Aston Villa stages comeback to defeat Tottenham 2-1 at their ground
Aston Villa mounted an impressive comeback driven by Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia to secure a 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Sunday, adding to the north London clubs woes at their home venue.
Rodrigo Bentancur gave Thomas Franks team an early lead in the opening half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However Rogers levelled the score with an excellent shot before the break and Buendia entered as a substitute to clinch the win late in the match.
Tottenhams poor record at home in the Premier League, with 11 losses and only three victories in 18 matches, has been a significant challenge for Frank since he took over from the dismissed Ange Postecoglou during the off season.
Although most of those home defeats occurred under Postecoglou in the previous campaign, Franks brief time in charge has yielded inconsistent outcomes at the 62000 capacity arena, including jeers following a loss to Bournemouth in August and a 1-1 stalemate against struggling Wolves recently.
This result ended Tottenham's seven match unbeaten sequence across all tournaments, leaving them in sixth position after their second loss in Franks eight league fixtures.
Aston Villa have bounced back from their worst winless start since 1964 by claiming five straight wins, including three in the Premier League and two in the Europa League, which has stretched their unbeaten run to eight games.
Notably Villa achieved their first away triumph against a top four contender this term, having earned just one point from six visits last year to the English clubs now in the Champions League spots.
Unai Emerys squad has risen to 10th in the table as they aim to rejoin the battle for Champions League places.
Already missing James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke through injury, Frank also saw captain Cristian Romero sidelined during the pre game warm up.
In spite of that setback Tottenham struck first after merely five minutes.
Mohammed Kuduss delivery was nodded back into the danger zone by Micky van de Ven for Bentancur, who slotted home a precise effort beyond Emiliano Martinez from close range.
Bentancur marked the goal by tucking the ball beneath his jersey to mimic a baby bump, honouring his pregnant wife who is expecting their second child.
Villa full back Matty Cash fired narrowly over from distance as the away side sought to hit back amid the heavy downpour.
Tottenham attacker Wilson Odobert posed a threat with a fierce low shot that Martinez pushed clear.
Yet Rogers drew Villa even in style on 37 minutes.
The England players first strike of the campaign was truly memorable.
From 20 yards out Rogers unleashed a brilliant curling effort that deceived Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, sailing beyond his desperate dive.
Odoberts powerful attempt was stopped by Ezri Konsa while Martinez thwarted Joao Palhinha as Tottenham pressed forward after the interval.
However Mathys Tel added to Tottenham's injury concerns by departing with a knee wrap after limping off.
Franks difficulties intensified and Villa capitalised fully on 77 minutes.
A diagonal ball from Cash reached Lucas Digne who set up Buendia to curl a superb shot into the far corner from outside the box.
Randal Kolo Muani who was debuting in the Premier League could have salvaged a point for Tottenham in added time but the loaned Paris Saint Germain forward blazed over from an open chance.