Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa got them out of the relegation zone.
Spurs have now won two consecutive games, a feat they hadn’t achieved since early December across all competitions. It was still under Thomas Frank, against Brentford in the Premier League and Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
One thing stood out from kick-off: how much both teams wanted it. The Villans are obviously targeting the Europa League second leg next Thursday after losing the first one away to Nottingham Forest.
As a result, Unai Emery named an alternate starting line-up. Dibu Martinez, Matty Cash, Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers were the only usual starters in it.
With Tottenham fighting for their lives on the other end of the table, the expectation was that they would show more heart. But while Villa were clearly not up for it, there were a lot of things Spurs did right in order to go back to London with all three points. Let’s dig in.
How did Tottenham out-work and out-class Aston Villa?
Defensive strategy and execution
Tottenham may have scored two goals, but it was what their did out-of-possession that secured the three points.
They were relentless trying to press and regain the ball as quickly as they could. Villa could barely go over the halfway line in-possession, especially in the first half.
Conor Gallagher starting in the number 10 spot was crucial to how they suffocated the hosts. And in the end, it also helped them as he scored a beautiful goal just outside the box from a central position. Roberto De Zerbi’s insistance in the 26-year-old has been paying dividends in his stint so far.
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The Italian set his side up in a man-oriented press throughout the whole pitch, rarely matching the number of players that Villa had in build-ups. The idea was to always leave a spare player at the back for protection.
His 4-1-4-1 out-of-possession formation worked wonders. Gallagher and Rodrigo Bentancur often stepped up to suffocate the Villa defenders, with Joao Palhinha between the lines. Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani also helped however they could on the wings.
Centre-back pairing Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso dominated their match-ups and left no space in behind despite often going high up the pitch.
Consdiering that a full-pitch man-marking takes the game and turns it into a series of 1v1 duels, Spurs overwhelming Villa in every single facet of the game helped them dominate it completely.
It was also integral to them winning the game. One lost duel could have been enough to dismantle their whole defensive system and it could have led to bad things. But they fought hard and only let go of the rope a little in the end. Emi Buendia scored a consolation goal late on but it made no difference.
They stood above their Premier League average in tackles (22 tonight, 19.6 in the season) and interceptions (10 tonight, 8.2 in the season).
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Uninspired Villans
With Tottenham in the relegation zone and Aston Villa looking for a European final, the expectation is that Spurs would show more energy, heart and fight. But the utter and complete lack of all of it from Villa was impressive and shocking in the worst way.
Not only were Tielemans and Rogers two of the four starters in the line-up at Villa Park, but probably their worst performers. Absolutely no focus whatsoever from the pair. Ross Barkley also stood out negatively.
It took them 61 minutes to attempt a shot tonight – the fourth most of any team in a Premier League game this season.
| Minute of 1st shot attempt | Player | Team | Opponent | Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61′ | Morgan Rogers | Aston Villa | Tottenham | May |
| 61′ | Jean-Ricner Bellegarde | Wolves | Chelsea | November |
| 71′ | Zian Flemming | Burnley | Arsenal | November |
| 78′ | Rodrigo Gomes | Wolves | Liverpool | March |
| 86′ | Lucas Pires | Burnley | Bournemouth | December |
They also finished the match with just seven touches in the opposition box. It’s their joint-worst tally in a single Premier League game this campaign (both fixtures against Tottenham).
The few times the Villans managed to bother Spurs were when they pressed up high. But they rarely adopted this approach and mostly just watched them pass around and manage the result.
Overall, the amount of times they failed to control the ball in simple, short passes or made silly, avoidable mistakes is a perfect encapsulation of their performance.
For perspective, their first attacking opportunity in the second half ended with Tielemans playing Jadon Sancho offside in a short corner kick, which tells everything you need to know about how they played.