Web man of the match: Conor Gallagher

What’s next for Spurs?

There will inevitably be plenty of focus on Aston Villa’s heavy rotation and how that may have contributed to Tottenham’s dominance, but that should not take away from what was, quite simply, Spurs’ best performance of the season.

Considering the injury crisis that has plagued them for much of the campaign, the transformation under Roberto De Zerbi has been remarkable, with a group that previously looked devoid of energy and confidence now playing with structure, intensity, and belief.

This victory lifts Tottenham out of the bottom three, now sitting one point clear of the drop zone, and with 18th-placed West Ham facing league leaders Arsenal next, there is a genuine opportunity for that gap to widen further.

As for Spurs, attention now turns to a home clash against Leeds United.

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