Tottenham thrashed top-four rivals Aston Villa 4-0 at Villa Park thanks to goals from James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Heung-Min Son and substitute Timo Werner.
John McGinn was also sent off for Aston Villa when Spurs were two up following a rampant start to the second half, with Ange Postecoglou’s side now closing the gap on their opponents to two points in the Premier League table while also having a game in hand.
Here are five talking points from what was a fantastic afternoon for Spurs…
A reminder of what Spurs have missed at times this season
It speaks to how well Ange Postecoglou has done in his first season at Tottenham that many of those involved in the biggest moments of the game at Villa Park have missed long periods for Spurs this season. Papa Matar Sarr, James Maddison and Heung-Min Son all played crucial parts in the victory and have missed plenty of game time through a combination of injury and international duty. Postecoglou deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team in contention for a Champions League place despite the absence of several key men throughout the season.
Superb start to the second half for Spurs
Embed from Getty ImagesTottenham were underwhelming in the first half, dominating possession and working themselves into some dangerous positions but failed to test Emi Martinez in the Villa goal, managing just one shot in the first 45 minutes and too often looked for the extra pass rather than having a go at goal. But whatever Postecoglou said to his players at half-time worked wonders, with Spurs aggressively pressing Villa right from the start of the second half, exploiting their frailties on the ball and scoring a quickfire double which set them on the way to a dominant victory.
Villa’s problems in possession
Embed from Getty ImagesVilla looked vulnerable playing out from the back right from the start of the game and while they managed to escape punishment in the first half, their continued errors caught up with them in the second. Unai Emery’s side struggled to deal with Tottenham’s aggressive press which forced them to turn into blind alleys and resulted in giving up possession too easily. There were basic errors too, including the loss of possession from Ezri Konsa which led directly to Spurs’ second goal.
Johnson is proving to be a good signing
Embed from Getty ImagesMore than a few eyebrows were raised when Spurs splashed out nearly £50m on Brennan Johnson in the summer, and he has been in and out of the team in his debut season at the club. But against Villa the young winger proved exactly what he is capable of, building on a strong run of form heading into the game by scoring the crucial second goal with a fine finish into the top corner. In a lacklustre first half, he looked like Tottenham’s most dangerous player out on the left with his directness and ability to skip past players, and got the goal his performance was worthy of.
Concern for Van de Ven
Embed from Getty ImagesThe only real negative on what was a fantastic afternoon for Spurs was another injury worry for central defender Micky Van de Ven. The Dutchman went down at the start of the second half when the score was still goalless and was unable to continue, with Radu Dragusin replacing him. Having already missed two months of this season with a hamstring injury, Spurs will be hoping his latest setback is not too serious, as Postecoglou was optimistic of post-match and especially given how impressive his performance was in dealing with Ollie Watkins in the first half.
