Football

Aston Villa start the Year with a win against Tottenham

by
Dan Chemjor
January 1, 2023

Aston Villa stunned Tottenham Hotspurs to secure a crucial win in the Premier League’s First Match of 2023.
Villa beat Spurs 2-0
Goals from Luiz and Buendia sunk Conte’s Team’s Hopes for a top-four finish

In the opening Premier League game of 2023, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa stunned Tottenham Hotspur with an outstanding performance. Villa scored two goals, Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz, while Spurs struggled throughout the game.

Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz’s goals secured all three points for the Midlands side on a day to forget for Antonio Conte’s team.

Spurs, who needed to win to reclaim fourth place from Manchester United, produced another sluggish first-half performance and fell behind for the tenth time in a row when Emiliano Buendia pounced on a Hugo Lloris error shortly after the break.

How Spurs Lost

Lloris Mistake cost Spurs in the first Goal

Lloris’s Mistake cost Spurs the first Goal.|PHOTO: Goal|

Tottenham Hotspur struggled to find a rhythm early on, with Harry Kane cutting a frustrated figure up top for the hosts. Aston Villa created the game’s first significant chance when Ollie Watkins entered the box. The shot from England’s forward was well wide.

Kane’s frustrations grew as he went without a touch of the ball for the first 20 minutes of the game as Spurs struggled for attacking ideas.

Unai Emery’s Side couldn’t move back into the top four.|PHOTO: Getty|

Unai Emery’s side appeared solid at the back, preventing any attempts into the box by the hosts, but they had a tense moment in the 39th minute when Ivan Perisic could drag Rob Olsen off his line. The Croatian floated in a ball for Kane, but Ashley Young’s brilliant defending cleared his header off the line.

Spurs’ midfield was missing Rodrigo Bentancur, recovering from an injury sustained while playing for Uruguay in the World Cup, allowing Brazilian Luiz to take the lead.

Aston Villa defended tenaciously, keeping Spurs at bay throughout, and increased their lead when Luiz, whose long-range effort had forced Lloris’ error for the opener, finished off a slick team goal from John McGinn’s pass.

Perisic wasted one of Spurs’ few chances as Conte’s men struggled to respond. The second-half improvement that rescued a point against Brentford in their previous game failed to materialize.

Dangerous Villa

Buendia and Luiz were on target as Villa beat Spurs.| Photo: Goal|

Villa remained the more dangerous of the two teams, and they got the second Goal their performance deserved when Luiz expertly controlled McGinn’s perfectly-timed pass and clipped an excellent finish past the despairing Lloris.

Villa made several changes to maintain their lead and all three points as Spurs continued to try to score.

Seven minutes were added in the end, but Spurs could not capitalize on the opportunity to move into the top four.

The result increases the pressure on head coach Antonio Conte. It allows former Arsenal manager Unai Emery to extend his unbeaten streak against Spurs to four Premier League games, with the win keeping Villa in 12th place in the table.