Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa: Roberto De Zerbi under pressure as winless Spurs drop into relegation zone
Report as pressure ramps up on Roberto De Zerbi heading into the international break; Spurs are winless and sit in the relegation zone after five Premier League games
Saturday 19 September 2026 15:18, UK
Tottenham head into the international break without a win in the Premier League after losing 3-2 at home to Aston Villa.
Roberto De Zerbi's expensively assembled side were hit by goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia which handed Villa an important win - their first of the season.
Both clubs had made slow starts to the new campaign after summer rebuilds and while Spurs had failed to score in four league fixtures.
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Conor Gallagher at least got Spurs' first goal of the season late on, followed up by a Jan Paul van Hecke header, but it was nothing more than a consolation and too little too late.
After a bright start from Spurs where they forced Zion Suzuki into four saves inside the first 20 minutes, Villa hit Tottenham with a sucker punch - with captain Micky Van de Ven off the pitch after he took a whack to the face from Tyrone Mings, Manzambi fired in.
Spurs' goal drought appeared over on the hour mark when Sandro Tonali played in Andy Robertson and Mohammed Kudus poked in his cross, but VAR ruled it was offside.
Jackson then made it 2-0 by finding the bottom corner.
A wonderful effort by Buendia from 25 yards made the victory safe for Villa and sparked 'you're getting sacked in the morning' chants by the away faithful.
Ahead of the extended break, Spurs find themselves in the relegation zone and have only won five of their last 36 matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The key moments from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium...
- 9: DOUBLE SAVE! Savio has two bites of the cherry from inside the box but Suzuki reacts to both effort to keep Spurs at bay.
- 19: INJURY! Pedro Porro limps off, clearly frustrated having pulled what looked like a groin muscle. His replacement Archie Gray is then denied from the angle by Suzuki.
- 45: OUCH! Van de Ven suffers a nasty blow to his face after clearing a set piece and needs to leave the field to receive treatment.
- 45+3: GOAL! Villa take advantage of the extra-man by attacking down the left which results in Manzambi scoring his first goal for the club.
- 58: GOAL RULED OUT! Spurs think they've opened their account for the season through Kudus but Robertson was offside in the build-up, so VAR steps in to disallow the goal.
- 67: GOAL! Jackson doubles Villa lead, powering a shot into the corner after beating Van de Ven in a duel.
- 79: GOAL! Buendia puts the result beyond doubt with a stunning finish from 25 yards as Spurs fans head for the exit.
- 86: SPURS FINALLY SCORE! Sarcastic cheers inside the stadium as Gallagher pokes home from close range to end the Spurs drought.
- 90+6: GOAL! Van Hecke heads home for 3-2 but the referee blows for full-time just after the restart.
