2 hours ago
7
Key events
Some correspondence from readers:
“Redknapp in,” says Filip Gieldon. “Never have I seen a collection of more mediocre players and signings being called great. Tottenham should sack the manager and get Harry Redknapp in, he’d fit right in.”
Alexander Whitney: “Regarding De Zerbi’s comments about Spurs’ mental block, he’s been in charge for, what, 6 months now? In the worst Opta fashion, let’s end with one word. Accountability.”
“Is there any truth in the rumour that Spurs will do a lap of honour if they win the toss in the next game?” – don’t bet against it, Malc Shuttleworth.
Cian O’Mahony: “Spurs are summed up by the way Maddison got out of the way of Buendia’s shot for 0-3.”
Villa move up to 15th.
Spurs drop into the bottom three where they’ll stay for the international break.
Full-time! Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa
No time for a comeback as boos meet the final whistle.
Spurs showed some fight but there’s no doubt the right team won today.
Spurs were the better team in the first half but didn’t take their chances. Villa did and ran away to a 3-0 lead before two late consolation goals from the home team.
GOAL! Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa (van Hecke, 90+7)
Now then! Rather than shoot, Robertson chips to the back post where van Hecke is totally unmarked and he heads the ball down and into the goal!
90+7 min: Mings heads Gallagher’s free-kick clear. Spurs come back at them and Barkley gives away a foul. This is straighter, but a little further away. Someone will have to hit it like Roberto Carlos to trouble Suzuki from here.
90+6 min: Hemmings is dispossed by a sliding Gallagher and then fouls Savio down Spur’s right. Chance for another cross. And then who knows? A few seconds to score a third?
90+4 min: Suzuki is officially awarded the player of the match award. Steven Gerrard on comms agrees with me and would have given it to Buendia.
Villa haven’t won yet. Savio at the byline on the left pulls a pass back that is cleared away for a corner. It’s played short and the dinked cross is met by van de Ven who gets a decent header on it and steers it towards goal, but it’s just wide. Suzuki had it covered anyway.
90+3 min: Gallagher goes for goal himself from a very, very tight angle on the left. He hit it hard but Suzuki was well placed to punch it away.
90+2 min: Cash hauls down Savio just as the Spurs man was making good on an overlap. Cash is shown a yellow card, as is Emery for persistently leaving the technical area. I hope all managers are treated the same way moving forward.
90 min: Seven added minutes. I can’t help but think of that Simpson’s meme. The “stop, he’s already dead” one.
88 min: Jackson is off. What a game he had. Not just the goal, but he was full of running, led the line, really top work. On comes Abraham. Buendia, meanwhile, wins a freekick inside Spur’s patch after some nifty footwork and relentless running. My player of the match.
Was it an own goal? It counts all the same. Good work from Kudus down the right as he burst into the box and found the byline before cutting the ball back in. Gallagher got there and hacked it towards goal. Was that strike on target before it took a deflection off Cash? Not sure. Either way, the ball settled in at the back post and Spurs’ long wait for a league goal is over.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-3 Aston Villa (Gallagher, 86)
The duck is broken! It won’t matter much in the context of this game, but at least Spurs have scored.
85 min: Emery is still barking orders on the touchline. He wants this clean sheet. De Zerbi, meanwhile, looks like a man drifting on a lifeboat alone in the middle of the Atlantic.
84 min: A double switch for Villa. Barkley and Mbaye on for McGinn and Kamara.
Bentancur and Tonalie are off for Spurs, replaced by Bergvall and Gallagher.
Even more fans are leaving now.
83 min: A reminder that Spurs could have been 3-0 up in the first half, and would have been were it not for the brilliance of Suzuki. But Villa have held firm and shown quality that looks beyond this Spurs side.
Now the visitors are in complete control, knocking the ball around as if on the training pitch. Oles ring out from the away stand.
Justin Kavanagh points out:
If they don’t score today, Spurs will have gone over 8 hours without doing a goal. That’s long enough to read a lengthy novel. If I was a Spurs fan walking out early today, I’d head for Waterstones and spend the next few weeks perusing something more convincing than this fiction that Spurs are still a functioning football club.
Oh my word, the second viewing is even better!
Just an incredible strike. Joao Gomes ran from midfield and fed Hemmings on the right. The pass came back infield to Buendia who puts his foot through it and rifled it into the top corner.
That has sparked a small exodus from some Spurs fans.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-3 Aston Villa (Buendia, 80)
STUNNER! He did it in the Europa League final and this one might be even better! Smashed into the top corner and that is that!
78 min: Maddison runs back to dispossess Hemmings around halfway with a sliding tackle. But there’s a real lack of quality on the ball. Credit to Villa. They’ve been well organised and look totally comfortable.
76 min: Gray draws a foul out in the right channel. Spurs will get a chance to whip a cross in.
Did anyone catch Jackson’s celebration? Got to say I missed it.
Michael Cosgrove didn’t: “Whatever else, I thought Jackson’s post second goal ‘celebratory’ throat slitting gesture was way beyond the pale.”
The cross from the free-kick comes to nothing. Spurs seem to have lost their oomph (if they had any to start with).
76 min: The crowd is really on top of Spurs now. They win the ball in midfield but don’t move it fast enough to take advantage. Marmoush has it on the edge of the area and shoots, but he’s well smothered by Lindeloff as the ball bounces away for a corner. Suzuki punches it away to Kudus who can’t direct his shot towards goal with any menace.
74 min: Savio has been the driving force this half. He charges into the centre and feeds Kudus on the right. The cross is whipped in but Suzuki makes another claim.
Manzambi is off for Hemmings.
72 min: Good work from Cash – who has been neat since he came on – who heads clear at the back post from a chipped cross. But Spurs come back at them and how on earth did Robertson miss from there!
He’s well off-side so wouldn’t have counted as he got himself free down the left inside the Villa box, but he scuffed it with his left foot, skewing it across the face of goal as if he was squaring the ball.
71 min: Tonali unfurls a wonder strike! It’s about 30 yards away as he whips his foot around and it almost finds the top corner. That wasn’t far off. Spurs need a spark of brilliance from someone.
70 min: There are no midfielders on the park. it’s really like a basketball game at present with both teams throwing attacks against each the other. Savio is doing some running, Jackson gets a chance to run himself. It all ends with Ruggeri skewing a clearance kick out for a corner.
GOAL! Tottenham 0-2 Aston Villa (Jackson, 67)
Brilliant from Jackson and Spurs are sinking! Wonderful feet from the striker. He plays a quick one-two with Manzambi off a long kick, then flicks it over van Hecke before keeping the ball low to the corner with a (not) volley strike. It’s saved, but only half as it trickles in off the far post.
66 min: Savio wins a corner which he takes himself on the right. It’s a little floaty and Solanke can’t steer it back towards the danger area from the far post.
That’ll be Solanke’s last act as he’s replaced by Maddison. That’ll push Marmoush further forward.
64 min: In the end it was pretty tame. It was indeed a Robertson dinked cross, but Suzuki seemed to be the only player paying attention as he came off his line to grab it.
63 min: Marmoush wins a free-kick having cut inside just beyond the Villa box. It’s certainly within range. Angle might be a touch tight, but could be a shot. My money is on a Robertson cross to the far post. Let’s see…
62 min: How unlucky. But Spurs can’t let that get them down. They need to keep going. Villa are dropping deeper while maintaining a well held high line. So there’ll be chances. Of course, Villa also pose a threat on the counter.
Maddison warming up for Spurs on the side.
NO GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa
The drought continues! Robertson was half a yard off-side as he had the beating of McGinn down the left. The cross was half blocked before it was swept in by Kudus from close range, but there’s no doubt the left back was off-side.
Oh no! Was Robertson off-side? I think he is. Hang tight….
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa (Kudus, 60)
They’ve done it! The duck is broken!
57 min: Savio does well on the right of Villa’s box. He feints to go down the byline before shifting back onto his left foot. He dinks a cross to the back post but Suzuki gets on his bike (sorry) and claims it.
Up the other end, Jackson’s shot is blocked.
End to end now.
56 min: Ruggeri flattens Savio in a 50/50 challenge. That sparks a counter that ends with Jackson firing a shot after cutting infield onto his right boot. Spurs are bossing the ball but every time Villa break they’re creating something.
