SICK EMERY RY
10-man Villa are awful as tinkering backfires
UNAI EMERY is not the first to suffer a hangover from Amsterdam but this one might linger. The Aston Villa boss took the risk of tweaking the system on a day when victory would have eased his team eight points clear of the visitors and tightened their grip on a place in next season’s Champions League.
But Emery watched it all implode, with most of the damage done inside 15 minutes at the start of the second half and Tottenham silenced Villa Park’s giddy buzz of anticipation. James Maddison fired Spurs into the lead and Brennan Johnson made it 2-0 within three minutes, punishing a defensive mix-up featuring Ezri Konsa and Youri Tielemans.
Then Villa captain John McGinn took his frustration out on Destiny Udogie with a wild hack that left his team to struggle with 10 men for half an hour, during which time the Londoners stretched clear.
Son Heung-min smashed in the third, an emphatic finish, his third in as many games, as the clock ticked over into stoppage time, and set up the fourth for substitute Timo Werner to guide inside the far post. Villa remain in fourth but Tottenham are closing in, now just two points behind with a game in hand, playing once a week with no distractions.
Ange Postecoglou savoured a clean sheet and what he called important goals for four of his attacking players.
The celebrations were tarnished slightly by the loss of key defender
Micky van de Ven, who suffered another hamstring injury early in the second half soon after sliding at full stretch to block a shot by Leon Bailey.
‘He doesn’t think it’s anything too significant,’ said Postecoglou. Van de Ven, who missed two months with a hamstring injury in November, did not seem in extreme discomfort as he trudged off, and his spirits were no doubt lifted when Tottenham scored their first before he had disappeared into the tunnel.
Dejan Kulusevski released Pape Matar Sarr down the right and Maddison hurtled between two defenders to force a fabulous cross over the line from close range. ‘Unbelievable delivery,’ said Maddison. ‘It was just about getting a foot to it.’
It was not a typical Maddison goal but it was vital and Spurs quickly built on the lead. The second came three minutes later. This time, they punished Villa for carelessness in possession deep in their own defensive territory.
Konsa delayed a pass to Tielemans and Kulusevski nipped in to steal the ball, found Son, who moved it quickly on to Johnson, and he clipped in his third goal in six games.
Emery made a triple change in an attempt to get back into the contest but hopes of a fightback vanished with McGinn’s red card in the 65th minute. The Scotland midfielder chopped down Udogie as he broke out of defence on the halfway line and will now miss fixtures against West Ham, Wolves and Manchester City.
It sparked an untidy and often ill-tempered conclusion. Emery, having started the game with a back three and wing backs, reverted to a back four.
The home team poured forward but Spurs gave up few chances. Unlike Villa, who drew 0-0 at Ajax in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, they enjoyed a clear week to rest and prepare.
With Pedro Porro fit after injury, Postecoglou was able to start once again with his first-choice
defensive unit until he lost Van de Ven. Even so, as has become a habit of late, they were slow to find any real rhythm.
Fortunately for them, Villa, although the better side in the first 45 minutes, were not entirely fluent either. They worked their way into good situations in the first half without conjuring anything like a clear chance.
The game spluttered. Lucas Digne was closest to finding the net just before half-time, with a glancing header from a cross by McGinn from the left. It flashed wide of the far post.
Until then, the contest had been fast and frenetic. Emery’s change of formation restricted Tottenham but they did not spring forward with the same menace.
Ollie Watkins threatened early, nipping ahead of Cristian Romero and speeding into the penalty area before Van de Ven recovered at pace and left Villa’s top scorer in a heap.
That was the story of the game for Watkins. Nothing quite dropped for him and when it seemed as if it might, he was crowded out.
Spurs took control from the start of the second half, and the brutal nature of the closing minutes when they refused to ease off during a lengthy period of stoppage time might haunt Aston Villa.
Emery’s team will know as they turn attention back towards Europe and the second leg against Ajax on Thursday that Postecoglou’s team are in good shape and gathering momentum.
ASTON VILLA (5-3-2): Martinez 6; Cash 5.5, Konsa 6 (Carlos 86min), Lenglet 6.5 (Moreno 58, 5), Torres 6.5, Digne 5.5 (Zaniolo 58, 6.5); McGinn 4, Luiz 6, Tielemans 6 (Diaby 58, 6); Bailey 6 (Iroegbunam 69, 6), Watkins 7. Booked: None. Sent off: McGinn. Manager: Unai Emery 5. TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Vicario 7; Porro 6.5, Romero 6, Van de Ven 8 (Dragusin 49, 7), UDOGIE 8.5; Bissouma 6.5, Sarr 7 (Bentancur 70, 6.5); Kulusevski 8, Maddison 6.5 (Werner 87), Johnson 6.5 (Hojbjerg 87); Son 7.5. Scorers: Maddison 50, Johnson 53, Son 90+1, Werner 90+4. Booked: Sarr, Dragusin. Manager: Ange Postecoglou 8. Referee: Chris Kavanagh 6.5. Attendance: 42,310.