Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur fell to yet another away Premier League defeat this afternoon, this time losing 2-1 to Aston Villa in what was a European six-pointer.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

European race – 

Liverpool are out of reach. That leaves Spurs with sixth, seventh, or eighth this season. The club are currently holding onto sixth with a slightly better goal difference than Aston Villa, but Brighton are just two points behind with three games in hand. Spurs need sixth to get Europa League, seventh for Europa Conference, and eighth will result in no European football. There will be arguments for all three.

No job for Mason – 

This is by no means a dig at Ryan Mason. He has clearly had a positive impact during his short time in charge and could likely do a decent job full-time. However, I think the only way the board would have been convinced to go for him was if Spurs went on an impressive streak of wins towards the end of the season. That’s also the only way they could have sold the idea to the fans. I think the more likely scenario is that Mason gets offered a Championship role this summer.

Bissouma is back – 

The old cliche of ‘he’ll be like a new signing next season’ may ring true once again here. Bissouma has struggled with injuries all campaign, and was out of form during his rare forays onto the pitch. However, his cameo today was at least optimistic. If Spurs can put a couple of creative midfielders around him and get him back to his Brighton levels, there is one incredible player there.

The hard reset – 

It appears that even the best Tottenham players need a hard reset this summer. Sometimes, all you need is some time away from the pitch to recover and regain confidence to find your top form again. The likes of Son, Romero, Richarlison, Kulusevski, Hojbjerg, and Co will be hoping to find that this summer. Some others may be looking for moves or worried about their Spurs futures.

Harry Kane by numbers – 

That makes 27 goals in 36 games for Harry Kane this season, as well as three assists. He has already gone past the 30-goal contributions mark for the campaign and will be hoping for a few goals in his last two games to hit that magic 30 number. Arguably the only Spurs star to play at his best all season long, you can’t help but wonder where is head is at right now.

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