LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a third successive Premier League defeat as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Aston Villa in an absorbing clash full of chances on Sunday.

Villa’s first win on the road in just over two months took them above Tottenham into fourth place in the table but it did not look likely early on.

The hosts were given a deserved lead by Giovani Lo Celso’s deflected shot in the 22nd minute and could have been comfortably ahead before Pau Torres levelled with a thumping header deep in first-half stoppage time.

Chances continued to flow both ways after the break but it was Villa who went ahead with a fine finish by Ollie Watkins just past the hour mark after being set up by Youri Tielemans.

Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez made two great saves, Ben Davies headed a golden chance over the bar and Pedro Porro hit the post for the luckless hosts who also suffered another injury blow as Rodrigo Bentancur limped off in the first half.

Unai Emery’s Villa have 28 points from 13 games, behind Liverpool on goal difference, with Tottenham now in fifth place on 26 points.

Tottenham were on top in the opening stages and Dejan Kulusevski blasted against the post after showing nimble footwork to prise open the Villa defence.

Postecoglou’s men were back on the offensive as Bryan Gil was denied by a fine save from Martinez.

Their enterprising play reaped a deserved reward when Villa could only clear a corner to the edge of the area, where Lo Celso hammered a powerful strike that deflected in off Carlos.

Villa thought they had mustered an immediate response as Watkins glanced his header past Guglielmo Vicario from Lucas Digne’s cross.

But, after a VAR check of almost three minutes, the goal was disallowed for a tight offside against Watkins.

Kulusevski was inches away from doubling Tottenham’s lead with a curler before Son Heung-min’s goal was chalked off for another offside.

For all their dashing play in attack, Tottenham were vulnerable at the back and Villa took advantage in first half stoppage-time.

Douglas Luiz’s free-kick found Torres unmarked 10 yards out and the Spanish defender thumped his header past Vicario, with the goal surviving another extended VAR check.

Emery’s men exposed the flaws in Tottenham’s defence again to take the lead in the 61st minute.

A neat move climaxed with Watkins playing a one-two with Tielemans to open up the creaky Tottenham rearguard before the England striker guided a clinical finish into the far corner from 12 yards.

Martinez made excellent stops to repel efforts from Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg before Son’s strike was disallowed for offside to cap a frustrating afternoon for Spurs.

HAVERTZ SENDS

ARSENAL TOP

In Saturday’s late match, Arsenal moved top of the Premier League when a late goal by Kai Havertz earned them a 1-0 victory at Brentford.

Manchester City’s earlier draw with Liverpool meant Mikel Arteta’s side would leapfrog both clubs with a win but that did not look likely for most of the game.

Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale, recalled to the side, got away with a huge mistake in the first half, while the visitors had a goal by Leandro Trossard ruled out for offside.

The game appeared to be drifting towards a draw but Havertz, who came on as a substitute, eventually broke the deadlock with a close-range header in the 89th minute.

Arsenal moved up to first place with 30 points from 13 games, one ahead of City and two ahead of Liverpool.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2023