Buendia’s late strike earns Aston Villa 2-1 win at Tottenham
Emiliano Buendia came off the bench to score a dramatic late winner as Aston Villa defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Rodrigo Bentancur gave Thomas Frank’s side an early lead, capitalising on a defensive lapse to put Spurs in front. However, Villa hit back before halftime when Morgan Rogers produced a superb strike to level the score.
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The visitors completed the turnaround in the closing stages when Buendia fired home from distance to seal all three points for the in-form Midlands side.
Tottenham’s poor home form continued; they have now suffered 11 defeats and managed just three wins in their last 18 Premier League games at home.
Since replacing the sacked Ange Postecoglou in the summer, Thomas Frank has endured mixed results at Spurs’ 62,000-seat stadium, where frustrations have grown following a 1-1 draw with Wolves and a defeat to Bournemouth earlier this season.
The end of Tottenham’s seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions leaves them sixth in the table, with Frank conceding the match could have gone either way.
“It was exactly the game I expected, very tight,” Frank said. “I think 1-1 would’ve been a fair result. Villa scored two goals from outside the box in moments where you wouldn’t expect them to score. Fair play for their moments of quality.”
For Villa, the result marks their fifth consecutive win in all competitions, three in the Premier League and two in the Europa League, extending their unbeaten run to eight matches. It was also a landmark victory, as they finally beat a top-four rival away from home after taking just one point from six such fixtures last season.
Unai Emery hailed his players’ resilience and growing confidence.
“The way the players responded, even when we were losing 1-0, is exactly how we want to build this team,” Emery said. “Most importantly, we are recovering players and the dressing room feels very different now.”
The win lifts Villa to 10th place, with sights set once again on re-entering the race for Champions League qualification.
