PLAYER RATINGS: Destiny Udogie dazzles in defence and could be one of Tottenham’s best signings, while John McGinn’s red card killed Aston Villa’s hopes of rescuing the match… as one £25m star underwhelms in defence
Ange Postecoglou‘s side stunned a 10-man Aston Villa side on Sunday afternoon at Villa Park, with all of James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Son Heung-min and Timo Werner scoring to seal a huge 4-0 victory.
It means Spurs have made up ground on Unai Emery‘s side in the Premier League, with Villa now only two points clear of Tottenham in fourth place, as the race to qualify for the Champions League heats up.
After going 2-0 down, things went from bad to worse for the home side, with their captain, John McGinn, chopping down Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie in a brutal tackle that earned him a red card.
The Villa captain is now set to miss some big fixtures, with Emery’s side travelling to play against West Ham next week before, taking on Wolves and Manchester City.
Mail Sport’s Tom Collomosse delivers his player ratings from Villa Park.
Tottenham claimed a 4-0 win against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon putting them two points shy of the Villan’s in fifth place
Ange Postecoglou’s side have now secured back-to-back wins in the Premier League as they look to secure qualification to the Champions League this season
It was a disappointing afternoon for Unai Emery’s side, who were reduced to 10-men after John McGinn was sent off
ASTON VILLA (5-3-2)
EMI MARTINEZ 6
Strange afternoon for the Argentine, who had little to do either side of picking the ball out of his net twice in three minutes, and twice more in stoppage time.
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MATTY CASH 5.5
Deployed at right wing-back, Cash could not keep his footing in the first half, frequently finishing on his backside – an apt metaphor for how Villa felt after this.
EZRI KONSA 6
Still not back to the form he showed before his knee injury in January and his misplaced pass to Tielemans allowed Spurs to pinch possession and score their second.
CLEMENT LENGLET 6.5
At the heart of the back five, the former Spurs loanee was one of Villa’s better first-half performers but was subbed soon after the first two goals as Emery switched to a back four.
PAU TORRES 6.5
Another assured performance on the left of Villa’s central defensive trio from the Spain man, who did not deserve to finish with such a heavy defeat.
Emi Martinez (right) endured a strange afternoon, having to pick the ball out of his net twice in three minutes and then twice again in injury time
Deployed at right wing-back, Matty Cash could not keep his footing in the first half, frequently finishing on his backside
LUCAS DIGNE 5.5
Never looked certain at left wing-back and was ticked off by Emery early on. It was no surprise when he was one of three players brought off early in the second half.
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JOHN McGINN 4
Wild lunge at Udogie brought a straight red card and effectively killed Villa’s hopes of rescuing the game. Had been Villa’s best player before that.
DOUGLAS LUIZ 6
Very impressive in the first half, when he kept Maddison quiet and looked to prompt from deep. Faded after the break like the rest of his team.
YOURI TIELEMANS 6
On the left of a three-man midfield, the Belgian had one or two clever touches but could not affect the game meaningfully before he was substituted.
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Lucas Digne never looked certain at left wing-back and was ticked off by Emery early on
John McGinn was shown a red card for a wild lunge on Destiny Udogie that killed Villa’s chances of getting back into the match
LEON BAILEY 6
The Jamaican has been magical for most of this season but try as he did, it just never quite happened for him here, either on the right or through the middle.
OLLIE WATKINS 7
The centre-forward was often isolated but still scared the life out of Romero when he tore into the huge spaces behind the Spurs back line.
SUBSTITUTES
ALEX MORENO 5 (for Lenglet, 58min) The tide had turned by the time he slotted in at left-back and he was given the runaround by Dejan Kulusevski.
MOUSSA DIABY 6 (for Tielemans, 58min). Villa desperately need to rediscover the Diaby who lit up their attack during the early weeks of the season.
Ollie Watkins failed to get on the scoresheet and was often left isolated during the match
Moussa Diaby (left) came on as a substituted and looked good when he came on but largely failed to have the same impact as he had done at the start of the season
NICOLO ZANIOLO 6.5 (for Digne, 58min). Competed well on the left of midfield but could not provide the spark Villa needed to bring them back into the game.
TIM IROEGBUNAM 6 (for Bailey, 69min). Brought on soon after McGinn was sent off to ensure Villa were not overrun in the middle and the youngster did his job.
DIEGO CARLOS N/A (for Konsa, 86min)
Not used: Olsen, Duran, Rogers, Kesler-Hayden
MANAGER
UNAI EMERY 5
Why change a formation and style that had been working so well? This was one of the few errors Emery has made at Villa and it could be so costly.
Emery was seen trying to calm McGinn down after the captain was involved in a mele on the touchline after being shown a red card
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1)
GUGLIELMO VICARIO 7
A generally confident display from the Italian, who did everything asked of him and always seemed in the right spot to avert danger.
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PEDRO PORRO 6.5
Back in the starting XI, the former Sporting Lisbon man did a steady job of containing Villa’s threats from wide. An assured display.
CRISTIAN ROMERO 6
Looked desperately shaky early on and had to be bailed out a couple of times by Van de Ven but recovered well after the break to play his part.
MICKY VAN DE VEN 8
Flawless at the back, making up for Romero’s errors with superb work to deny Watkins and Bailey. Went off just before Spurs’ goal with what looked like a hamstring injury.
DESTINY UDOGIE 8.5
Fouled by McGinn for Villa’s red card, the Spurs full-back was outstanding in both attack and defence for his side. A superb signing.
Micky van de Venn was flawless at the back for Spurs but they will be sweating on his fitness after he was brought off with an injury
Destiny Udogie appears to be emerging as Tottenham’s best signing after an impressive display against Villa
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YVES BISSOUMA 6.5
Was lucky not to be punished for giving the ball away to Watkins early on but he pressed well when required and kept it ticking over.
PAPE MATAR SARR 7
Found the going tough at times in the first half as Villa started to gain control of midfield but his brilliant cross for the opening goal was the game’s decisive moment.
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DEJAN KULUSEVSKI 8
Quiet as a mouse before the break, brilliant after it. Stole the ball for the second goal and set up Son for the third in stoppage time.
JAMES MADDISON 6.5
Cut a frustrated figure before the break but struck the crucial opener and could not resist winding up the home crowd who had baited him throughout.
BRENNAN JOHNSON 6.5
Could have made more of an impact against Cash, who looked uncomfortable opposing his pace – but finished calmly when released by Son for the second.
James Maddison opened the scoring for Tottenham, tapping in a fantastic cross from Pape Matar Sarr
Brennan Johnson doubled Tottenham’s lead three minutes later firing in a pass from Son Heung-min
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HEUNG-MIN SON 7.5
Quieter than on his best days but still managed to finish with two assists and a goal, which speaks to his enduring quality in the Premier League.
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SUBSTITUTES
RADU DRAGUSIN 7 (for Van de Ven, 49 mins) Came on at a tricky time for Spurs as Van de Ven was injured but generally acquitted himself well.
RODRIGO BENTANCUR 6.5 (for Sarr, 70min). The game was won when Bentancur came on and he was the ideal man to keep things moving smoothly in midfield.
PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG N/A (for Maddison, 88min)
TIMO WERNER N/A (for Johnson, 88min)
Not used: Austin, Emerson Royal, Lo Celso, Davies, Scarlett
Son would also get on the scoresheet, putting Spurs 3-0 up in the first minute of injury time
MANAGER
ANGE POSTECOGLOU 8
Unlike Emery, the Tottenham manager stuck to the principles that have served him so well this season and he earned handsome rewards.
REFEREE
CHRIS KAVANAGH 6.5
Was correct to send off McGinn and tried to let a physical game flow where he could, usually with success.
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