Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia inspired a stirring comeback as Aston Villa earned a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, deepening the north London club’s struggles on home soil.
Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring early for Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Rogers equalised with a thunderous effort before halftime, and substitute Buendia sealed the victory with a late strike.
It was another frustrating afternoon for Thomas Frank, whose side have now lost 11 of their last 18 home league matches, managing just three wins in that stretch. While many of those defeats came under former boss Ange Postecoglou, Frank’s tenure has yet to spark a turnaround in front of the home crowd. Boos were again audible following the final whistle.
The result extended Villa’s unbeaten run to eight matches in all competitions and marked their fifth consecutive victory , three in the Premier League and two in Europe. Perhaps most significantly, it was their first away win over a top-four opponent since last season, when they managed just one point from six such fixtures.
Unai Emery’s side climbed to 10th place and continue to rebuild momentum after a poor start to the season, their worst since 1964.
Tottenham, now sixth, saw their seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end and were hit hard by injuries. Already missing James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, and Dominic Solanke, they lost captain Cristian Romero in the warm-up and forward Mathys Tel during the match to a knee injury.
Despite their fitness issues, Spurs made a strong start. Just five minutes in, Mohammed Kudus swung in a cross that Micky van de Ven headed back across goal, allowing Bentancur to fire home from close range. The Uruguayan celebrated by tucking the ball under his shirt in tribute to his pregnant wife.
Villa responded well, with Matty Cash narrowly missing the target before Rogers produced a moment of magic in the 37th minute. Picking up the ball 20 yards out, he unleashed a curling strike into the top corner for his first goal of the season.
Tottenham pushed to regain control in the second half, but efforts from Wilson Odobert and Joao Palhinha were denied by Villa’s defence and keeper Emiliano Martinez.
With 13 minutes remaining, Villa made their pressure count. A cross-field ball from Cash found Lucas Digne, who teed up Buendia to curl a low finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Tottenham had a golden opportunity to equalise in stoppage time, but Randal Kolo Muani, making his Premier League debut, squandered the chance by skying his shot over the bar with the goal gaping.
As injuries mount and form falters, Frank faces a growing challenge to steady the ship at Spurs, while Villa look increasingly like a team rediscovering their edge under Emery.
AFP
