Behold the new steely, ever-so-slightly more pragmatic version of Angeball. From opting for the powerful runs of Pape Matar Sarr in midfield, to finding the right motivational words when all seemed lost at half-time, this was a good day for Tottenham’s romanticist of a manager. Ange Postecoglou’s tactical choices were right, his substitutions worked and the margin of victory was no more than Spurs deserved after they made light of their latest set-piece wobble and overwhelmed Aston Villa with a stirring second-half display.
It had looked ominous when Villa, who missed the chance to go third, smuggled a lead through Morgan Rogers. By the end, though, Spurs were running riot, James Maddison coming off the bench to add the fourth in added time. Brennan Johnson had scored the equaliser and a touch of class from Dejan Kulusevski had sent Dominic Solanke through to score the first of two quickfire goals. Unai Emery, who had succeeded in squeezing the life out of Spurs in the first half, merely watched in disbelief.
It soon became clear that searching questions were going to be asked about how much Spurs could grind. Postecoglou had adjusted his tactics accordingly, Maddison sacrificed for the double bolt of Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield, but the conditions were far more suited to Villa at first.
Spurs were restricted to hopeful efforts from distance and the crowd’s anxiety was palpable. Everyone could see what Villa wanted to do. They were resolute in their refusal to play into Spurs’ hands. There was no sign of Villa’s signature high line and the sight of Emery repeatedly telling his players to be controlled with his pressing indicated that the Spaniard’s plan was centred around denying Son Heung-min and Johnson space to run clear on the flanks.
It was up to Spurs to respond, to find different angles in attack, and the half played out in predictable fashion. There was a sudden shift after 30 minutes, Villa igniting out of nowhere, a sharp exchange of passes giving Jacob Ramsey room to jink past Pedro Porro and unload a shot that went behind for a corner.
Cue panic. Cue Austin MacPhee, Villa’s set-piece coach getting up to deliver a stream of instructions. The first ball was cleared but it came back to Lucas Digne. He lifted in a high cross, Amadou Onana headed against the woodwork and Spurs just about managed to scramble the ball behind.
The pressure was too great. This time Villa pressed at an obvious weakness, crowding Guglielmo Vicario, Rogers pinning the goalkeeper to his line. Moments later Rogers was slamming the ball in from a yard out, the chance coming his way after Digne’s inswinging delivery had come off Porro and almost gone in off Bentancur.
There was not much conviction on Spurs’ appeals for a foul on Vicario. They knew it was soft. The concession unnerved them and they could have fallen further behind, only for Ollie Watkins to scuff an inviting chance.
It was a pivotal miss. Spurs were out early for the second half, and they were a more intense, more determined proposition. With the pace up a notch, they levelled in the 49th minute, Son’s cross from the left a thing of vicious beauty, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa taken out of the game as Johnson arrived at the far post to convert.
Emery urged calm. By now, though, the action was frenetic. Solanke had a chance to make it 2-1 but Emiliano Martínez saved well. Porro was booked for scything down Watkins. Cristian Romero injured himself in the process of cleaning out Rogers with a ludicrous challenge.
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With Radu Dragusin deputising for the injured Micky van de Ven, Spurs played with their second-choice centre-back pairing after Ben Davies came on for Romero. Emery would soon introduce Jhon Durán on for a limping Rogers. Postecoglou had earlier brought on Richarlison for Son, who did not look particularly impressed with the idea that he was being protected after his recent hamstring issues.
But while Son sat on the bench shaking his head and muttering to himself, Spurs found a second wind. As the minutes ticked away, and as Villa’s legs grew heavy, Davies stepped out to make a robust challenge on Watkins. Then Sarr drove forward, linking with Johnson before Kuluseveski flummoxed Villa with an instant reverse pass to Solanke, running from left to right and cool enough to dink a beautiful effort over Martínez.
The composure was stunning and there was a realisation from Spurs that they would not be best served by trying to shield a 2-1 lead. Instead they went for Villa again, Sarr irrepressible as he intercepted a loose pass from Torres and released Richarlison, who crossed for a gleeful Solanke to score again.
Villa were done. The addition of 10 added minutes merely gave Spurs a chance to add to their haul, an invitation Maddison accepted when he whipped a free-kick past a flat-footed Martínez.
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