Tottenham 4-1 Aston Villa: Player Ratings and Match Highlights
Tottenham fought back from a goal down at halftime to put Aston Villa to the sword on Sunday afternoon and earn a battling 4-1 win. Morgan Rogers had given the visitors the lead, but Ange Postecoglou’s side, fresh off the back of a midweek victory against Manchester City, tore up the rulebook, as Brennan Johnson’s goal was followed by a quickfire brace by Dominic Solanke and a wonderful free-kick from James Maddison in the second-half to crown a perfect week.
Both sides were looking to boost their hopes of Champions League qualification with a victory over a chasing rival, but both teams struggled to break the deadlock. It took half an hour for the first shot on target to come about, which turned out to be the first goal, as Rogers capitalised on some sloppy Spurs defending from a corner to steer the ball home.
It proved to be the only shot on target in the first-half as Unai Emery’s side grew into the game and took their lead into the break. It wouldn’t be long after the restart, though, that Tottenham would find a reply. Son Heung-min would deliver a perfectly weighted ball into the box for Brennan Johnson to notch his fourth Premier League goal of the season just five minutes into the second period. Dominic Solanke followed up with a second shot on target shortly after, to no avail.
The equaliser had instilled the obligatory hope among fans crammed into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that the game was set to come alive, but with Son coming off after just 55 minutes, the atmosphere appeared to deflate once more. Returning to the dull affair that kickstarted the afternoon, the tie needed a hero, and it was Solanke who came up trumps for the home side.
In the space of a few minutes before the clash entered its final 10 minutes, the former Bournemouth striker proved he was worth his transfer fee over the summer as he fired Tottenham to a 3-1 lead. The Englishman struggled to make much of an impact for much of the afternoon, but with Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison finding him in the right place at the right time, he proved to have his shooting boots on when his teammates needed him most, taking the Lilywhites back within two points of the top four before Maddison’s free-kick capped off a perfect week with a beautiful free-kick in injury time.
Match Highlights
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