Tottenham’s Premier League goal drought finally ended, but only after Aston Villa had built an unassailable lead as Roberto De Zerbi’s side suffered another miserable afternoon in north London.
Tottenham remain without a Premier League win this season after Aston Villa beat them 3-2 on Saturday, piling more pressure on De Zerbi following another disappointing performance.
Spurs had gone into the game without scoring in their opening league matches, but their long-awaited goals came too late after Villa had already raced into a three-goal lead.
Villa had also struggled in front of goal during their poor start to the campaign, but new signings Johan Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson struck either side of half-time before Emiliano Buendia added a stunning third.
A goal and an assist on his first @PremierLeague start.
Take it all in, Johan 🥭 pic.twitter.com/VOoGP0ADj0
— Aston Villa (@AstonVilla) September 19, 2026
The result gave Unai Emery’s side their first Premier League win of the season and ended a difficult opening few weeks.
“Competing like we did, winning like we did will give us confidence collectively and individually, it is really very important,” Emery said. “We are delighted because we needed it and we were suffering in the Premier League.”
Tottenham finally found the net late on, although their first goal came with the help of a deflection. Conor Gallagher’s effort took a touch off Matty Cash before finding the back of the net.
Jan Paul van Hecke then headed home in stoppage time, but Villa held on to claim all three points.
Spurs had spent more than £300 million on new players during the summer after narrowly avoiding another battle for survival last season, but the early return on that investment has been poor.
De Zerbi admitted his side were too fragile when Villa began to take control. “I want to say is that we played well in the first half, we didn’t score, but (we are) too fragile,” the Tottenham boss said. “The moment when we have to defend, we have to defend compact. The leaders have to be leaders and to lead the team.”
Tottenham started brightly and came close to breaking the deadlock through Savio, but Zion Suzuki produced two impressive saves in quick succession.
The Japanese goalkeeper then denied Archie Gray with his feet as Spurs continued to threaten.
Another BIG performance 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/aTSUGp9ke8
— Aston Villa (@AstonVilla) September 19, 2026
Villa had collected just one point from their opening four league games, but Manzambi’s return provided a timely boost. The Swiss midfielder opened his Villa account by tapping home Boubacar Kamara’s cross to give the visitors the lead.
Spurs struggled to respond after the opener, and Villa doubled their advantage when Jackson took advantage of poor defending. De Zerbi described Tottenham’s defending for the second goal as “incredible”, after Van Hecke failed to deal with a long ball through the middle.
Jackson escaped the defender before firing the ball into the ground and past Antonin Kinsky. Villa then put the game beyond Tottenham 11 minutes from time when Buendia produced the moment of the match.
The Argentine picked up the ball from distance and unleashed a brilliant strike into the top corner, leaving Kinsky with no chance. Tottenham’s late goals gave them some hope, but Villa held on to secure their first league win and leave Spurs still searching for their first victory of the season.
