Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa [1-2] | All Goals & Extended Highlights | Premier League 2023/24

Aston Villa come from behind to beat Spurs 2-1 in north London; Giovani Lo Celso opened scoring as hosts dominated first half but Pau Torres headed equaliser against run of play; Ollie Watkins’ second-half winner moves Villa above Spurs into fourth.

Aston Villa came from behind in a pulsating encounter at Tottenham to claim a 2-1 win and hand Ange Postecoglou’s side their third successive defeat.

There were emotional scenes before kick-off as both sets of supporters paid tribute to former Spurs boss Terry Venables, whose death at the age of 80 was announced on Sunday.

Perhaps that roused the hosts, who started with a fiery intensity and should have scored two early goals through Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski.

Spurs eventually got the goal their play deserved when Giovani Lo Celso – starting his first Premier League game in more than two years – saw his powerful drive deflect off Diego Carlos and past the helpless Emiliano Martinez.

But errors started to creep into Spurs’ game, allowing Pau Torres to head in an equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

Heung-Min Son saw a hat-trick of goals disallowed as Spurs’ frustration built, before Ollie Watkins completed the turnaround to move Villa above Spurs and into fourth in the Premier League.

The positive approach espoused by both Postecoglou and Unai Emery pointed to an open and entertaining encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the first half exceeded even those expectations.

Despite a disappointing away record under Emery – they had won just two of their last 10 on the road – Villa persisted with their remarkably high defensive line, and were nearly punished just minutes into the game when Destiny Udogie fired over after running onto Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass.

Dejan Kulusevski then hit the post when it looked easier to score, before Torres nodded Villa’s first chance of the game wide during a frantic start to the game.

Spurs were relentless in their pursuit of the opener and it eventually came from an unlikely source, with Lo Celso’s effort from the edge of the box deceiving Martinez.

But Spurs were rocked by yet another injury when Rodrigo Bentancur – making his first start since ACL surgery – limped off after a nasty Matty Cash tackle.

Pedro Porro and Bryan Gil then almost cost Spurs with weak back passes, before Torres delivered a sucker punch when he powered in Douglas Luiz’s inviting free-kick.

Guglielmo Vicario almost cost Spurs when he allowed Leon Bailey’s weak shot to squirm past him and onto the post, and the ‘keeper could do nothing to keep out Watkins’ sharp finish minutes later.

Spurs tried but failed to muster the intensity that marked their first-half display, while Son was persistently being denied by the offside flag.

Emiliano Martinez produced a fine double save from Brennan Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as Villa stood firm to add to the woes of Postecoglou’s injury-hit side.

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