While Son Heung-min, who returned from injury, recorded his third assist of the season, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Aston Villa 4-1 with a multi-goal by main gun Dominique Solanke.
Starting Son Heung-min helped Brennan Johnson’s equalizer with a sharp left-footed cross around the fourth minute of the second half when Tottenham were being dragged 0-1, before being replaced by Hishalisson in the 11th minute of the second half. Tottenham then added two more goals to secure a pleasant victory over Villa at home.
Tottenham, led by coach Anji Postecoglou, won 4-1 at the 10th round of the English Premier League (PL) home game against Aston Villa in the 2024-25 season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, at 11 p.m. on the 3rd (Korea time), combining Solanke’s multi-goal, Brennan Johnson, and James Maddison.
With three points, Tottenham (16 points) chased down Arsenal and Villa (18 points or more) as they moved up to seventh place in the league. Villa stayed in fifth place, but the ranking could drop further depending on the outcome of the match between Chelsea (17 points).
The home team Tottenham used a 4-3-3 format. Guglielmo Vicario defended the goal, and Destiny Udogi, Radu Dragusin, Christian Romero, and Pedro Porro built the back four. Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Dejan Kulusevski were in charge of the midfield. Son Heung-min, Dominique Solanke, and Brennan Johnson led the attack.
Away team Villa produced a 4-4-1-1 model. Emiliano Martinez wore goalie gloves, while Luca Digne, Pau Torres, Asri Konsa and Matty Cash defended. Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn were placed on the sides, and Yuri Tillemans and Amadou Onana were placed in the midfield. Morgan Rogers supported Ollie Watkins on the front line in the second line.
The two teams exchanged strong pressure from the beginning of the first half. Villa opened the door. In the second minute of the first half, Rodgers attempted a mid-range shot from a long distance, but it got out of the way. Tottenham captured Son Heung-min’s cross cleared by Villa’s defense in the sixth minute of the first half and led to a shot, but soared high above.
Villa was going to aim for Tottenham’s back space with one pass, taking advantage of Tottenham’s slow rise of the line as it slowly turned the ball from the back. Tottenham also built up with an aggressive pass from a high position, with center back Romero crossing the pass on the half-line, even though it exposed the back space.
However, there was no room due to Villa’s tight defense. Tottenham tried to open the space between Villa’s defense with Bentancourt’s mid-range shot in the 18th minute, but failed. Villa kept trying to pass to find the back space of Tottenham, but they couldn’t get the timing right.
As the game was frustrating, only mid-range shots were made. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Bentancur once again aimed for the Villa goal from a long distance, but this time it was not zeroed again.
Villa changed the pattern first. They attacked from the back through the pass step by step. It worked in the 29th minute of the first half. Ramsey threatened Tottenham with a powerful shot from the outside of the Tottenham box. Ramsey’s shot was deflected off Tottenham’s defense and led to a corner kick.
Tottenham could have lost a point if it wasn’t for Vicario’s good defense. After the corner kick, the ball was put back into Tottenham’s gate, and Onana jumped high and hit the ball with a header almost into the corner of the goal, but Vicario hit the ball with tremendous reflexes.
But the next attack was not stopped. Villa eventually found the breakthrough with a set piece. Digne’s corner kick in the 32nd minute passed the players and headed for Tottenham’s goal. Vicario hit it, but Rodgers, who was right in front of him, connected the second ball again with a shot and shook Tottenham’s net.
Villa, who gained momentum by scoring the first goal, expected an additional goal thanks to Watkins’ shot after a quick counterattack at the 42nd minute of the first half. Watkins’ shot, however, went sideways.
Tottenham hardly managed to penetrate Villa’s defense, which had fallen deep. Even if it went up to the opponent team’s side, it had difficulty in continuing its finishing shot. All Kulusevski had to do was open the space on the side once or twice by dribbling. Solanke’s shot at the first minute of extra time in the first half was blocked by defense. In the end, Tottenham ended the first half by giving up the lead at home.
Tottenham balanced the early hours. Son Heung-min’s tiptoe helped lead to an equalizer.
It was four minutes into the second half. Son Heung-min, who received U Do-ki’s pass from the left side, scored a sharp left-footed cross that penetrated between the goalkeeper and the defense line, and Johnson, who was rushing from the other side, scored. Son’s third assist of the season. 스포츠토토
Having scored a goal in the return match against West Ham United, Son gave a boost to his team by providing assistance this time. Tottenham has benefited significantly from Son’s return to action.
Tottenham, which boosted the mood, even tried to come from behind. U Do-ki, who received a pass from Son Heung-min in the 7th minute of the second half, sent the ball to Solanke, who was in the penalty area, and Solanke even tried to shoot in front of the defense, but was blocked by goalkeeper Martinez.
Tottenham pulled out a replacement card in the 11th minute of the second half. However, the player who was replaced was Son Heung-min, who accumulated assist. Son made gestures that he could not believe he was replaced, but soon came out after he was replaced by Hishalisson. Bentancur was also replaced by Yves Bissouma.
The injury also burst. Villa let go of Diego Carlos after Cash was injured in the 16th minute of the second half. Tottenham center back Romero also felt foot pain and could no longer play, so he was substituted for Ben Davies. Romero did not go to the bench but headed straight to the locker room. In the 24th minute of the second half, Villar had to deploy John Duran after Rodgers, the main scorer, collapsed after colliding with Sarr.
Tottenham finally turned the tables. In the 30th minute of the second half, Tottenham launched a counterattack by cutting off Villa’s attempt to launch an attack from a high position. Kulusevski, who received the ball, sent a sensational pass through the defense, and Solanke received it and leisurely attempted a chip shot with the goalkeeper in a one-on-one match to score an upset goal. It was a neat finish for Solanke following a superb pass by Kulusevski, who has emerged as Tottenham’s new playmaker.
A few minutes later, Solanke’s scoring shot fired again. In the 34th minute of the second half, Sar stole Torres’ pass and gave it to Hishalisson who ran in from the side, who connected it to the goal. Solanke did not miss his chance and calmly pushed the ball into the net.
When Villa lost even the third goal, they made a bold move to remove Tillemans, Ramsey and McGinn and deploy Boubacar Kamara, Leon Bailey, and Jadon Pilozin. Tottenham replaced Hichalisson with James Maddison after suffering an injury during his assist. Udogi was also replaced at the same time by Archie Gray.
The situation changed in the first half. Now Villa have to break through Tottenham’s defense. Tottenham focused on protecting the lead by building a defensive wall without overdoing it.
Due to the long delay in the game, the extra time was given as much as 10 minutes.
Tottenham sealed the match. Madison, a substitute, shook Villa’s net with a fantastic free kick. In the seventh minute of added time, Madison, who was the free-kick kicker that Solanke got right in front of the box, scored a free-kick that was sucked into the top right corner of the net to send a decisive blow to Villa. With Madison’s goal as the last, Tottenham’s multi-goal match ended 4-1.
