Image Credit: Evening Standard
By Lee Clow
10 August 2019 | Premier League
A debut strike by Tanguy Ndombele and a double from Harry Kane secure Tottenham a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on the opening game of the season.
After going behind on 9 minutes, Tottenham eventually fought back and ran out 3-1 winners against promoted side Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A fantastic debut goal from new signing Tanguy Ndombele drew Spurs level on 73 minutes and this was soon followed by a Harry Kane double to secure the comeback. Tottenham kick start the new season with 3 points and respond to the positive performances from fellow rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
Despite the comfortable victory, the story of the match did not reflect the score line truly. On 9 minutes, Tottenham found themselves 0-1 down after Tyrone Mings' long ball caught out their defence and allowed John McGinn to control and beautifully compose his finish past Spurs keeper Lloris. After the early sucker punch, Spurs began to take control of the game, but they could not find their killer instinct. Tyrone Mings, who was making his debut in Villa colours, was a rock in central defence and snuffed out all chances Spurs created in the first half. Spurs went into the half time break behind and lacking in their attack threat.
In the second half, Spurs once again took control of the game but changed their system to try and open up Villa further and earn and equaliser. Christian Eriksen was introduced in the 63rd minute, having started the game on the bench, and he immediately made a positive impact on the Spurs side. Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela both had chances in the second half, but both failed to capitalise on them. Spurs finally found their deserved equaliser after 73 minutes when club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele fired a brilliant strike into the back of the net on his Premier League debut. Ndombele’s goal was met with a roar from the Spurs faithful who had been looking forward to seeing their new signing in action.
Spurs’ equaliser only inspired them further and it soon led to them taking the lead for the first time. 4 minutes before time, multiple deflections fell in favour of Kane who emphatically finished past Tom Heaton to give Spurs a 2-1 lead. Moments later, Spurs’ pressing forced a mistake from Jack Grealish in which gifted the ball to Sissoko who fed Kane to calmly finish into the back of the net to secure Spurs a 3-1 victory over Villa.
After a frustrating three quarters, Spurs finally showed their quality and punished Villa for their mistakes. The victory for Spurs gives them 3 points on the board and sends out a clear signal to their fellow rivals in the league. Despite the defeat, Villa will take some positives from their opening game and they will certainly try and build on that for the rest of the season.
After the game Tottenham boss, Mauricio Pochettino had this to say about the game. "We conceded really early. I think we started well, and we created a few chances but with their first long ball, we conceded and I think that started to change everything. We were a little bit confused, which is my fault because I am the manager, and I think we made a lot of mistakes and it didn't work in the first half."
In the opposite dugout, Villa manager Dean Smith praised his opposition. "You look at Tottenham's physicality and I thought that was the difference in the last 20 minutes of the game. We know about their quality but physically they're very strong and we kept giving it away. Ultimately it became a hard game for us in the second half."
What’s next?
Tottenham’s next fixture of the new season is a trip to Champions, Manchester City, on Saturday while Aston Villa are the hosts to Bournemouth on the same day.
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