Tottenham Hotspur started 2023 with a whimper, slumping to a 2-0 reversal against Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this afternoon.
Rocked by the absence of Dejan Kulusevski just ahead of kick-off, Spurs’ experimental replacement of the Swede with Bryan Gil failed to pay dividends, but in truth, the Spaniard cannot be blamed for the abject display of the other ten men in Lilywhite on the pitch.
Indeed, the return of Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero to the Spurs XI following their involvement in the World Cup final two weeks ago ought to have lifted Antonio Conte’s side, but the match began in a rather tentative manner, with both sides seemingly lacking confidence in the final third,
However, Spurs ought to have taken the lead towards the half’s conclusion when Ivan Perisic rounded Robin Olsen and crossed for Harry Kane to head a goalbound effort that Ashley Young excellently headed off the line.
That was as good as it got for Spurs, and shortly after the restart, Lloris spilled a seemingly innocuous effort from Douglas Luiz, was beaten to the ball by Ollie Watkins, and Emi Buendia was left with a tap-in following the melee to send the travelling Villa contingent into raptures.
Perisic then blazed a half-cleared free-kick over the bar with only Olsen to beat, before Villa doubled their lead through Luiz after a Spurs counter-attack broke down. Boubacar Kamara disposed of Kane as he looked to turn and launch a Spurs attack, fed John McGinn, who played in Luiz, before the Brazilian prodded the ball powerfully past Lloris to secure three points for Villa, and take Spurs and Conte straight back to the drawing board ahead of a tough trip to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
Have your say on today’s events from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the Vital Spurs fan forum here.
Shocking.