Villans take advantage of Spurs' depleted roster and reach the Champions League zone

Aston Villa came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League, earning their third consecutive head-to-head win against the North London club.

After a commemoration for Terry Venables, there was a flurry of opportunities at both ends in the opening five minutes, although Dejan Kulusevski sent his effort crashing against the post before Pau Torres guided his header from Lucas Digne’s free-kick delivery marginally wide. Having got on top, Spurs made the breakthrough 22 minutes in when Pedro Porro’s corner delivery reached Giovani Lo Celso and the Argentine hit a venomous strike that flicked off Diego Carlos and past Emiliano Martínez, marking his first Premier League start of the season with a goal.

Ollie Watkins thought he had provided an immediate response but strayed offside by the finest of margins before heading in from Lucas Digne’s cross. Ange Postecoglou was still dealt a blow, though, as Rodrigo Bentancur went off injured half an hour in following a rash challenge from Matty Cash. The hosts still remained in the ascendancy and Son made the net ripple but also saw his goal ruled out for an offside. After all of their dominance, Spurs’ lead was relinquished in the seventh minute of first-half added time when Torres headed Douglas Luiz’s pinpoint free-kick delivery past Guglielmo Vicario.

There was another scare for Vicario shortly after the restart when his unconvincing save from halftime substitute Leon Bailey’s strike diverted the ball onto the post. Son then had another goal ruled out following an offside call on Brennan Johnson and any frustrations being felt were compounded just after the hour mark. Ollie Watkins linked up with Youri Tielemans before beating Vicario with a clean finish. As the hosts searched for an equaliser, Porro’s bouncing effort was pushed wide before Ben Davies headed wide from the ensuing corner.

Martínez made brilliant saves in quick succession to deny Johnson and Lo Celso, before Son made it a hat-trick of ruled-out goals as Villa earned the fourth win from their last five Premier League matches to usurp Spurs and take fourth place in the table. In addition to falling out of the UEFA Champions League places, Spurs suffered a third consecutive league defeat for the first time since February 2022.

PREMIER LEAGUE - Matchday 13

Saturday

Manchester City - Liverpool 1-1 (1-0)

/Haaland 27 - Alexander-Arnold 80/

Burnley - West Ham 1-2 (0-0)

/Rodriguez 49 pen - O'Shea 86 og, Soucek 90+1/

Luton - Crystal Palace 2-1 (0-0)

/Mengi 72, Brown 84 - Olise 75/

Newcastle - Chelsea 4-1 (1-1)

/Isak 13, Lascelles 60, Joelinton 61, Gordon 83 - Sterling 23/

Nottingham - Brighton 2-3 (1-2)

/Elanga 3, Gibbs-White 76 pen - Ferguson 26, Joao Pedro 45+4, 58 pen/

Sheffield United - Bournemouth 1-3 (0-2)

/McBurnie 90+7 - Tavernier 12, 51, Kluivert 45+3/

Brentford - Arsenal 0-1 (0-0)

/Havertz 88/

Sunday

Tottenham - Aston Villa 1-2 (1-1)

/Lo Celso 22 - Torres 45+7, Watkins 62/

19.30: (2.85) Everton (3.45) Man.Utd. (2.65)

Monday

23.00: (2.55) Fulham (3.35) Wolverhampton (3.05)

***odds are subject to change