Tottenham suffered their second defeat of the 2025/26 Premier League season under Thomas Frank at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, following Aston Villa’s latest 2-1 win.
Let’s take a look at the five things we learned from Tottenham’s defeat against Aston Villa:
Awful home form
Tottenham Hotspur would no doubt have been hoping to follow up their win against Leeds United before the international break with another victory on Sunday afternoon.
However, it was not to be for Thomas Frank’s men, who suffered their second defeat of the season and missed the chance to go second in the Premier League table.
Two defeats, both coming on home soil, mean that Frank has picked up just one victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, compounding their home woes even further.
It is a run that stretches back to last season, where they managed just six league wins at home.
Frank made it clear that improving Spurs’ home performances was something he was actively working on, but despite taking an early lead in front of their home crowd, Tottenham failed to show any further quality in front of goal.
At the moment, only three sides have a worse home record than Tottenham, with Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and West Ham the only teams performing worse. For a side with ambitions of making it into Europe, something has to change.
Tottenham missed Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie
Spurs did welcome back a few of their injured players, with Randal Kolo Muani making a return, but a few others remained sidelined.
Destiny Udogie missed the encounter, with Frank revealing that it was a minor issue, while Cristian Romero picked up a knock in the warm-up.
Of course, these players were big misses, especially Romero, who could have brought much-needed order to the defensive line.
There was little pressure or urgency from most of the Spurs players on the pitch, who often allowed Villa to let fly from range, which proved costly.
Romero is aggressive and front-footed, never afraid to put pressure on his man, and that could have come in handy.
Meanwhile, Udogie could have offered some attacking threat on the left, with his running and ability to deliver first-time crosses into the box.
Huge gap between midfield and forward line
While Tottenham are certainly making progress in some areas, there are still aspects of their game that need sharpening.
The midfield could definitely do with some improvement, as today’s game exposed the glaring gap between the midfield and the forward line.
We often saw Frank looking to build with a back three, with Rodrigo Bentancur dropping in to help form that shape, which often left space and created a disconnect between the centre and the forwards.
Building with a back three is not entirely new, but when Bentancur is dropping deep and Joao Palhinha plays as the more advanced of the pivot, chance creation becomes difficult, especially as Palhinha is not a natural playmaker.
Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel struggled
A lot of the Tottenham players were poor, but it is fair to say that Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel were among the worst on the pitch.
Tel and Odobert came into the fixture brimming with confidence following their recent exploits on international duty.
However, delivering consistently for Tottenham on a bigger stage is where these players tend to struggle, and that was once more on display today.
Odobert looked lively and direct, trying different things, but with no end product. Tel pressed well and worked hard, yet also failed to deliver any meaningful contribution. At this level, that final touch often decides games, and Spurs are lacking that in attack.
Simons, too, is yet to show his quality for Tottenham, whether off the left or through the middle. Today’s fixture saw him create just one chance, and as Tottenham’s number ten, that simply is not good enough.
Thomas Frank waited too long to make changes
Tottenham do have some depth in their squad, and today’s match showed that, with the likes of Brennan Johnson, Lucas Bergvall, Randal Kolo Muani and Pape Matar Sarr all on the bench.
However, Frank did not turn to his bench early enough when it was clear that the players on the pitch were not performing to the required level.
Spurs’ first change came in the 60th minute with Richarlison replacing Tel, but no other substitution was made until the 79th minute, after Villa had taken the lead.
Bergvall and Kolo Muani were seen waiting on the touchline for almost ten minutes before finally coming on. Questions also have to be asked as to why Bergvall or Sarr were not introduced at half-time or earlier in the second half.
At 1-1, the mindset simply needed to be to win the game, and with the way it was going, it was clear that those on the pitch were not ready to change the outcome.
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