Aston Villa continue resurgence with comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur

LONDON – Judging from Aston Villa’s two superb strikes as the visitors came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in an English Premier League game on Oct 19, one could be forgiven for thinking that there was a Goal of the Season contest between Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia.

Their stunning efforts helped Unai Emery’s men climb to 10th in the table, while Thomas Frank’s Spurs slipped to sixth after more misery on home turf.

Emery hailed his men’s fighting spirit, telling Sky Sports: “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.”

Frank, meanwhile, felt that 1-1 would have been “a fair result”. He said: “There were two big teams on the pitch.

“We started very well. Villa produced two goals out of nothing and we had four or five moments where we couldn’t produce.”

With danger-man Mohammed Kudus pulling the strings, the hosts made a fast start, with Rodrigo Bentancur giving Spurs the lead after just five minutes.

But Villa slowly clawed their way back.

Rogers equalised with a stunner from outside the box in the 37th minute, leaving Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario grasping at thin air as the ball curled over his outstretched arm.

The English midfielder’s first Premier League goal of the season came after his first goal for the Three Lions in the 3-0 friendly win over Wales on Oct 9.

Former England goalkeeper Rob Green called it a glorious strike on BBC Radio Live 5, adding that Villa had pulled “something out of nothing”, while ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane said on Sky Sports that he could “watch it all day”.

But Villa were not done yet.

A long diagonal ball from Matty Cash then found Lucas Digne. The Frenchman teed up substitute Buendia, who drove inside from the right wing and unleashed a left-footed curler past Vicario into the far corner in the 77th minute.

Tottenham’s woeful home form in the Premier League – 11 defeats and just three wins in 18 league games – has proved a major issue for Frank since he replaced the sacked Ange Postecoglou in the close season.

While the majority of those home losses came under Postecoglou last term, Frank’s short tenure has produced mixed results at the club’s 62,000-seat stadium, with boos audible after a defeat by Bournemouth in August and a 1-1 draw with lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers in September.

The end of Tottenham’s seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions left them in sixth place on 14 points after the second defeat in Frank’s eight league games.

Villa have responded to their longest winless start to a season since 1964 with five successive victories, three in the top flight and two in the Europa League, extending their unbeaten streak to eight matches.

It was especially notable that Villa finally beat a top-four rival away from home after taking just one point from their six trips last season to the English sides currently in the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Frank – who was already without James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke due to fitness issues – lost captain Cristian Romero to an injury in the pre-match warmup.

Despite that blow, Tottenham needed just five minutes to take the lead.

Kudus’ cross was headed back across goal by Micky van de Ven towards Bentancur, who dispatched a clinical finish past Emiliano Martinez from eight metres.

Bentancur celebrated by shoving the ball under his shirt to create a bump in tribute to his wife, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child.

After Rogers’ equaliser, Tottenham looked to take charge in the second half as Wilson Odobert’s goal-bound rocket was blocked by Ezri Konsa before Villa goalkeeper Martinez denied Joao Palhinha.

But Mathys Tel joined Tottenham’s growing injury list as the forward limped off to have a heavy bandage wrapped around his knee.

The tide was turning and Villa took full advantage with Buendia’s 77th-minute stunner.

Asked how Spurs can fix their home form, Frank said: “I think we’ll just win.” AFP