Aston Villa Finally Win as Tottenham's Late Fightback Falls Short: Spurs 2-3 Villa
Johan Manzambi's stoppage-time opener, then goals from Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendía, put Aston Villa 3-0 up before Tottenham's late reply — Spurs 2-3 Villa, Roberto De Zerbi's side now without a win in five.
Roberto De Zerbi's expensively rebuilt Tottenham side fell to a fifth game without a win as Aston Villa came from nowhere to claim their first Premier League victory of the season, 3-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs rallied late with two goals in the closing minutes, but it was too little, too late against a Villa side that had gone into the match bottom of the table without a league win all season.
Manzambi, Jackson and Buendía put Villa 3-0 up
Johan Manzambi broke the deadlock deep into first-half stoppage time, and Villa took control of the game after the break. Nicolas Jackson doubled the lead in the 67th minute, and Emiliano Buendía made it 3-0 in the 79th, seemingly settling the contest. Tottenham's response came far too late to matter in the context of the result: Conor Gallagher pulled one back in the 86th minute, and Jan Paul van Hecke added a second deep into stoppage time, but Villa held on for a first win that had been a long time coming.
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Spurs' worst-ever start to a league season
Tottenham came into the match 17th with two points from four games, without a win, and this defeat pushed their goal difference to -6 — statistically their worst start to a Premier League campaign, worse even than the trouble that greeted the 2008-09 season. De Zerbi's side have now gone five matches without a win to open his tenure, and had not scored a single goal in their opening four league games before Saturday's late double.
Villa's first win arrives none too soon
For Aston Villa, this was the breakthrough result their start to the season badly needed. They had taken one point from their first four Premier League matches — defeats to Brighton and Arsenal, a goalless draw at Hull City and a loss to Nottingham Forest — while picking up a Champions League win over Club Brugge in between. Unai Emery's side arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bottom of the table on a single point and left having climbed off the floor with their first three points of the campaign.
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