· 2 min readIn this Tottenham vs Aston Villa match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Tottenham and Aston Villa came into this game in a difficult state to defend. Neither had won in the Premier League, but Tottenham had not scored a single goal in four rounds. Villa had just one point, but had already managed some wins in other competitions.
The feeling, nevertheless, was that Tottenham were much worse. And the first half actually showed a team capable of playing well, just unable to turn that dominance into goals.
Tottenham started better, pressed high and created the best chances. Suzuki, despite having started to misplace too many long balls, was crucial for Villa: he saved twice against Sávio and appeared again in the 20th minute against Gray.
In the 21st minute, he made another great save from a first-time effort by Sávio. When the goalkeeper is your team’s best player after 25 minutes, something is wrong.
Villa grew into the game and Jackson continued to cause problems for Van Hecke, especially when he had space. Even so, Tottenham had more possession and reached seven corners to just one for Villa. The problem was simple: they needed to score.
In the 45+4th minute, exactly the opposite happened. Robertson prevented a long ball from going out, but Villa kept the move alive, Kamara hit a rather unconvincing shot and the ball fell to Manzambi, completely alone inside the six-yard box, to tap in for 0-1. On his first start, the £60 million signing scored, but Tottenham could not allow that much space.
In the second half, Tottenham remained camped in the attacking half, but their possession became completely sterile. In the 60th minute, they even found the net through Kudus, but Robertson’s offside position ruled the move out. In the 67th minute, Villa once again showed how efficient they are: Suzuki went long, Jackson won the ball, produced a fantastic lob over Van de Ven and shot. Kinský still got a touch, but could not prevent the 0-2. When Jackson finds space, he simply looks unstoppable.
Tottenham reached 81% possession in the second half, but had just 0.05 xG. Villa did not want the ball and were perfectly comfortable without it.
In the 79th minute, they increased their lead with a brilliant goal from Buendía. João Gomes started the counter-attack, the ball reached the Argentine outside the box with far too much space and the shot flew into the top corner. Incredible efficiency: two second-half goals from just 0.25 xG.
Even so, Tottenham finally scored. Gallagher came on in the 84th minute and two minutes later appeared inside the six-yard box to finish off a good combination with Kudus. Tottenham’s first Premier League goal of the season.
And Tonali, who came off shortly afterwards, deserves a mention: he put in one of his best performances for the club, perhaps the best.
The game looked finished, but in the 90+8th minute Van Hecke appeared alone at the far post and headed in for 2-3. Too late, though.
Post-match
Tottenham finally scored, created some interesting moments and had huge territorial dominance, but lost again. Villa were far more efficient and leave with their first Premier League win. For Tottenham, the crisis continues.
