4 instant reactions as Tottenham gift Aston Villa their first win of the season
Tottenham finally scored their first goal in the Premier League! But that's not the main storyline; they move down to 18th in the table, but depending on how fixtures around them go, they could drop as low as 20th.
Aston Villa were not even at their best today, but they wiped the floor with Roberto De Zerbi's men. There was fight from Tottenham, but it wasn't anywhere near enough.
Goals from Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia gave the travelling team their first win of the season. An experience Tottenham are still yet to taste.
The Zion Suzuki story is one that every Tottenham fan has seen before
Zion Suzuki is obviously an exceptional goalkeeper. There is a reason why Aston Villa, who have a great recruitment team, signed him.
However, you can't help but feel like he turned it up a gear against Tottenham. More known for his distribution, he pulled off wonder save after wonder save against Tottenham today, particularly in the first half.
Facing an xGOT from Tottenham of 1.90, the Japan international made an impressive five saves and conceded two goals.
Three things are inevitable in this lifetime: death, taxes, and a goalkeeper showing up against Tottenham.
There is at least a desire for Tottenham to score goals
Tottenham are often clowned for not scoring goals this season. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen the memes.
While it doesn't make the dry spell any easier, it's not entirely Tottenham's fault. They genuinely looked pretty fluid at times in the final third, and you could tell there was a genuine desire from the players to score goals.
Tottenham recorded an xG of 1.22, so they actually registered more than Aston Villa's xG of 1.16. Mohammed Kudus even put the ball in the net before Conor Gallagher's, but it was ruled out (correctly).
Nicolas Jackson took Jan Paul van Hecke for a walk
Nobody can take Jan Paul van Hecke passing and in-possession ability away from him. Nobody.
However, we need to have a serious conversation about his defence. He was poor today, and he was a major reason why Nicolas Jackson looked better than he probably is.
He was dribbled past twice, and he lost both of his aerial duels and won just 50 per cent of his ground duels. The last-minute goal shouldn't pull wool over Tottenham fans' eyes, and it won't. At least he can pass, I guess!
The issue for Tottenham was not their attack. Their attack actually played very well. It was, akin to Chelsea this season, their defence that failed them miserably.
Pedro Porro's injury is the least surprising thing since... Pedro Porro's injury
There really isn't too much to say other than to express severe disappointment.
Pedro Porro returned from injury in this match, but his return was cut short due to another injury. There are some jokes that just write themselves, and this is one of them.
Thankfully, Tottenham have an extended international break not only to drown sorrows, but also to diagnose what is wrong with Porro. Serious questions should (and will) be asked about why he returned without being fully ready, but that's a story for another day.
