Tottenham’s winless run continued on Saturday as Aston Villa secured a 3-2 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leaving the hosts still searching for their first Premier League win of the season.
Aston Villa took control of the encounter after Johan Manzambi opened the scoring shortly before half-time on his first start for the club.
The Swiss forward capitalised on a temporary numerical advantage after Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven went off the pitch to receive treatment for a head injury.
Tottenham struggled to respond after falling behind, with Aston Villa doubling their advantage in the 67th minute through Nicolas Jackson, who scored his first goal for the club.
Emi Buendia then extended Villa’s lead with a curling long-range effort in the 79th minute.
The hosts eventually ended their Premier League scoring drought when Conor Gallagher turned Mohammed Kudus’ pass over the line in the 86th minute.
Jan Paul van Hecke added a second in stoppage time, but Tottenham could not complete a comeback.
Tottenham had opportunities to take the lead earlier in the game, with Sávio, Archie Gray and Omar Marmoush all failing to convert chances. Kudus also thought he had scored an equaliser, but the effort was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
The defeat means Tottenham remain without a Premier League victory after five matches, having collected just two points.
Their goal difference has fallen to -6, making it their worst start to a Premier League season after five games.
The result also extended Tottenham’s poor record when conceding first.
They have now failed to win any of their last 48 matches across all competitions in which they conceded the opening goal, dating back to a 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa in November 2024.
For Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, the victory provided another sign of progress after his side also endured a slow start last season before eventually finishing fourth.
Villa had been winless before Saturday’s match but produced a disciplined display to punish Tottenham’s defensive lapses.
Tottenham’s scoring drought had lasted 485 minutes before Gallagher’s goal, the second-longest such run at the start of a Premier League season, behind Crystal Palace’s 640-minute drought in 2017-18.
