Aston Villa beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, racing into a three-goal lead before surviving a late rally, and leaving Roberto De Zerbi’s side winless after five Premier League games and inside the relegation zone with just two points.
Villa Build a Three-Goal Cushion Before Spurs Rally Too Late
Villa took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Johan Manzambi scored on his full debut while Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment. Nicolas Jackson doubled the visitors’ lead in the 67th minute, and Emi Buendia made it three with a finish from the edge of the box in the 78th. Spurs had no answer.
Conor Gallagher pulled one back for Spurs in the 86th minute, and Jan Paul van Hecke added a second in stoppage time, but the fightback came too late to salvage a point. The result was Villa’s first Premier League win of the season, according to Sky Sports, and their third win in four matches across all competitions.
The Numbers Behind Tottenham’s Collapse
Spurs sit bottom three with two points and a minus six goal difference from five matches, their worst start to a Premier League season in decades. It follows a run that already included a goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, when Tottenham had failed to score in three straight league games for the first time since 1974.
The underlying data points to a team creating chances without taking them. Tottenham have produced 98 line-breaking passes into the final third this season, the third most in the league, but only seven have led to shots. They have scored twice from 4.59 expected goals across their five matches, according to CBS Sports, with a defence built around ten summer signings that has yet to settle into a consistent starting eleven.
De Zerbi Takes the Blame
De Zerbi took responsibility for the defeat afterward, saying he needed to work harder to find a solution rather than pointing to his players. It was a rare moment of public self-criticism from a manager who has generally defended his squad through the club’s winless start.
Tottenham’s leadership under chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has shown no public sign of moving against De Zerbi, with the club understood to view this as a transition season built around his long-term plans rather than immediate results. That patience will be tested further if the losing run continues once the season resumes.
What Happens Next
The international break now gives De Zerbi close to three weeks without a fixture to address Tottenham’s finishing and defensive cohesion before the Premier League returns. How he uses that time will matter. Whether the ten new arrivals can be moulded into a settled starting group will decide if this dip becomes a longer crisis or just a rocky start that gets corrected once games resume.