5 talking points as Spurs seize advantage in top-four battle by beating Villa

10 March 2024 , 14:58

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James Maddison and Brennan Johnson scored for Spurs (Image: Simon Stacpoole/Getty Images)

Tottenham ensured their hopes of finishing inside the Premier League's top four are in their own hands after cruising to a vital win over Aston Villa.

Spurs came into the game five points behind Villa with a game in hand, knowing they needed to strike a blow against their rivals for fourth place. And after a cagey first half which failed to produce a shot on target, the away side blew the hosts away.

They took the lead through James Maddison's finish from Pape Matar Sarr's pinpoint cross and doubled their lead three minutes later when Ezri Konsa lost the ball and Son Heung-min teed up Brennan Johnson to find the roof of the net. Things went from bad to worse for Unai Emery's side when Villa's captain John McGinn was shown a straight red for cynically clattering Destiny Udogie in the 65th minute.

Villa were unusually blunt in attack, spurning some clear openings in the first half and failing to test Guglielmo Vicario in the Tottenham goal. And they were made to pay late on with Son and Timo Werner rubbing salt in the wounds with late strikes to move their side to within two points of their opponents. Here are the talking points from the match at Villa Park after Postecoglou picked up his biggest win as Spurs boss.

Villa’s Long ball tactic doesn’t pay off

Ollie Watkins couldn't make the most of his first-half openings (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Unai Emery surprised fans by switching from his tried and tested formation to a five-man defence for the visit of Spurs. It was immediately clear what the plan was, with Villa playing long, over the high line employed by Spurs, for Watkins to chase.

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They created openings doing this in the first half, but couldn’t make the most of them, with Micky van de Ven’s famous recovery speed and Watkins’ uncharacteristic indecisiveness shutting the door. The result was an attritional first half which brought zero shots on target and little to get excited about. It was to prove costly.

Sarr engineers the opener

James Maddison knew who to thank for his goal (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

After a dour first half, Spurs turned on the style to open the scoring and make it 39 Premier League games in a row with a goal. An intricate move down the right saw Ange Postecoglou's side get in behind Villa's ludicrously high back line, but Sarr still had an awful lot to do.

Looking up, the Tottenham midfielder could see Maddison in between two centre-backs. He wasn't deterred, though, wrapping his right foot around the ball to send in a delicious cross - the kind that would've had any watching centre-forwards drooling. Maddison is no centre-forward, but he couldn't miss from a few yards out.

As Sarr told Mirror Football this week, he's nicknamed 'Roberto Carlos', and the famous Brazilian left-back would've been proud of that cross had it come off his left foot. Sarr also revealed he wants to pursue a career in computer science once he's finished playing. Aged 21, he's still got plenty of years left at the top of the game.

McGinn's frustration costly

John McGinn's case wasn't helped by the location of his foul (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

McGinn deliberately kicked Udogie. That much is beyond debate: he intentionally fouled the Spurs left-back to prevent what could have been a dangerous counter-attack. He did so thinking he would be shown a yellow card, as he has been many times during his career.

But with the blood pumping and frustration boiling over, he took things a little too far. McGinn didn't even pretend he had tried to play the ball - and the fact he did so right in front of the Spurs bench did not help things. Referee Chris Kavanagh pondered the challenge and took his time before producing the red card. Although many will point to the decision as an example of the game being 'gone', McGinn only had himself to blame. He could've made that foul and stopped that counter-attack in a way which didn't come with excessive force.

Home form deserting Villa

Unai Emery was a picture of frustration on the touchline (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

There was a time not long ago when Villa Park was a fortress for Emery's side. They were outstanding in their own ground in 2023 and that helped them finish second of a Premier League table compiled from results in the calendar year. But that form appears to have deserted them of late, with this defeat meaning they've won just two of their last six at home in the Premier League.

Tottenham have now joined Newcastle and Manchester United in winning at Villa Park in the league in 2024. Villa's high defensive line has worked well on many occasions, so it would be silly to point the finger at it. However, the way in which Konsa conceded possession for the second goal was much more worrying. If they are to play Champions League football next season, Villa need to rediscover their home form, starting against Wolves on March 30.

A rare shut-out for Spurs

It was a perfect afternoon for Spurs (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

Tottenham under Postecoglou have become a swashbuckling side of chilled out entertainers. They have always been good at finding the back of the net, but less so keeping it out of their own. Spurs did an excellent job on Sunday afternoon, keeping Villa at arms length with their high line and protecting Vicario's goal to the extent that his first save came in the 84th minute from a corner.

Spurs had kept just one clean sheet in 17 games coming into this one, so expectations of a shut-out were not high. They also lost Van de Ven to injury in the second half, but the introduction of Radu Dragusin did not disrupt things. Son turned in Dejan Kulusevski's cutback and Werner came off the bench to find the corner to complete a perfect away day.

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Felix Keith