No revival for Spurs as Aston Villa win 3-2 in Premier League test
Tottenham lost 3-2 to Aston Villa in the Premier League on 19 September 2026, with manager Roberto de Zerbi describing his side as "too fragile" after the defeat.
Tottenham have lost three of their opening five Premier League games and remain without a league victory this season, with Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke scoring the club's first Premier League goals late on. The result leaves the team in the bottom three and they go into a three-week international break still seeking a first top-flight win.
Spurs controlled the early stages, dominating the opening 20 minutes, but missed chances from Savio and Archie Gray were turned away by Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki; Tottenham have failed to win any of their last 36 Premier League matches when conceding first. The visitors opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time after Andy Robertson attempted to clear a corner, which presented the ball to John McGinn; Boubacar Kamara's effort led to Johan Manzambi prodding in from close range while Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment for a facial injury.
In the second half, Mohamed Kudus had a goal ruled out for offside from Robertson's cross, and seven minutes later Nicolas Jackson capitalised on Suzuki's long clearance to make it 2-0. Emi Buendia's 25-yard strike in the 79th minute put Villa 3-0 and prompted many home supporters to leave early; Gallagher and Van Hecke added late goals but they proved consolations only.
De Zerbi questioned his side's defensive response and accountability after the match, saying: "My focus is why we concede the first goal with 10 players, we can stay stronger, communicate more and more, defend in a compact way. "I put [Rodrigo] Bentancur as a centre-back in that minute and Mateus Fernandes as a midfielder. If we have a red card we can play 70 minutes with 10 players. "In the second half we scored the goal with [Mohammed] Kudus, offside, I don't know if some players lost energy but we conceded an unacceptable goal. We knew this season Aston Villa are playing 86% more long balls than last season. "We had many meetings [about it] and we have to explain another game like Newcastle where we played the first half well and then we lose. It's my responsibility. "I take my responsibility but in that moment of the game we have to defend, we have to defend compact, the leaders have to be leaders. "I am very sad and frustrated with the performance. We cannot lose this game in this way. The second goal we conceded was incredible."
Former striker Glenn Murray urged patience over De Zerbi's project, saying: "He is trying to build something, it will take time," he told BBC's Final Score. "Taking the emotion out of it, looking at the stats, they have had more shots in three of the past four games, more possession and more touches in the opposition box. "They are positives, be patient, the metrics are there to say he will turn it around. They need to be patient with Roberto De Zerbi, with all the signings, it takes time to gel and get to know each other." Former Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole criticised Tottenham's recruitment and linked anxiety on the pitch to poor decisions, saying: "Spurs are dominant, chances, and you felt the tension growing - all of a sudden Spurs were just wanting to get to half-time. Once you defend with anxiety, things happen," and adding, "They are not picking up points, a club flirting with relegation two years in a row, I feel they have overpaid for every player they bought this summer - you can't rule them out from being in and around the relegation battle." De Zerbi also defended the club's transfer activity, saying: "I am happy with the squad but the market was long, the situation changed many times. "There was also financial fair play and we have to respect that. We didn't sell the players we thought there was a possibility to sell. "The club and the coach, we are not sleeping, we know the characteristics of the players. If we didn't make any different decisions it was because we couldn't." He added: "I didn't speak with the players [afterwards], I didn't want to say anything. The players who go to the national team, they have to play and work. "The others, [James] Maddison, Gallagher, [Dominic] Solanke, Tosin [Adarabioyo, [Marcos] Senesi, Savio have to work more because their physical condition, I didn't like in this game."
Spurs' summer spending has exceeded £300m and their new signings have yet to change results: Sandro Tonali (reported at £100m) was outshone by Villa captain John McGinn, who was a £2.75m signing from Hibs eight years ago; Mateus Fernandes arrived for around £85m and was substituted at half-time; Savio cost about £75m and was denied three times by Suzuki; Omar Marmoush will cost £60m when his loan becomes permanent but contributed little. Villa, meanwhile, have committed to spending more than £250m during their rebuild and needed a league victory after three defeats in their opening four games.
This loss leaves Tottenham with their worst start to a top-flight season since 2008-09, when they had two points after five games, and marks the first time since 1986 that they have gone five league games without a win at the start of a season; Juande Ramos was dismissed after that 2008-09 start before Harry Redknapp later guided the club to eighth.
