Spurs fire three past Aston Villa as new gaffer Garde looks on
Published:
Holly Thackeray | November 2, 2015
Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa
- New Villans coach Remi Garde in crowd as Midlands club defeated
- Moussa Dembele, Dele Alli and Harry Kane all on the scoresheet for Spurs
- Jordan Ayew pulled one back for Villa
- Mauricio Pochettino’s men shoot up to fifth place in the Premier League
- The Villans remain rock bottom of the relegation zone
Dembele Spurred on by shaky defence
Spurs got off to a blistering start and, though they failed to truly deliver on the potent promise of Moussa Dembele’s thrilling opener, rarely looked flustered by toothless Villa in the first-half.
Bullish Belgian Dembele bulldozed past Ciaran Clark, who was thrust into the limelight due to Micah Richards’ late suspension, and made the Midlands defence look out of their depth, using his skill and strength to slot home through the legs of Brad Guzan.
It’s this type of performance which once convinced the capital club to fork out for Dembele, but rarely has the midfielder demonstrated this kind of determination while wearing Tottenham white.
Bottom club Villa illustrated the odd threatening flash, but were limited to a twisting strike from Scott Sinclair and infrequent bursts of pace by Gabriel Agbonlahor, as Spurs centre-half pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertoghen kept it quiet at the back.
Harry Kane was next to test for Tottenham, with the England attacker also finding joy down that same left flank as Dembele, cutting in and also getting the better of Clark, though Guzan this time terrifically tipped his deflected shot over the bar. The subsequent corner routine was finished by Danny Rose, in his 100th appearance for Spurs, and also dipped over, but it was a warning shot for the visitors.
Alli hints at excellence in front of Hodgson
It was intriguing prospect Dele Alli who made it 2-0 to Tottenham, just before the break, after meeting compatriot Rose’s pinpoint cross. The youngster showed impressive composure to coolly bring the ball down with his knee, before dispatching a deadly volley. Could this be a future Three Lions link-up?
Midlands visitors Villa did suffer the loss of midfield conductor Ashely Westwood, injured after an accidental clash with Dembele, with Jordan Ayew his replacement and Rudy Gestede brought on for the second-half as the Villans sought a goal hero.
Still, Spurs continued to feed on the best scraps from a generally gritty game, with Christian Eriksen notably and narrowly sending a trademark curling, swerving set-piece just wide of the net.
Who Ayew?
Suddenly Spurs looked shaken and Villa vivacious, as Ayew, seemingly on a mission to impress, hit his venomous strike a smidgen too high, but will have surely given Garde food for thought.
It all came too little to late for this tussle, however, as revived hitman Harry Kane added a third in stoppage time, clocking-up his second strike in as many Premier League matches and sending Spurs into fifth spot.
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