Aston Villa Secures First Premier League Win as Spurs Struggle Again
Aston Villa walked into north London under pressure and walked out with their first Premier League win of the season – leaving Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi staring at a crisis that already feels familiar.
Villa’s 3-2 victory, secured by Emi Buendia’s spectacular late strike, was ruthless and cold. Spurs, after another bright start, folded again. The £300million rebuild is yet to buy them a league win.
Tottenham had not scored in four Premier League matches but there had been hints of life in goalless draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton. Here, for half an hour, the pattern held: sharp, front-foot football, chances created, crowd engaged.
And then the collapse.
Spurs start fast, Villa stand firm
De Zerbi’s side flew out of the blocks. Fresh from a midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool, they went straight at Villa’s new goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
Sandro Tonali, drifting out to the left, carved Villa open and picked out Savio, whose first-time effort was blocked by Suzuki. The rebound fell kindly, the second attempt was cleaner, and still the keeper beat it away, tipping over under real pressure.
The tempo dipped when Pedro Porro limped off with an ankle injury, but his replacement almost ripped the game open. Archie Gray was on the pitch only seconds when Savio slid him in; the teenager’s low strike squeezed through Suzuki but smacked off the inside of his legs and stayed out.
From the resulting set-piece, Savio met the delivery with a crisp volley. Again Suzuki answered, springing to his right to claw it away. Spurs had Villa penned in. They just didn’t make it count.
Once Unai Emery’s side rode out the storm, they began to punch back. Antonin Kinsky had to react sharply to repel a fierce effort from Buendia, before Nicolas Jackson spun away from Jan Paul van Hecke and dragged a shot wide. The warning signs were there.
Manzambi strikes as Spurs switch off
Tottenham thought they were heading into the break level. They weren’t.
With captain Micky van de Ven off the pitch receiving treatment after a blow to the face from Tyrone Mings, Spurs lost their defensive shape at the worst possible moment. Andy Robertson, trying to prevent a corner, only succeeded in keeping the ball in play for John McGinn. Villa recycled it quickly, Boubacar Kamara whipped in a low cross and Johan Manzambi arrived to tap home in first-half stoppage time.
A sucker punch. Spurs trudged off a goal down, the air sucked out of a stadium that has seen this film too many times.
De Zerbi gambles, midfield disappears
De Zerbi reacted at the interval, sending on Mohammed Kudus for Mateus Fernandes. The idea was clear: more threat, more incision. Instead, Tottenham lost their grip in midfield.
Jackson twice went close for Villa, once denied by a brave block from Kinsky, once wasteful after wriggling free. Spurs looked stretched and unsure.
Then, on the hour, came what felt like a turning point. Tonali slid Robertson into space down the left, the full-back’s low cross fizzed across the six-yard box and Kudus arrived to stab it in. The stadium erupted, the goal drought seemingly over at last.
VAR killed it. Offside. The wait for a league goal went on, and so did the tension.
James Maddison entered to bring control and calm. Instead, the game lurched away from Tottenham again almost instantly.
Jackson and Buendia put Villa out of sight
A hopeful long ball turned into a disaster for Spurs. Van Hecke failed to deal with it cleanly, Van de Ven was exposed, and Jackson did the rest – rolling the captain with a sharp turn before drilling low into the bottom corner on 67 minutes.
If that felt damaging, Buendia’s contribution was devastating.
With 11 minutes left, the Argentine picked up the ball 25 yards out and unleashed a stunning strike that screamed past Kinsky. A true wondergoal, and the cue for the away end to belt out “you’re getting sacked in the morning” in De Zerbi’s direction.
Villa, winless in the league before today, suddenly looked composed, confident, and in control. Spurs looked broken.
Late goals, louder boos
Tottenham finally snapped their league goal drought on 87 minutes. Kudus, one of the few home players to inject any real menace after the break, dug out a cross and Conor Gallagher darted in to poke home from close range.
Deep into added time, Robertson swung in a free-kick and Van Hecke rose to head in a second. On another day, two late goals might have sparked a comeback story.
Not here. Not now.
The full-time whistle brought a chorus of boos, the frustration raw and pointed. The scoreline flattered Spurs; the pattern did not. Another strong start, another soft centre exposed, another home defeat.
Tottenham have now won just three of their last 25 Premier League home matches. When the international break arrives, they will be sitting in the relegation zone, staring at a table that does not care how much they spent in the summer.
