Unai Emery’s side claim fifth straight win in all competitions while Spurs miss chance to go second
Emiliano Buendia scored a superb winner as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Sunday.
1 – 2 Aston Villa
FTBuendia came off the bench to seal a hard-fought victory for Unai Emery’s team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Morgan Rogers had cancelled out Rodrigo Bentancur’s earlier effort.
Bentancur broke the deadlock in the fifth minute with his first Premier League goal of 2025, but Rogers fired the visitors level before half-time with a fantastic long-range shot, his maiden top-flight strike of the campaign.
The game appeared to be drifting towards a draw until the 77th minute, when Buendia curled in brilliantly from the edge of the box.
Brennan Johnson blazed over a chance for Spurs to equalise in stoppage time, as Villa held on to move up to 10th place on 12 points. They are now just two points behind Spurs, who are sixth.
How the match unfolded
Spurs came flying out of the blocks and hit the front after just five minutes. Joao Palhinha nodded Mohammed Kudus’ deep ball back across the area for Bentancur to finish, via a slight deflection off Amadou Onana.
Kudus thought he had doubled the lead moments later, but was quickly denied by the offside flag, while Emiliano Martinez just about gathered Wilson Odobert‘s fierce low drive.
However, Villa responded against the run of play in the 37th minute, Rogers jinking away from Xavi Simons before whipping a wonderful 20-yard effort beyond Guglielmo Vicario‘s despairing dive.
Spurs went close to regaining their lead early in the second half – Odobert had a shot blocked by Ezri Konsa and Martinez tipped Palhinha’s effort around the post.
But Villa snatched all three points when Lucas Digne took in Matty Cash’s brilliant pass and laid it off to Buendia, who curled a low strike past a flat-footed Vicario and into the bottom-left corner, with Johnson’s wild effort late on being the closest Spurs came to a leveller.
Spurs’ home struggles continue
Spurs’ seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions came to an end, as they suffered their 11th defeat in the space of 18 Premier League home games.
The hosts made a bright enough start. The loss of Cristian Romero, who was injured during the warm-up, initially did not appear to affect them, as they twice had the ball in the net inside the opening stages – albeit the latter effort was rightly ruled out for offside.
Spurs had won each of their four previous league games when scoring the opening goal this season. However, Rogers showed his quality when he left the helpless Vicario grasping at thin air for Villa’s equaliser.
Thomas Frank, who stuck with Mathys Tel up top to start with after the forward’s goal against Leeds United last time out, got a response from his players after the break but they lacked a cutting edge, unlike Villa who had the impetus they needed to claim a spirited victory.
Spurs will be away in their next three matches — against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League, Everton next Sunday in the league, and Newcastle United in the EFL Cup — before they are back at home in the top flight on 1 November, when they host Chelsea.
Five in a row for resurgent Villa
Villa have recovered from a slow start to their season, winning each of their last five matches in all competitions and moving into the top half of the Premier League table.
Martinez and Konsa were celebrating their 200th starts in the English top flight, but they were fishing the ball out of their own net in only the fifth minute after Spurs’ superb start, and Emery will have been hugely frustrated with his team’s marking in that instance.
The visitors took a while to find their rhythm but, when they did, their man back in form delivered the goods; Rogers demonstrating he is brimming with confidence after dancing around Simons and beating Vicario from distance, with the England international now looking sharp after a sluggish start to the campaign.
Villa’s defensive resolve was tested again early in the second half, but a combination of smart goalkeeping and important blocks kept Spurs at bay.
Buendia, though, was the matchwinner and has now scored three goals in his last four games.
With Manchester City, Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth being their next three league opponents before the November international window, Emery’s side will certainly head into those huge fixtures full of momentum and confidence.
Club reports
Spurs report | Aston Villa report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: “It was exactly the game I expected it to be, against two good teams, very tight. There weren’t too many chances. I think overall it could’ve gone either way. I think 1-1 would’ve been a fair result. We started very well. Villa produced two goals out of nothing and we had four or five moments where we couldn’t produce. If you told me before the game that these players will be shooting from these positions I’d have said ‘happy days’.”
Unai Emery: “The way the players responded, even when we were losing 1-0. This is the way we are trying to get better at and try to build the team with this structure. The dressing room is different now. Substitutes are very important. Now we need to recover some injured players. Hopefully players will come back and will try and help us with their qualities.”
Since the start of last season, Spurs have dropped more points from winning positions at home in the Premier League (19) than any other side. They have lost five times after leading at home in the division in this period, also a league-high tally.
Villa enjoyed their first Premier League comeback win away from home for exactly one year (since 19 Oct 2024 v Fulham), having lost 10 of their previous 11 away league games in which they trailed before today (D1).
With just four points in four home league games this season (W1 D1 L2), this is Spurs’ poorest home start to a league campaign since 2008/09, when they had one point from their opening four at home.
Since the start of 2023/24, Spurs have won just 23 per cent of their league games without Romero (6/26), compared to a 50 per cent league win rate when he has played in this period (29/58).
(EPL)
