Aston Villa vs Tottenham LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Son Heung-min inspires big win in top-four race
Unai Emery’s Villa take on Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs in a clash for fourth
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Tottenham Hotspur inflicted a chastening 4-0 home defeat on 10-man Aston Villa as Ange Postecoglou’s men emphatically won this key battle in the race for Champions League qualification.
Sunday’s crunch clash between fourth and fifth was described in the build-up by Villa skipper John McGinn as “the most important game in the club’s recent history”.
Unai Emery’s men had the chance to move eight points clear of Spurs in the final guaranteed Champions League spot, but instead the hosts’ captain saw red in an embarrassing second-half collapse. Follow all the reaction below plus get the latest odds and tips for the match right here:
Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
63 mins: Spurs have just one clean sheet in their last 17 games, so Villa can take some encouragement from that. The home side surge forward, but Diaby is offside. From the free-kick, Son is almost through after a long ball over the top, but it’s swept up. Spurs continue to look the more threatening of the two, and Villa look a little shellshocked.
Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
60 mins: Spurs continue to dominate possession, and they win a corner, but it’s easily cleared. Dragusin is booked for blocking a quick McGinn free-kick.
Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
56 mins: A real sucker punch for Villa there, who would have had more hope after van de Ven came off, but they were punished for careless play in their own half.
The home side have to produce something now, which may leave gaps for Spurs.
In response, Villa make a triple change. Lenglet, Tielemans and Digne come off for Zaniolo, Diaby and Moreno.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
53 mins: GOAL! Villa haven’t even had time to recover and they’re now 2-0 down! It’s really sloppy from Villa; they lose possession after a poor pass is intercepted, and Kulusevski lays off Son. He drives into the box and has options to his left and right; he lays it off to Brennan Johnson, who side-foots it past Martinez and into the roof of the net.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
50mins: GOAL! Kulusevski does well to receive the ball from a one-two and he plays through Sarr on the wing. His cross is inch-perfect, and it finds the outstretched foot of Maddison in the six-yard box. The Englishman could barely miss.
Aston Villa 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
47 mins: Torres plays a lovely ball to Bailey from the edge of the box, and the Jamaican is clean through near the penalty area. He drags it wide and his shot is deflected over, but he was offside anyway.
Micky van de Ven is down now, and he’ll becoming off. He looks bitterly disappointed, having suffered a long injury setback earlier in the season. He is replaced by Radu Dragusin. How could that change the game?
46 mins: Cash gets in-behind early, and Watkins looks free in the middle, but Cash cuts back in and his shot is blocked. Watkins is evidently annoyed.
KICK-OFF! Aston Villa 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
The teams are coming out again. Dragusin was warming up at half-time, though there are no substitutions so far.
Villa get us underway in the second half.
Half-time stats
The half ends with six shots overall – five for the home side, and just one for Spurs. There were zero on target for either side, which tells some of the story of the game so far.
An interesting stat is the possession; Spurs have had 69 per cent to Villa’s 31. Villa have looked to go long on several occasions, trying to take advantage of Spurs’ high line, while Spurs have certainly been more patient. Despite the stats, neither side has been ‘dominant’ – especially in terms of chances created – though Spurs are a little more in control.
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