Aston Villa saved their Champions League hopes alive with a 2-0 win over a weakened Tottenham facet at Villa Park.
Second-half objectives from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara ensured Unai Emery’s males leapfrogged Manchester Metropolis into the Premier League’s prime 4 in the interim.
Regardless of a spirited and open first half, neither facet discovered a breakthrough earlier than the interval. Villa dominated possession – boasting 72% of the ball – and created a number of possibilities, the greatest of which got here from Morgan Rogers and Marco Asensio, each denied by Spurs’ stand-in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
Tottenham, although injury-hit and clearly with one eye on their Europa League ultimate in Bilbao, remained a risk on the break, with Heung-min Son and Wilson Odobert going shut.
The second half, nonetheless, belonged to the dwelling facet. Villa upped the tempo and made their dominance rely in the 59th minute.
John McGinn’s floated nook was nodded down by Ollie Watkins into the path of Ezri Konsa, who slotted dwelling a composed end by way of the legs of Yves Bissouma and into the far nook.
Another to go 👊 pic.twitter.com/RCun4jeLz4
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) May 16, 2025
It was a well-labored set piece and a deserved reward for Villa’s sustained strain.
From that second, Tottenham visibly retreated additional, providing little in response. Emery’s facet seized the initiative and tightened their grip on the recreation, monopolising possession and decreasing Spurs to speculative counters.
The dwelling followers barely had time to settle after a flurry of substitutions when Kamara settled the match in the 73rd minute. Rogers teed up the midfielder simply outdoors the field, and Kamara glided previous half-hearted defensive challenges earlier than slotting a medical low strike into the bottom-left nook for his first Premier League aim.
With the contest successfully over, Villa have been in a position to see out the recreation comfortably. Leon Bailey and Donyell Malen have been launched to preserve the power excessive, whereas captain John McGinn acquired a deserved ovation as he made method in stoppage time.
Tottenham, who have now misplaced 12 of their 14 league matches towards the Premier League’s present prime seven, have been once more haunted by their defensive frailties. They’ve now failed to preserve a clear sheet in 13 consecutive top-flight video games – a run stretching again to February – and supplied little battle in a recreation that seemed like extra of a distraction forward of their European ultimate.
Villa, by distinction, are now unbeaten in 21 dwelling video games in all competitions. The consequence marked their eighth win in 9 league matches, a fine addition as they push to qualify for Europe’s elite competitors.
