Aston Villa's 3-0 lead ends Tottenham's misery as Spurs slump into relegation zone

Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory of the season with a 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leaving Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the relegation zone after five games without a win. Goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia did the damage, with Tottenham’s consolations arriving far too late to matter.

Spurs had entered the match without a single league goal to their name, and the opening stages suggested that drought might end early. Zion Suzuki, Villa’s new goalkeeper, was tested repeatedly — twice by Savio and once by Archie Gray, who came on as an early substitute for the injured Pedro Porro — but the Japanese stopper held firm.

The decisive blow came in first-half stoppage time, with Spurs captain Micky van de Ven off the pitch receiving treatment for a facial injury sustained in a clash with Tyrone Mings. Andy Robertson failed to clear a corner, and Manzambi tapped in Boubacar Kamara’s cross to give Villa the lead against the run of play.

De Zerbi introduced Mohammed Kudus at half-time, but the change failed to shift the midfield balance. A Sandro Tonali-assisted move appeared to end Tottenham’s scoring drought on the hour mark when Kudus poked in a Robertson cross, only for VAR to rule it offside. Moments after James Maddison was brought on to restore control, Villa struck again: Jackson smartly turned Van de Ven and found the bottom corner to make it 2-0.

Buendia then settled the contest with a superb 25-yard strike with 11 minutes remaining, prompting ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ chants from the travelling Villa supporters. Gallagher finally ended Tottenham’s league goal drought with a close-range finish in the 87th minute, and Van Hecke headed in a second late on, but the comeback never truly threatened.

The full-time whistle was met with boos from the home crowd, with patience visibly thinning after a summer of significant investment. The defeat follows a Carabao Cup loss to Liverpool in midweek, and Unai Emery’s Villa — despite their own difficult start — will take considerable satisfaction from inflicting further misery on their big-spending hosts.