Spurs 4 – 1 Aston Villa Premier League Match Review

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham earn a statement victory against Unai Emery’s side in what was a battle between two teams looking for Champions League Qualification this season.

Spurs welcomed top four rivals Aston Villa to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a crucial Premier League game in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification this season. Three points would not just be important for the league table – it would also be a statement of intent.

In the end, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham team came out on top in ruthless and emphatic fashion, beating Unai Emery and the Spaniard’s Aston Villa side 4 – 1 in North London in what was a statement victory for the Lilywhites early in the 2024/25 season.

Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke, and James Maddison all found the back of the Villa net after the West Midlands Club initially took the lead late on in the first half thanks to a goal from forward Morgan Rogers.

Following this crucial win, the Lilywhites now find themselves in 7th place with a total of 16 points to their name. Tottenham are now only 2 points adrift of North London rivals Arsenal, whilst they are also two points adrift of Chelsea in the final Champions League spot in fourth.

Match Highlights:

Match Review

The first opportunity of the game fell the way of the visitors. Morgan Rogers had an effort from just outside of the penalty area fly wide of the goal before Ollie Watkins missed the target himself a few moments later (3’).

A significant opportunity then came the way of Tottenham Hotspur when their Spanish right back Pedro Porro had a chance from within the Villa penalty area, but he saw his effort go past the post with just over 5 minutes having gone in this game (6’).

Dominic Solanke had the next chance for Spurs, but the former Liverpool and Bournemouth forward saw his header on goal miss the target after he had met a cross into the box from fellow forward Son Heung-Min (14’).

By the time half an hour had elapsed in the game, neither side had been able to find the back of the net with the scoreline still on level terms. Then, just two minutes later, visitors Aston Villa were able to take the lead, breaking the deadlock through Morgan Rogers who found the net from very close range following a set-piece (32’).

Spurs’ next big chance came in first half stoppage time when Dominic Solanke looked to restore parity from close range after Dejan Kulusevski had found him in the penalty area, only for the forward to have his shot on goal blocked well by the visiting defenders (45+1).

The half time whistle went with the Villa holding a one goal lead going into the second half of this crucial contest.

To the relief of everyone of a Tottenham Hotspur persuasion, the hosts were able to equalise very early on in the second half when Brennan Johnson, formerly of Nottingham Forest, was able to score from close range after he had met a superb cross into the box from Son Heung-Min (49’).

It was Spurs who now had the momentum going into the remainder of this game as they were now seeking a goal to not only take the lead but also complete the turnaround in this game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dominic Solanke then forced a fantastic save from Villa Stopper Emiliano Martinez (51’), before Porro had a chance, only for his shot to go too high of the Aston Villa net just seconds after Solanke had had his own opportunity to score (52’).

After plenty of fouls and some chances for both teams, it was Tottenham Hotspur who were finally able to take the lead after having piled on the pressure in that second half. It was Dominic Solanke who scored the goal, giving them the lead after being able to find the bottom left corner of the net after latching on to a perfect through ball from Dejan Kulusevski (75’).

It was then two goals in quick succession for Spurs and Solanke, with the forward making 3 – 1 with his second goal of the game after finding the net with a delicate and precise finish after receiving the ball from substitute Richarlison (79’). The game was now out of sight for their visitors Aston Villa.

Then, not long after Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey had a shot well blocked (89’), substitute James Maddison found the bottom right corner in superb style after beating Martinez with a direct free kick from just outside of the penalty area (90+6’).

It was almost 5 – 1 to Spurs just a few minutes later when midfielder Pape Matar Sarr forced a great save out of Aston Villa Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, with the ball looking like it might find the bottom left corner of the Villa net (90+10’).

The final whistle then went to confirm what was an emphatic and ruthless 4 – 1 victory for Tottenham Hotspur against Aston Villa.

Match Stats

Spurs had the most possession with 51.1% of the ball across the game, whilst Aston Villa had 48.9% of the possession throughout the 90 minutes. Tottenham had the most shots on target in the match with 6 compared to Villa’s 1. The hosts also had the most shots on goal in general with 16, with the visitors having 12.

Ange Postecoglou’s Post-Match Thoughts

Following this crucial victory against top four rivals Aston Villa, this is what Spurs Boss Ange Postecoglou had to say after a ruthless performance from his team in North London (via the official Spurs Website):

“It’s an important part of our growth. I said last week, it’s a disappointing day, but we knew when we came back to Hotspur Way on Monday that we couldn’t feel sorry for ourselves, it’s about the learnings with take from that, because we had two really big games this week, important game for us and the football club.

“As I said, not feeling sorry for ourselves and looking for excuses. We have to deal with those situations better and we did that today. They are a good side, very consistent and we had to work hard in the first half to make them work hard. We’ve always got another gear in us and once the second half started, I thought there was only one team going to win it.

“I wasn’t happy that we were 1-0 down, but I was happy with the way we went about things, because I could see that Villa were working really, really hard. What we know is that we can work really, really hard for 100 minutes, not a problem, we’ve got other gears in us. It’s then about testing the opposition.

“So, the key for us was to come out second half, go up a notch and really take the game to them and see if they could cope. I wasn’t really worried at half-time that we were falling into the same traps as last week, I felt the energy in the room and the players couldn’t wait to get back onto the pitch for the second half, and the performance reflected that.”

Next Up for Spurs

Next up for Tottenham will be a League Phase tie in the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League against Turkish Giants Galatasaray at the 53,978 capacity RAMS Park in the Turkish City of Istanbul. The game will be taking place on Thursday 7th November 2024, with the game kicking off at 17:45 UK Time.

The game after that sees Ange Postecoglou and his Spurs side return to Premier League action against newly promoted Ipswich Town at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the visitors being led into this fixture by Tractor Boys Boss Kieran McKenna. The game is to be played on Sunday 10th November 2024, with this contest kicking off at 14:00 that afternoon.

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