Ollie Watkins’s Aston Villa smash and grab inflicts third straight loss on Spurs

Sometimes it is easy to be led by the scoreboard. This was a pulsating battle between two clubs energised by smart managerial appointments and there is a temptation to argue that the turning point came when Unai Emery was able to regroup from a position of relative comfort at half-time. Far too astute to be fooled by Pau Torres equalising after a spell of blistering football from Tottenham, Emery was proactive during the break and there is no doubt that Aston Villa were far more effective after introducing Youri Tielemans and Leon Bailey at the start of the second half.

The decisiveness was telling, not least because it was Tielemans who played the pass that enabled Ollie Watkins to put a disappointing display for England behind him and score the goal that lifted Villa two points off the top of the table. Yet while Watkins’s winner meant Emery’s side set a new club record of 22 Premier League wins in a calendar year, this was a game that could easily have gone either way. Take nothing away from Villa, who showed character to fight back from Giovani Lo Celso’s early goal, but do give credit to Spurs for fighting hard on the day when they digested the loss of their former manager, Terry Venables.

A Spurs win would not have been a travesty. While a third consecutive defeat will be used as evidence that the feelgood factor under Ange Postecoglou is fading, they played well without several influential figures. Spurs, who slipped below Villa and into fifth place, will surely improve when their best players are back.

No doubt Venables would have enjoyed the way that Postecoglou and Emery sent their teams out to play. It was frenetic from the start and there could have been three goals inside the opening five minutes. Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski would threaten for Spurs, the latter hitting the woodwork after connecting brilliantly with Son Heung-min, while Villa looked dangerous from crossing positions. Torres could not believe it when he headed wide from six yards out

There was no time to pause for breath. Nor was there any sign of Spurs feeling low after losing to Chelsea and Wolves. They were as gung-ho as ever, attacks originating every angle, Udogie and Pedro Porro supposedly playing as full-backs when in reality there were times when both drifted inside to act as quarter-backs and others when they caused problems with penetrative bursts into space behind Villa’s defence.

The home fans loved it. In Postecoglou they feel they have a manager who understands the club’s tradition of attacking football. Spurs value their heritage. Before kick-off they remembered Venables, who won the FA Cup as a Spurs player in 1967 and as their manager in 1991, while the walk down memory lane had continued when the teamsheets arrived; Postecoglou, whose options were limited by injuries and suspensions to key players, had channelled his inner Ossie Ardiles by selecting a back four entirely comprising full-backs, naming only one defensive midfielder and giving Bryan Gil and Lo Celso their first starts in the league this season.

It was terrific fun. With Spurs pressing hard, Villa soon found themselves pinned back. Gil tested Emi Martínez after running on to a lovely flick from Kulusevski and Villa kept taking risks by maintaining such a high line.

The only surprise was that Spurs took the lead from a set piece. Porro’s low corner from the right bounced through a mass of bodies and came to the unmarked Lo Celso, who let fly with a shot that zoomed past Martínez via a slight deflection off Diego Carlos.

Giovani Lo Celso’s fierce shot puts Spurs ahead but their luck in front of goal would desert them after that. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters

Nothing was going right for Villa, who were close to conceding again when Kulusevski bent a shot just wide. Spurs were overwhelming Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara in midfield and Emery’s use of Matty Cash in an advanced position was not working. Cash’s only notable contribution was being booked for the foul that forced Rodrigo Bentancur to go off 32 minutes into the Spurs midfielder’s first start since injuring a knee last Feburary.

That said, Villa did well to rally. Spurs were vulnerable with Eric Dier unable to start and Ben Davies and Emerson Royal filling in for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in central defence. There were no leaders at the back and Villa thought they had levelled moments after Lo Celso’s goal, only for a lengthy VAR check to show that Watkins had strayed offside when he headed Lucas Digne’s cross past Guglielmo Vicario.

No matter. Villa had seen a route to goal and, having escaped when Son had a goal disallowed for offside, they scored a straightforward equaliser in the seventh minute of added time. Douglas Luiz delivered a free-kick from the right, Davies lost Torres and the defender’s header beat Vicario.

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Pau Torres heads in Aston Villa’s equaliser deep into first-half stoppage time. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Not that Emery was happy. He removed Cash and Moussa Diaby at half-time, Tielemans and Bailey coming on to make Villa more balanced, and the mood changed. Spurs remained dominant, Son shooting at Martínez and a stretching Brennan Johnson just failing to reach Kuluseveki’s cross, but Villa’s belief was growing. Bailey almost embarrassed Vicario with a low shot from 20 yards.

Spurs were nervy without the ball, particularly as Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was not as effective a shield as Bentancur. Villa began to move the ball more incisively. Just after the hour they worked themselves into a promising position. Bailey found Watkins and after playing a one-two with Tielemans the striker ran through to squeeze a shot past Vicario.

Back came Spurs. Porro volleyed at Martínez and Davies headed over. Johnson produced a stunning turn but Martínez was in his element. The Villa goalkeeper charged out to deny Johnson; then he stretched to save Højbjerg’s long-range effort.

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Vicario was busy as well, saving from McGinn and Kamara. Were Spurs flagging? Postecoglou was able to name only eight substitutes, including goalkeepers, and that lack of depth has started to bite. Villa were grateful for the options on their bench.

Even so Spurs could have rescued a point, Porro firing against the woodwork, the flag up when Son turned in the rebound. It was not to be.