Dominic Solanke scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways in the Premier League, coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1.
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Spurs bounced back from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, with four second-half goals turning the contest completely on its head at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Villa had broken the deadlock just after the half-hour mark through Morgan Rogers, but Brennan Johnson levelled within four minutes of the restart.
The hosts then completed the turnaround in the final quarter of an hour, with Solanke striking twice in the space of four minutes before substitute James Maddison put some gloss on the scoreline with a stoppage-time free-kick.
Spurs climb to seventh in the table with 16 points, two places and two points behind Villa, who missed the chance to jump into the top four.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
17 | +4 | 31 |
| 5 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
17 | +6 | 28 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
17 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 |
Man City
MCI
|
17 | +4 | 27 |
| 8 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
17 | +6 | 26 |
How the match unfolded
Following a generally even opening half-hour, Villa turned up the pressure with Amadou Onana's header hitting the post, before they broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute.
Guglielmo Vicario could only parry after Pedro Porro deflected John McGinn's corner towards goal, and Rogers reacted quickest to score from two yards out.
However, Spurs responded well and were back on level terms soon after the break, with Johnson turning in Son Heung-min’s cross at the far post.
The hosts then edged ahead in the 75th minute as a neat exchange of passes culminated in Dejan Kulusevski slipping the ball through for Solanke, who beat the offside trap and delightfully lifted over the stranded Emiliano Martinez.
Solanke was in the right place at the right time again four minutes later following another lovely move, tucking in Richarlison’s square ball at the far post.
Maddison then put the icing on the cake in the seventh minute of stoppage time, curling a delicious 20-yard free-kick beyond Martinez.
Spurs come from behind once more
Spurs entered this game having conceded the opening goal in 11 of their 13 home Premier League matches in 2024, though they had recovered to win on seven of those occasions.
Therefore, it would not have been too much of a surprise to them when Rogers prodded Villa in front after 32 minutes.
Nevertheless, whatever Ange Postecoglou said to his players during the half-time break certainly had the desired effect, with Johnson quickly equalising.
Eyebrows were raised when Son was replaced in the 55th minute after returning to fitness, and with Micky van de Ven already injured, Spurs’ problems intensified when Cristian Romero limped off soon afterwards.
However, the hosts did not allow themselves to be affected by that setback, and even after Son’s withdrawal, they showcased their attacking quality to great effect.
The way Spurs’ front players exchanged passes for both of Solanke’s goals was breathtaking, before Maddison rounded off the victory with a sumptuous set-piece effort, scoring his 50th Premier League goal.
Postecoglou has come in for criticism in the season’s early weeks, but with this level of attacking talent, Spurs will always be a threat.
Villa streak screeches to a halt
Without a defeat in seven Premier League matches – and having won nine of their 13 league matches in London under Unai Emery – Villa had every right to arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium feeling confident.
They had also won on three of their four most recent visits to this ground, and everything appeared to be going to plan again when Rogers broke the deadlock – demonstrating their quality from set-pieces once more.
However, Johnson’s equaliser appeared to knock the stuffing out of Villa, with the hosts putting themselves firmly in charge of the contest.
The visitors subsequently had no answer to their opponents’ slick attacks, and they must endure that rare feeling of leaving the capital empty-handed.
The positive thing for Villa is they do not have much time to dwell on this result. A trip to Club Brugge awaits on Wednesday, and the mission is to maintain their impressive unbeaten start to this season’s UEFA Champions League.
What managers said
Ange Postecoglou: "They are a very good side, they have a level of performance that rarely drops.
"It was a tight first half, we had to match up with them and it was disappointing for them to score. After that, we have other gears in us and we showed that in the second half. After the performance in midweek I thought it was an outstanding effort.
"We stick to our principles, there is great belief in these players, and when we do that we are hard to stop. I felt the momentum was going our way, we knew we would finish strong and if we upped it a couple of gears like we can we knew we would be hard to stop."
Unai Emery: "When you are losing you have to try and get one step forward to try and change the result. But we know how difficult it is against Tottenham. 4-1 is a tough result but the match we played was more or less in line with the expectation I had before the match.
"We are disappointed, frustrated but we are accepting it. We know our way, it is 38 matches, the league is very tight."
Club reports
Spurs report | Aston Villa report
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Since the start of last season, Tottenham Hotspur have gone on to win 10 Premier League matches in which they conceded the first goal; the joint-most of any team in the competition along with Manchester City, while winning three of their last four in which they've gone one goal down.
Spurs’ Solanke has now scored more goals against Aston Villa under Unai Emery in the Premier League than any other player, netting four goals in four appearances against them.
Villa have scored five goals from set-pieces (excl. pens) in the Premier League this season, with no team scoring more than Unai Emery’s men (Arsenal also five).
Since the start of last season, Tottenham Hotspur have conceded the opening goal on 13 occasions in Premier League home matches – excluding relegated sides, only Manchester United (14) have done so more times in this period.
