Aston Villa secured their first Premier League win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Tottenham in north London, leaving Spurs without a league win and rooted in the relegation zone.
Unai Emery’s side built a three-goal lead through Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia before Tottenham finally found the net late on. Conor Gallagher’s effort went in off Matty Cash, while Jan Paul van Hecke headed a second in stoppage time.
Tottenham had spent more than £300 million on new players after last season’s fight for survival, but the investment has yet to produce a league victory. Their latest defeat followed a familiar pattern, with Roberto De Zerbi’s team starting brightly before losing momentum.
Spurs twice went close in quick succession through Savio, only for Suzuki to deny him on both occasions. The Villa goalkeeper then spread himself to turn Archie Gray’s powerful strike behind.
Villa had taken only one point from their opening four league matches and had been without club-record signing Manzambi for much of that run. The Switzerland international opened his account for the club by turning in Boubacar Kamara’s cross.
Tottenham are likely to question the circumstances of the goal after Micky van de Ven was forced to leave the pitch for at least a minute following treatment for a head injury. Spurs were temporarily short-handed in defence when Manzambi finished.
The second goal exposed another gap at the heart of the Tottenham defence. Van Hecke failed to deal with a long ball down the middle, allowing Jackson to evade him before driving his shot into the ground and beyond Antonin Kinsky.
Buendia then put Villa firmly in control 11 minutes from time, taking aim from distance and finding the top corner. The strike was greeted by boos, with thousands of home supporters leaving before the final whistle.
Those who stayed saw Tottenham mount a late response. Mohammed Kudus persisted down the right before setting up Gallagher, whose shot found the bottom corner after taking a deflection off Cash.
Van Hecke headed in from Andy Robertson’s free-kick with virtually the last touch of the match, but Tottenham could not complete the comeback. The result leaves Spurs facing a three-week international break after another defeat.
Villa will hope the victory marks a change in their fortunes. Emery’s side also failed to win their first five league matches last season before recovering to finish fourth.
