Premier League,
Round 5
Tottenham
TOT
Aston Villa
AST
-
Venue
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
-
Referee
- Samuel Barrott
Tottenham’s miserable start to the season continued this afternoon as Aston Villa overcame an early onslaught to win in North London and pile the pressure on Roberto De Zerbi.
Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki produced a string of fine stops as the hosts dominated the early stages but there was a sense of inevitability that it would lead to nothing before they were caught out at the other end.
And that’s exactly what happened as Johan Manzambi prodded in just before the break.
Spurs thought they had equalised in the second half but Mohammed Kudus’s effort was disallowed for offside against Andy Robertson.
It was cruel but Villa showed no mercy with Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia scoring to increase the visitors’ advantage.
Conor Gallagher did score Tottenham’s first league goal of the season with four minutes to go, and there was still time for Jan Paul van Hecke to add a second, but it was scant consolation.
Tottenham
Aston Villa
Suzuki denies rampant Tottenham
Spurs started superbly, pouring forward at every opportunity. Their problem was they couldn’t find a way past Suzuki.
The Japan international has made a strong start to his Villa career after coming in over the summer from Parma, in effect to replace Emiliano Martinez. He distinguished himself throughout a one-sided first half with his first major involvement coming after 12 minutes.
A purposeful run by Sandro Tonali caused chaos and the ball fell nicely for Savio but the Brazil winger was twice denied by Suzuki.
Pedro Porro limped off for Spurs but De Zerbi’s men maintained their dominance.
Suzuki made another brilliant stop to keep out substitute Archie Gray’s low effort, the ball deflecting off his legs and behind.
And he excelled again midway through the first half with a flying save to keep out Savio’s curling shot.
Having spent the opening 25 minutes on the back foot, Villa almost opened the scoring with Buendia seeing a shot palmed away by Antonin Kinsky. Jackson then fizzed a drive wide.
Spurs’ fine start was slowly evaporating and it did not come as a huge surprise when they conceded before the break. Robertson tried to keep the ball in play but only succeeded in gifting it to John McGinn. He pulled it back for Boubacar Kamara and his shot was turned in by Manzambi.
Even VAR against Tottenham
Spurs rallied at the start of the second period but their luck continued to be out. Kudus prodded home from close range but the wild celebrations were cut short when VAR ruled Robertson was in an offside position.
That seemed to suck the heart out of Spurs and Jackson’s fine finish saw thousands of home fans streaming for the exits.
They missed an eventual final 23 minutes plus stoppage time.
Buendia added a stunning third before Spurs finally scored their first Premier League goal in 118 days, Gallagher’s shot hitting Matty Cash before going over the line.
Micky van de Ven nearly scored to halve the deficit but Van Hecke did get on the scoresheet by nodding in Robertson’s excellent free-kick.
The Premier League Table
Premier League 2026
England
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Arsenal |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
W
W
W
W
|
| 2 |
Manchester City |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
W
W
W
W
|
| 3 |
Brentford |
5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
W
D
D
D
W
|
| 4 |
Leeds |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
W
D
D
W
|
| 5 |
Hull City |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
D
D
W
W
|
| 6 |
Brighton |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
W
D
L
W
|
| 7 |
Chelsea |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
L
D
L
W
W
|
| 8 |
Liverpool |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
D
W
D
D
|
| 9 |
Everton |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
D
D
D
W
|
| 10 |
Ipswich |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 |
W
L
L
W
|
| 11 |
Nottingham Forest |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
W
D
D
L
|
| 12 |
Newcastle |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 5 |
L
D
W
D
|
| 13 |
Manchester United |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
L
D
W
L
|
| 14 |
Sunderland |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
L
D
W
L
|
| 15 |
Bournemouth |
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 3 |
D
D
D
L
|
| 16 |
Crystal Palace |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 3 |
L
W
L
L
|
| 17 |
Tottenham |
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 2 |
L
D
D
L
|
| 18 |
Fulham |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 1 |
D
L
L
L
|
| 19 |
Aston Villa |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 1 |
W
L
D
L
|
| 20 |
Coventry |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | -10 | 0 |
L
L
L
L
|
- Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
- Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
- Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship
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