Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa: Hojbjerg finish and Targett own goal give Spurs much-needed win
Tottenham produced their best league display since the opening-game win over Manchester City to end a run of three straight league defeats with victory over a stubborn Aston Villa.
Humbled at north London rivals Arsenal in the last of that trio of losses, Spurs overcame a ropey start to produce a display that was far from perfect but at least showcased a greater defensive organisation and attacking edge.
Son Heung-min was typically bright, providing two assists, Lucas Moura looked sharp and Harry Kane -fresh from his 20-minute hat-trick against Mura on Thursday – was more involved in the final third than of late.
However, they were still made to work by a Villa side who did not panic after falling behind to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s coolly-taken opener midway through the first half.
Their enterprise and endeavour was rewarded with just over 20 minutes to go, with Oli Watkins meeting Danny Ings’ superb low cross to net his first goal of the season from close range.
Their joy was short lived, though, with Son speeding past Kortney Hause and providing a superb low ball that was bundled into his own net by Matt Targett under pressure from Moura.
Spurs had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed but failed to convert, the most notable being an Emiliano Martinez save to deny Kane his first Premier League goal of the season.
The win moves Nuno Espirito Santo’s side up to eighth on 12 points, two places and points better off than Villa.
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Tottenham Hotspur
-
Squad number11Player nameGil -
Squad number18Player nameLo Celso
Aston Villa
-
Squad number1Player nameMartínez
-
Squad number4Player nameKonsa
-
Squad number30Player nameHause
-
Squad number5Player nameMings
-
Squad number2Player nameCash
-
Squad number7Player nameMcGinn
-
Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz
-
Squad number41Player nameRamsey
-
Squad number3Player nameTargett
-
Squad number11Player nameWatkins
-
Squad number20Player nameIngs
-
Squad number10Player nameBuendía
-
Squad number15Player nameTraoré
-
Squad number35Player nameArcher
Line-ups
Tottenham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Lloris
- 12Leite de Souza Junior
- 4RomeroBooked at 68mins
- 15Dier
- 3Reguilón
- 5Højbjerg
- 29SkippBooked at 36mins
- 27Lucas MouraSubstituted forGilat 89′minutes
- 28NdombeleSubstituted forLo Celsoat 76′minutes
- 7Son Heung-Min
- 10Kane
Substitutes
- 2Doherty
- 6D Sánchez
- 8Winks
- 11Gil
- 14Rodon
- 18Lo Celso
- 20Alli
- 22Gollini
- 44Scarlett
Aston Villa
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Martínez
- 4Konsa
- 30HauseSubstituted forTraoréat 80′minutes
- 5Mings
- 2Cash
- 7McGinn
- 6Douglas Luiz
- 41RamseyBooked at 31minsSubstituted forBuendíaat 69′minutes
- 3Targett
- 11Watkins
- 20IngsSubstituted forArcherat 89′minutes
Substitutes
- 10Buendía
- 12Steer
- 15Traoré
- 16Tuanzebe
- 18Young
- 19Nakamba
- 21El Ghazi
- 32Philogene-Bidace
- 35Archer
- Referee:
- Chris Kavanagh
- Attendance:
- 53,076
Live Text
-
Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 1.
-
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 1.
-
Bryan Gil (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
-
Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).
-
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Matt Targett.
-
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Douglas Luiz.
-
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.
-
Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).
-
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Emiliano Martínez.
-
Substitution, Aston Villa. Cameron Archer replaces Danny Ings.
-
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Bryan Gil replaces Lucas Moura.
-
Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Cristian Romero.
-
Foul by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur).
-
John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal.
-
Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hugo Lloris.
-
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.
-
Attempt blocked. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Harry Kane.
-
Attempt missed. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Son Heung-Min.
-
Attempt missed. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) header from the left side of the box misses to the left.
- Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
About Author
