Tottenham slip into relegation zone after Aston Villa defeat: Stats
What's the story
Tottenham Hotspur's dismal start to the Premier League 2026-27 season continued as they suffered a 2-3 defeat at home against Aston Villa. The loss leaves Spurs winless in their opening five league games, pushing them into the relegation zone. The defeat also raises questions over the future of manager Roberto De Zerbi, who has been under pressure since the beginning of this season. Here's more.
Match highlights
Villa earn much-needed win against hapless Spurs
Aston Villa's victory was their first of the season, coming after a series of underwhelming performances. Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson, and Emi Buendia scored for Villa.
Despite Spurs's early pressure that saw them force Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki into four saves within 20 minutes, they couldn't capitalize on their chances.
Spurs finally broke their goal drought with late strikes from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke, but it proved too little too late.
Tactical shift
Villa take lead in 1st half
The match took a turn just before half-time when Spurs were temporarily reduced to 10 men after skipper Micky van de Ven went off for treatment.
Villa capitalized on this lapse, with Manzambi scoring his first goal for the club.
Spurs thought they had equalized through Mohammed Kudus but VAR ruled the goal out for offside in the build-up.
Goal scorers
Spurs can't complete comeback
Jackson doubled Villa's lead with a powerful shot into the corner after beating Van de Ven in a duel.
Buendia then sealed the win with a stunning long-range effort that left Spurs fans heading for the exit.
Despite late goals from Gallagher and Van Hecke, Spurs couldn't salvage anything from the match.
However, Spurs did score for the 1st time this season in the Premier League after going goalless in their first four games of the season.
Do you know?
Spurs post this unwanted Premier League record at home
As per Opta, Tottenham have lost 50 of their 141 Premier League games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as many defeats as Arsenal have suffered in 382 top-flight matches at the Emirates Stadium.
Villa
Key numbers for Villa's Manzambi and Buendia
Manzambi scored Villa's opener before assisting Jackson for the 2nd.
As per Opta, he is the second player to both score and assist on their first Premier League start for Aston Villa after Kevin Phillips against Bolton Wanderers in August 2005.
Buendia scored his maiden Premier League of the season. Overall, the Argentine has scored 17 Premier League goals from 162 matches (A17).
Details
Match stats and points table
From 20 attempts, Spurs had 7 shots on target. Villa managed six shots on target from 15 attempts.
In terms of touches in the opposition box, Spurs dominated Villa 31-18.
Spurs went on to complete 496 passes and had a possession worth 63.70%.
After 5 matches, Spurs are 17th with 2 points (D2 L3).
On the other hand, Villa claimed their maiden win of the campaign and have 4 points under their belt (W1 D1 L3).
Opta stats
Sorry numbers for winless Spurs
Tottenham have now lost 22 home league games since the start of 2024-25, just one fewer than in their previous four seasons combined (23).
Tottenham Hotspur have failed to win any of their previous 48 games in all competitions in which they've conceded the opening goal (D11 L36), with 37 of those games coming in the Premier League (D8 L29).
This is Spurs' worst start to a Premier League season after five games, with two points and a goal difference of -6, eclipsing their 2008-09 start (2 points, -3 goal difference).