Tottenham Hotspur’s miserable start to the Premier League season took another turn for the worse as Aston Villa fought back to claim a 3-2 win in north London on Saturday.
Villa arrived without a league victory from their opening four matches, but Unai Emery’s side showed greater threat in attack and punished Tottenham’s mistakes to finally get their campaign moving.
Johan Manzambi opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time on his first start for Villa. The £50 million summer signing reacted quickest after Tottenham lost possession inside their own penalty area and finished from close range.
Tottenham’s defence was caught out at the worst possible moment, with Micky van de Ven temporarily off the pitch while receiving treatment for a cut under his eye.
Villa then took firm control after the break. Nicolas Jackson doubled their lead in the 67th minute with a composed finish before Emi Buendia produced the goal of the afternoon.
Buendia collected the ball 22 yards from goal and sent a powerful strike into the top corner 11 minutes from time, leaving Tottenham facing another damaging defeat.
Spurs did have chances to change the momentum. Mohammed Kudus appeared to have pulled one back early in the second half, but the effort was ruled out after Andy Robertson was judged offside in the build-up.
Conor Gallagher eventually gave the home side hope with Tottenham’s first goal of the campaign. Jan Paul van Hecke then scored deep into stoppage time, but there was no time left for a comeback.
The defeat leaves Tottenham with only two points from five matches and still inside the relegation zone.
Villa, meanwhile, moved up to 15th with four points. Their first league win of the season will offer some relief after a difficult opening month.
