A Dominic Solanke brace helped Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur overturn a first-half deficit against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
Unai Emery’s Villans were lethargic for the most part despite the boss ringing the changes for their Carabao Cup defeat on Wednesday, but they did a number on the hosts in the opening 45 minutes.
Spurs’ consuming midweek cup triumph over Manchester City failed to deter their attempt to get back into the contest after half-time, with Brennan Johnson’s early second-half equaliser from close range setting the tone before Solanke came to the fore.
Despite Wednesday’s feel-good win, this was a Premier League triumph Postecoglou’s side desperately needed after their limp loss at Crystal Palace last weekend. The Lilywhites are up to seventh and two points adrift of Villa.
Here were some of the key stats and takeaways from their emphatic triumph.
While Emiliano Martinez hadn’t been tested, Tottenham arguably had the better of the opening 30 minutes before Morgan Rogers handed the away side the lead.
As was the case in the north London derby in September, Spurs were undone by a compact defensive unit that exploited a chink in the Lilywhites’ armour. Postecoglou’s side were among the poorest in the Premier League at defending set-pieces last season, and it remains an issue for Spurs.
Rogers’ tap-in from Lucas Digne’s inswinging corner was the 20th set-piece goal Tottenham have conceded since the start of last season – the second-most in the league over that same period. Heading into the game, Spurs had surrendered the highest shot percentage (39.53) and expected goals against percentage (34.24) in the division.
Rogers didn’t necessarily expose a systematic flaw in Spurs’ set-piece defending, with much owed to the quality of Digne’s delivery. It was a nightmare of a corner to deal with.
This is just who they are, mate.
Tottenham were once again forced to chase the game on Sunday afternoon thanks to Rogers’ opener, but Postecoglou’s side have made a habit of conceding the first goal. Since the Australian’s appointment, only Manchester United (14) have conceded more opening goals in Premier League matches than Spurs (13), excluding relegated teams.
They’ve also conceded first in their three previous league outings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and 12 times in total this calendar year – the most out of any team.
However, as was the case against Brentford and West Ham, Spurs came roaring back from their deficit despite a stop-start second half.
FPL owners may not have been particularly enthused with Solanke’s start to the season, but Tottenham supporters have been thrilled with their new £60m forward, who’s slotted in seamlessly as Postecoglou’s focal point.
A vigorous and effective presser with excellent hold-up play abilities, Solanke has often toiled without much final third reward this term. He hadn’t registered a shot on target in his previous six (!!!) games before Villa’s visit.
The striker once again never ceased in his bid to hamper Villa’s build-up and this time his efforts were rewarded by way of a brace. Given his recent absence from finishing positions, Solanke was ever so cool when found in behind by Dejan Kulusevski, coolly lifting his effort over Emiliano Martinez. The England international was then in the right place at the right time to convert Richarlison’s cross and hand Spurs a two-goal buffer.
These were Solanke’s third and fourth league goals of the season, and just the fourth time the 27-year-old has scored two or more goals in a single Premier League outing.
It’s been a difficult period for Maddison, who didn’t feature on Wednesday and was an after-thought here before he wrapped up Tottenham’s impressive win with an inch-perfect free-kick.
With Ange opting for the running power and stability supplied by the majestic Pape Matar Sarr, Maddison was limited to a brief cameo on Sunday, but the Englishman still had enough time to reach a significant Premier League milestone.
The unrelenting Solanke won Spurs a free-kick right on the edge of the Villa box deep into stoppage time, allowing Maddison to step up and wrap a delightful effort around a claret wall and past the helpless Martinez.
It was a fitting finale to Tottenham’s day, with the strike being Maddison’s 50th in the Premier League and his ninth direct free-kick goal – joining Frank Lampard, Nobby Solano, and Jamie Redknapp for the tenth-most all-time.
