Key events
5m ago
Second half
20m ago
Half-time: Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa
24m ago
GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa (Manzambi, 45+4
1h ago
Kick-off!
2h ago
Aston Villa team
2h ago
Tottenham team
2h ago
Preamble
52 min: The crowd is growing restless. They’re not happy that another Spurs move fizzles to nothing, but they do keep the ball and send it right then left. Villa are defending very deep. Solanke gathers a Tonali ball but he’s repelled. Still, they keep the ball. Tonali seeing a lot of it in the second half.
50 min: Spurs win a free kick that van hecke takes quickly. Oh brilliant from Manzambi after Villa win it back, the new signing spins out of a tackle. He’s back on the ball inside Spurs’ box. Then he’s bundled over on the edge but he was looking for it. Play on.
49 min: Van de Ven is sporting a huge shiner on his face.
Anders Vad Bruun has written a strongly worded email questioning my claim that the cenbtre-back’s absence was the reason for the goal.
He makes a point that perhaps Robertson’s decision to keep the ball in play and not concede a corner had to do with a lack of the centre-back. But then he’d have been allowed to come back on?
In the words of Kanye, I guess we’ll never know.
48 min: Tonali runs from deep. Defintiely an extra yard in his step. But the move comes to nothing. More direct. More accurate. Just more from Spurs is what’s needed.
Changes for both teams.
Wan-Bisakka is off for Cash at right back.
Kudus slots into Spurs’ midfield – at the 10? – in place of Fernandes.
I’ve said that Spurs probably deserve a lead but not according to xG.
Spurs’ xG is 0.59 despite four excellent Suzuki saves. Meanwhile, Villa’s is 0.83. Probably because the goal was pretty much a gimme right in front.
Spurs haven’t made a single successful cross.
Should note that Villa’s goal came with van de Ven off the pitch.
Not saying that was the reason, but it’s worth noting.
Boos, half hearted at best, ring around the stadium.
Spurs bossed it but still don’t have a goal in the league this season and are staring at another defeat.
45+7 min: Shaky for Spurs at the back as Buendia is given too much time on the ball on the edge of the area. Manzambi tries to shoot but its deflected and Jackosn scuffs wide.
45+5 min: Van Hecke clatters Jackson on halfway and gets a yellow card. But was there a shove in the back moments earlier on Fernandes just as the Spurs player was about to shoot inside Villa’s box? I think so. It definitely put him off balanced. Oh, it was just outside the box but Gomes definitely put his hands on Fernandes.
Good work from Villa there. McGinn benefited on the byline after Robertson’s lapse. Then he played in Kamara who slipped it on for Manzambi right in front of the goal.
So credit to the visitors. But that was almost an own goal from Robertson who was trying to do his best for the team, but really should have just let it bobble out for a corner.
Can you believe it! After dominating the half, Spurs are down! Sloppy from Robertson who inexplicably kept the ball in play after Bentancur’s header was destined for a corner. Instead the left-back kept it alive and it fell for a Villa player who played it across for Manzambi who couldn’t miss from right in front.
45+2 min: Van den Ven is up but that is a mighty gash and bruise under his right eye. They’re showing replays of Suzuki’s two biggest saves. That one from Gray, I didn’t realise how close it was to a goal. Gray fired from an angle and the ball almost went through the keeper’s legs, but took a deflection off the instep of his left foot and scooted across the face of goal.
45 min: Van den Ven is actually bleeding from his face. Looks like he’s been cut on the right cheek just below the eye.
We’ll get at least five added minutes but it could well be more as a result of this stoppage.
44 min: It’s a great ball that Mings attacks, but a combination of van den Ven and van Hecke clear the danger. Think it was van den Ven who made contact with the ball just as he got clattered in the back. He goes down having won the free kick and requires a bit of medical attention.
44 min: Wan-Bissaka gets the ball in acres of space down the right. He takes on Tonali then shifts back to Manzambi infield who draws a soft foul. Not in range and on the angle, but a chance for McGinn to whip one in from the right with an inswinger.
43 min: Van den Ven makes a great intervention to a Buendia pass against the grain. If that went on then Jackson was away and possibly in a 2-v-1 with Manzambi in support. They’ve been by far the better team, but Spurs will know that just one moment could see them chasing the game.
41 min: Nothin’ doin’ from that Villa corner as Solanke heads clear. Villa go all the way back to Suzuki and eventually lose possession.
40 min: Solanke gets Tonali’s pass inside the box, but he’s facing the wrong way. He tries to turn but is smothered by two Villa defenders.
“Perhaps today we’ll witness the advent of the minus value XG rating?”
That’s from Justin Kavanagh.
Thing is Spurs could have scored three! But they haven’t, of course.
Villa win a corner. McGinn to take it from the left.
39 min: Tonali picks Manzambi’s pocket and launches a move down the left where Robertson is on the ball, running at pace. His crosses but it’s blocked away for a corner.
Spurs get a rare corner from the left. Can they do anything with it? Nope. Mings biffs a strong header clear.
37 min: Suzuki is showing off now. He explodes off his line as Robertson spots Marmoush galloping upfield into space. But the Villa keeper is quickest to react as he controls the ball with his chest outside his box.
36 min: Manzambi, who has had a lively game, full of confidence, is down having copped a blow. Short delay. I don’t think he’ll have to leave.
Is this the part where I say, ‘Welcome to the Premier League’?
35 min: Two blocks inside Villa’s box. At the back post Solanke’s header is smothered by Wan-Bissaka and then Tonali’s effort is redirected by Buendia. Appeals for a hand ball are ignored.
32 min: Van Hecke dinks a wonderful long pass for the onrushing Marmoush who times his run perfectly, but the touch is very heavy and it bobbles for Suzuki. A better touch and he was clear.
Then Suzuki makes a brilliant diving save down low to a shot from Tonali who had to get his head over the bouncing ball. Or did he? Replays show there was no save and it bounced wide. Let’s hope there’s no goal from this corner. There isn’t. Instead we’ll get another corner as Robertson’s low driven cross is blocked.
31 min: Suzuki, comfortably the player of the match so far, shows some slick feet as he receives a hospital pass but he deals with it comfortably.
At the other end, Jackson and Buendia combine before Manzambi has the ball. He fires from a different post code into row R when a pass for McGinn on his right was perhaps the better option.
“How about Unstoppable Farce vs Risible Project?”
… Trimmed for readability. Visit the source for the full article.
Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt
