Tottenham Falls to Aston Villa as De Zerbi Remains Silent
Roberto De Zerbi walked straight past his players. No huddle, no hairdryer, no consolation. Nothing.
Tottenham had just tossed away a game they could not afford to lose, collapsing to a 3-2 home defeat against Aston Villa after a wretched second half that left them in the relegation zone and their supporters howling in anger.
They were booed off. Again.
Spurs punished after fragile start
Both clubs arrived in north London still searching for rhythm after summer rebuilds. Spurs, for all their issues, had at least shown hints of life in back-to-back 0-0 draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton. The goals weren’t there, but the “green shoots” were.
Those shoots were trampled here.
Villa struck first, and Spurs’ misfortune framed the opener. Johan Manzambi put the visitors ahead while Tottenham captain Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment, leaving the hosts undermanned and exposed. The sense of injustice rippled around the stadium, but it was Spurs’ response that really hurt them.
De Zerbi tried to change the picture at half-time, sending on Mohammed Kudus for Mateus Fernandes. The move was meant to inject threat. Instead, it loosened Spurs’ grip on midfield and handed Villa the initiative.
The pressure finally told in the 67th minute. Nicolas Jackson collected the ball, toyed with Jan Paul van Hecke, then did the same to the returning Van de Ven before finishing to make it 2-0. One forward, two defenders beaten, and the mood inside the ground turned poisonous.
Then came the hammer blow. With 11 minutes left, Emi Buendia stepped up and ripped a long-range strike beyond the Tottenham goalkeeper, a stunning goal that sent home fans streaming for the exits. At 3-0, it felt like a humiliation.
Spurs did finally remember where the net was. Conor Gallagher pulled one back, Van Hecke added another, and the club’s Premier League goal drought ended in a flurry of late defiance. It barely softened the verdict. De Zerbi’s expensively assembled side had lost again, at home, and in a manner that cut deep.
“I didn’t want to say anything”
De Zerbi’s reaction was stark.
"I didn’t speak with the players today because I didn’t want to say anything," he admitted afterwards.
"I was very disappointed, very sad, very frustrated for the performance because we can’t lose this game in this way.
"We can’t concede the second goal. We can’t lose balance just because in the first half we are losing."
The Italian revealed he had tried to cool heads at the interval.
"In the beginning of the second half, I spoke with the four attackers, to use their heads, calm.
"It was minute 51. All second half, calm, calm, play, enjoy, don’t take risks and we take space or when we go in the last third, with more attention, but the goal we conceded, the second goal, was incredible."
The turning point, some argued, was the withdrawal of Fernandes for Kudus, a change that seemed to hand Villa more room to play. De Zerbi rejected that idea.
"No, I think no. This is not the problem," he said. "The problem is in the second half, we lost balance because we were losing. Just for that and we forced the pass.
"We forced the situation, we lost the ball and they were winning, Aston Villa, they played more in the counter-attack.
"OK, Mateus is different from Kudus. I have a big confidence in Mateus, but I didn’t like the performance of Mateus today."
Emery finds his spark again
While De Zerbi wrestled with the fallout and the prospect of an uncomfortable international break, Unai Emery allowed himself a quiet smile. Villa finally have their first league win of the season, at the fifth attempt – just as they did last year.
"We are delighted with how the players respond to the game plan we started and how the players were feeling comfortable in the structure defensively and offensively, getting confidence individually through the game and that’s how we won the game," Emery said.
"Of course Tottenham is Tottenham. It is still beating Tottenham. This coach is a fantastic coach. Now they are under expectation, but they are performing well."
Villa leave with belief restored and three points in the bag. Spurs head into the break in the bottom three, their manager choosing silence over speeches.
When they return, quiet won’t be an option.
