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Aston Villa beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, picking up their first league win of the season while Spurs are still waiting for one after five games. Villa were 3-0 up inside an hour — Johan Manzambi opening the scoring in first-half stoppage time while Micky van de Ven was off getting treatment for a facial injury, before Nicolas Jackson scored his first goal for the club and Emi Buendia added a stunning 25-yard effort. Spurs pulled two back late through Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke, but it was too little, too late, and the result piles more pressure on manager Roberto De Zerbi. That's a fifth game without a win for Tottenham, who drop to 16th, while Villa's win lifts them up to 14th and off the bottom of the table.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1This one's basically a relegation six-pointer dressed up as Matchweek 5, and it's not even October yet. Tottenham are winless and still without a Premier League goal this season, while Aston Villa have taken just one point from their opening four games and sit even further from the pace. Whoever loses here is staring at the bottom three with a straight face rather than a raised eyebrow — this is the kind of match where 'we're only five games in' stops being much comfort.
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2There's no great rivalry lurking here, but there is a nice personal subplot: Nicolas Jackson, on loan at Villa from Chelsea, has been a nightmare for Spurs specifically, scoring four goals in four previous Premier League appearances against them. If Tottenham's goal drought is finally going to end at someone's expense today, the neutral hope is it isn't Jackson padding his own private highlight reel at the other end.
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3Keep an eye on Nicolas Jackson up front for Villa — a Chelsea academy product out on loan, quick, direct, and evidently thriving on nothing more than scoring against Spurs specifically. Four goals in four league appearances against one opponent is the sort of record that makes even a struggling side's centre-forward worth the admission price on its own.
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4Both dugouts are under real pressure. Roberto De Zerbi's Spurs spent almost £400million rebuilding the squad this summer and still haven't managed a Premier League goal, while several senior players — Richarlison among them — have reportedly told him they'd rather be elsewhere. Down the M40, Unai Emery watched several key players leave in the summer rebuild and is now fielding questions about his own job security, just months after winning Villa the Europa League.
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5Tottenham currently share a rather unwanted club with Coventry City as the only two teams in the entire Premier League yet to score a league goal this season. Worth sticking around just to see if that particular stat survives the afternoon — because if it doesn't, it'll be relegation-threatened Villa, of all sides, who put them out of their misery.
Team Talking Points
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1Spurs lost 1-0 at Leeds last Saturday. Noah Okafor came off the bench and scored 11 minutes from the end. It ended a decent run for Tottenham, and it ended Leeds' five-game winless streak, which made it even more annoying.
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2Manager Roberto De Zerbi lost his temper over a second-half booking for Pedro Porro and got booked himself. That earns him a one-game touchline ban, so he'll be stuck in the stands for the first game back, at home to Ipswich on Saturday 21 November.
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3De Zerbi is the permanent boss after a busy spell in the dugout. Thomas Frank was sacked and Igor Tudor had a short interim stint before De Zerbi arrived. Spurs fans have had a lot of new names to learn.
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4Fan reaction to Leeds has been grumpy. Some supporters' sites have criticised De Zerbi's tactics, and there's been chat about Porro's form and Mohammed Kudus being left isolated out on the right wing. Mention Kudus looking lonely and you'll sound like you watched the whole 90 minutes.
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5To be fair, it was only their second league defeat in eight games, so this isn't a crisis. Just don't tell that to a Spurs fan the week after losing at Elland Road.
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Top thing to say down the pub
De Zerbi's going to be watching the Ipswich game from the stands, which is probably the calmest he'll be all season.
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Avoid saying
"Typical Spurs." Fans have heard it from every rival since about 1961, and it hits harder after a late defeat at Leeds. You'll get an eye-roll and a lecture about the Europa League trophy.
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1Villa's last game was one of the maddest of the season: they led Manchester United 4-2 at Old Trafford with the clock deep into stoppage time and still only drew 4-4, after United scored twice in added time. It's the kind of result that feels like a defeat even though it technically isn't.
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2Unai Emery walked down the touchline towards the tunnel before the final whistle after a quick handshake with Michael Carrick, and then had to defend it afterwards. He admitted he thought the game was over when United equalised. Mentioning the early exit is a safe bet for a knowing grimace.
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3Villa go into the international break 10th with 13 points from 10 games – three wins, four draws, three defeats. Since beating Manchester City they've failed to beat Bournemouth, Fulham, Barcelona or United and leaked 11 goals in that run. Emery's message is 'keep working on the defending', which is putting it mildly.
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4Emery himself is still focusing on the positives – he points to three wins and three draws in recent matches – but the question being asked around Villa Park is whether the team has stalled after several years of steady progress under him. Ask a Villa fan whether this is a blip or a ceiling and stand well back.
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5The good news: the table is tight. Villa are only five points off fifth-placed Chelsea, so a decent run after the break would change the mood completely. The bad news is that defending a two-goal lead for six minutes is apparently the hard part.
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Top thing to say down the pub
4-2 up at Old Trafford in stoppage time and Emery's already heading for the tunnel – and it still ends 4-4. That one's going to sting all international break.
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Avoid saying
"At least it's a point away at United" – technically true, emotionally inaccurate. Villa fans see it as two points chucked away, and you'll be the only person in the room calling it a good result.