Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 3: Spurs finally score but still end up being beaten by Villans in strugglers’ battle

NO ONE at Spurs expected to be back in another relegation battle this season after splashing more than £350million this summer. But alarm bells are surely ringing now after being slain by fellow strugglers Aston Villa. Johan Manzambi netted the opener on the brink of half time against the run of play Credit: PA Mohammad Kudus thought he had equalised before it was ruled out for offside Credit: AFP They certainly will be among the fans, many of whom walked out in disgust when Emi Buendia curled home for 0-3 with ten minutes to go. Roberto De Zerbi looked shell-shocked, having seen his expensively-assembled side given a hiding by a Villa side who themselves were supposed to be in crisis before kick-off. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! John Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson helped themselves to morale-boosting goals, before Buendia hit top bins from 25 yards. At least sub Conor Gallagher ended Spurs’ horror of four Premier League games this season by scuffing in late on. But it barely drew applause, more like ironic cheers, as self-deprecating fans lamented the plight of their side. Jan Paul van Hecke headed home with eight minutes of stoppage time to reduce the deficit further but seconds later the full-time whistle blew, to a few boos. Spurs have taken just two points from their opening five games and the worry here is that they look more fragile than ever. They are now on a run of 48 games where they have fallen behind and failed to win, so brittle is the resilience to setbacks. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Nicolas Jackson pulled off a superb finish to make it 2-0 Credit: Getty And the hard tests have not even started yet. Spurs have only faced Brentford, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Everton and now Villa so far in the league. No Manchester City, no Liverpool. God help them against arch-rivals Arsenal. Perhaps their dreadful form should come as no surprise after back-to-back 17th-placed finishes. But after De Zerbi’s unprecedentedly heavy spend, following his successful rescue mission last term, so much more was expected this term. It is still early days, of course, and yet there is a reason why fans will already be fearing the worst. This game followed the same pattern of nigh-on all Spurs games this season, especially at home.Start well, create a load of chances, don’t take them, fade and get punished. That is exactly how this first half went, which was far more entertaining than the scoreline suggested, even if it played out in a painfully familiar way for the home supporters. Spurs were three down after Emi Buendia’s screamer Credit: Shutterstock Editorial De Zerbi’s side had plenty of enthusiasm – and quality, in their build-up at least – in an unrelenting first half-hour. But once again they fired blanks thanks to a mixture of wasteful finishing and excellent goalkeeping from Villa stopper Zion Suzuki. The US-born Japan international pulled off a stunning double save to deny Savio twice with just 11 minutes played. Sandro Tonali had cut the ball back to Dominic Solanke who could not control it, but it rolled to Savio who fired in a shot with his left, which Suzuki saved, and then hit the rebound with his right, which again the goalie repelled. They were impressive stops but Spurs fans will have rolled their eyes once again at one of their players failing to find the net with the goal gaping. De Zerbi looked exasperated as he pulled his T-shirt over his head on the touchline. Key creator Pedro Porro was then banging his hand on the grass in frustration after pulling up with an injury to his left leg and had to be subbed. His replacement Archie Gray almost broke the deadlock with his first touch after being played in by Savio. Conor Gallagher prodded in a consolation to end Tottenham’s scoring drought Credit: Reuters Jan Paul van Hecke pulled another back with a header but the damage was done Credit: Reuters But his low shot towards the near post hit the inside of Suzuki’s left heel and spun agonisingly wide of the far post. Spurs were dominating proceedings but that did not mean Villa did not carry a threat. And in Nicolas Jackson, they had a striker who looked sharp up top with his touch and movement. He would have had an assist when he laid off for Emi Buendia were it not for an excellent save from Antonin Kinsky to prevent the Argentine’s shot from finding the top corner. Jackson, signed for £65million from Chelsea in August, then showed some neat feet on the edge of the area before cracking a shot narrowly wide. Spurs were starting to run out of puff, just as they did against Everton in last week’s stalemate. Summer signing Mateus Fernandes was looking lost in midfield, attempting to play as a hybrid No10. While fellow new-boy Manzambi, at £50m bought for £35m less than Fernandes, was growing into the game. Roberto De Zerbi could not hide his frustration after his team were beaten again Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Micky van de Ven had to come off for treatment in first-half stoppage time after an aerial clash with Tyrone Mings left him with blood streaming from his nostrils. Manzambi then gave Spurs a bloody nose of a different kind with a painful opener just before the break. It was utterly avoidable too, from Tottenham’s perspective too, as Andy Robertson scrambled to prevent a corner, and ended up causing the goal instead. Rodrigo Bentancur’s defensive header was going out of play but Robertson slid in to stop the ball from crossing the line. The loose ball ended up at the feet of Scotland colleague John McGinn, who gave it to Boubacar Kamara, whose scuffed shot was poked home by Manzambi from a few yards. A few boos rang out at half-time. Spurs fans had seen this film so many times before and already knew the nightmare ending. De Zerbi took off Fernandes for Mohammed Kudus at half-time and the Ghanaian thought he had ended the goal drought just after the hour, prodding in after Robertson’s cross was not cleared. VAR then discovered Robertson had been offside in the build-up and the goal was chalked off, drawing a disbelieving gasp from the crowd. Villa’s second was so easy as Jan Paul van Hecke failed to deal with a long ball, allowing Jackson to play a one-two with Manzambi before firing into the corner on 67 minutes. You wondered then if some fans might walk out in anger – and they did 12 minutes later when Buendia picked his spot. Gallagher, whom Spurs signed ahead of Villa in January, scrambled home a Kudus cutback in the dying stages to end Spurs’ run of blanks. But it was cold comfort, as was Van Hecke’s header seconds before the end. The late consolation goals did not mask a poor display which will have fans worrying that if you circle the plughole enough times, eventually you will go down it. Comment now