Referee Mike Dean appears to wheel away celebrating Tottenham goal - Twitter erupts

Tottenham won the match against Aston Villa last night 3-1

Is Mike Dean celebrating? (twitter.com/Mourinholic)

Twitter erupted last night with many a commentator suggesting that referee Mike Dean wheeled away celebrating Tottenham's opening goal against Aston Villa in their 3-1 Premier League triumph.

It was a case of unfortunate timing, with Dean actually waving advantage before pointing back towards the centre circle (watch video below) after Mousa Dembele's third-minute goal.

The "celebration" in all its glory:

Some of the best reaction:

In the match, newly-appointed Villa manager Remi Garde witnessed the magnitude of his managerial task when Tottenham handed his team a ninth loss in 11 Premier League games.

Tottenham's 3-1 victory keeps Spurs firmly in the contention for a return to the Champions League and leaves Villa last and seemingly headed for the League Championship unless Garde can transform the team in the second third of the season.

Only after Villa cut the gap to 2-1 in the 79th minute - with Jordan Ayew's strike beating goalkeeper Hugo Lloris thanks to a deflection - did the team show any of the fighting spirit required for a relegation scrap.

Tottenham already led through first-half goals from Dembele and Dele Alli, and Harry Kane completed the win in stoppage time to send Spurs fifth.