Tottenham Hotspur fans have waited a long time for a promising — dare I say GOOD — performance from their team. They got one today. Against a heavily rotated Aston Villa team clearly prioritizing the Europa League semi-final second leg, Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs took Villa to the woodshed in the late game on Sunday. Spurs got first half goals from Conor Gallagher — his first in lilywhite — and Richarlison, locked down on defense, and never let Villa anywhere near goal until the very end of the game.
Emiliano Buendia scored a banger for the home team in the 95th minute, but it was the only bright spot for the home team as Spurs won away 1-2.
The win was massive — not only was it Spurs’ second straight win after going the whole of 2026 without a league victory, but with West Ham losing 3-0 earlier in the weekend Spurs jumped a point ahead of their relegation rivals, two points behind Nottingham Forest, and out of the relegation zone with three games to play. Tottenham didn’t allow Villa a single shot in the first half and despite the late goal, this match was practically on cruise control.
Spurs controlled possession, won the vast majority of their duels, actually passed the ball pretty well, and barely let Villa have a sniff of the ball near Antonin Kinsky’s area. It was about as comprehensive a win as we’ve seen all year against any opponent, and it put Spurs’ future firmly in their own hands in the relegation battle.
Here are my match reactions.
Match reactions
- My only pre-match thought was that the midfield of Palhinha-Bentancur surely meant that Spurs intended to defend and counter. Which honestly might not be a bad plan. (Spoiler: they did not do that.) This was also the first time all season that Richarlison, Tel, and Kolo Muani started a football match together.
- Spurs’ early press was really well executed. And it was clear that there was a PLAN as to when to press and when to wait. That’s nice to see if nothing else.
- A goal! From a long throw! And from Conor Gallagher! That was a well executed throw from Danso and exquisitely placed shot from Gallagher. A game of firsts.
- We joked about DUELZ all season, but Spurs pretty much won all of their DUELZ in the first half. And players are making off-the-ball runs into space to support players getting forward with the ball. It’s… dare I say it, FUN, and a massive, massive indictment of Thomas Frank’s tactics.
- WHAT A GOAL FROM RICHARLISON! Incredible cross into the box from Tel, and Richy does what he does best which is jump and head in crosses. Outstanding.
- Mathys Tel had a heck of a first half. His movement, take-ons and delivery were all really promising and as good as we’ve seen from him all season. A couple of bad shots, but I’m still a Tel-liever.
- Halftime stats: lol…lmao
- Antonin Kinsky had almost nothing to do but his distribution out of the back was quite nice, and he also was able to switch play on a number of occasions.
- In a game of what was mostly really positive and good performances, it’s strangely a little comforting to know that Randal Kolo Muani is still playing like hot ass. Taking him off for Spence was a little strange, but a good move to get him off the pitch because he was offering very little.
- Finally, a Tottenham match where I have literally no complaints about the match official! It’s refreshing.
- That late goal really screwed up my xG narrative (and honestly the whistle should’ve blown before that goal happened). Final xG: 0.31 – 1.03.
- Roberto De Zerbi is a dickhead, but man, the guy sure can coach. I will grudgingly admit that much.
- Spurs’ future is now in their hands. West Ham’s last three: home to Arsenal, at Newcastle, home to Leeds. Forest’s last three: at Chelsea, at Villa, home to Newcastle. Spurs’ last three: home to Leeds, at Chelsea, home to Everton. No easy wins anywhere, but I think I’d take Spurs’ schedule ahead of either Forest or West Ham’s.
