Spurs finally ended their five-game Premier League run without a goal, but it meant little as they slumped to a 2-3 defeat to Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Aston Villa were also winless in the league heading into this game, but a visit to Dr Tottenham was enough to end their misery and hand Spurs their third defeat in five league games.
Home advantage seems to have become a foreign concept for the north London club, who have now won just five of their last 36 league games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Roberto De Zerbi reverted to a full-strength Tottenham squad following midweek’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, but Destiny Udogie and Mathys Tel did not feature, with the latter even excluded from the matchday squad itself.
Pedro Porro returned to the starting XI after missing Tuesday’s trip to Anfield due to injury, but his time on the pitch was unfortunately short-lived.
Let’s have a look at our Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa match report.
First half: Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa
Spurs had managed just two shots on target across their previous two games against Everton and Nottingham Forest, but Savio alone equalled that tally 10 minutes into the game when he forced Zion Suzuki into an incredible double save from close range.
Amidst another high-tempo start from the home side, they were dealt a blow when Pedro Porro had to be substituted less than 20 minutes in due to injury, with Archie Gray coming on in his place.
The 20-year-old almost scored with his first touch of the game, firing through Suzuki’s legs after a well-timed run, but a slight touch from the Villa goalkeeper diverted the ball away from goal.
Much to Spurs’ frustration, Aston Villa took advantage in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time after Micky van de Ven temporarily went off to receive treatment for a cut below his eye.
Andy Robertson made a mess of an attempted clearance, allowing Boubacar Kamara to set up Johan Manzambi for a simple tap-in from an area van de Ven would have otherwise been covering.
Second half: Spurs 2-3 Aston Villa
De Zerbi brought Mateus Fernandes off for Mohammed Kudus at the break, who thought he had equalised around the hour mark. However, Robertson strayed offside from Sandro Tonali’s pass in the build-up, and Tottenham’s first goal of 2026/27 did not count.
Nicolas Jackson had given Jan Paul van Hecke a tough afternoon throughout, with the defender struggling to handle the Senegalese forward and even picking up a yellow card in the first half.
Being cautious did not help, though, as Jackson then beat him and his colleague van de Ven far too easily before firing a shot that Antonin Kinsky failed to keep out, doubling Villa’s lead.
Poor defending again late on allowed Emiliano Buendia to extend his three-game scoring run against Spurs, smashing a shot from distance with very little pressure to make it 3-0.
Conor Gallagher finally scored Spurs’ first Premier League goal of the 2026/27 season four minutes before normal time when Kudus pulled the ball back for the midfielder, who made no mistake from close range.
Spurs halved their deficit in the final second of stoppage time when Robertson crossed into the box and Jan Paul van Hecke headed home from the free kick.
It was too little, too late, though, and Spurs will now have to wait three weeks for a chance to put things right with the international break following this defeat.