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Aston Villa End Tottenham Goal Drought With 3-2 Win At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
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Sports · 19 September, 2026 · 2 min read

Aston Villa End Tottenham Goal Drought With 3-2 Win At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Happened

Aston Villa beat Tottenham 3-2 at Tottenham Stadium, their first Premier League win this season Manzambi opened the scoring, with Jackson and Buendía also scoring

Split on

Whether injury-treatment law protest is foregrounded.

Left out

10 of 11 outlets skipped it: spurs can protest new injury treatment off-field rules.

31outlets compared

Al JazeeraBBCBlog Codere EspañaCNADHnetFlashscoreFlashscore.frFotMob

Same story, two versions

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Al JazeeraAl Jazeera

Spurs will protest about new laws that force a player off the field for at least a minute after receiving treatment for an injury.
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BBCBBC

An extended three-week break follows Saturday's match.
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VS

Al Jazeera adds governance friction, while BBC stays focused on squad and process.

Villa end Spurs drought

Aston Villa ended Tottenham’s Premier League goal drought with a 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London on Saturday, compounding a miserable start for Roberto De Zerbi’s men.

Aston Villa won 3-2 in north London

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera

Villa took control after the visitors surged into a 3-0 lead, with Johan Manzambi scoring the opening goal and Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia adding second-half strikes.

Image from Al Jazeera
Al JazeeraAl Jazeera

Spurs finally broke through late, with Conor Gallagher’s effort deflecting in off Matty Cash and Jan Paul van Hecke heading home in stoppage time, but it came after Villa’s third goal 11 minutes from time.

The match left Spurs rooted in the relegation zone with only two points after five games, while Villa climbed to 15th on four points from five games.

De Zerbi’s side had been without a league win and only netted their first goals of the campaign after Villa’s early surge, as Villa had also struggled for goals themselves since last season’s Europa League-winning squad was torn apart in the transfer window.

Quotes, boos, and protests

After Buendia’s strike, a chorus of boos greeted the goal as thousands of home fans headed for an early exit, and the late rally still ended in defeat for Tottenham.

Villa captain John McGinn said, "Aye, it's a relief because I was thinking leading up to the game, the international break is a longer one than normal, you don't want to be in the bottom three," while also adding, "So it was a really important game."

Image from BBC
BBCBBC

Roberto De Zerbi reacted with frustration at the defensive moments, telling TNT Sports in the UK, "You are strong, or you lose."

The BBC framed the matchup as a showdown for inspiration, noting that Tottenham and Aston Villa were "sitting in the bottom four" and that victory was paramount for both teams.B

CNA described the turning point as Spurs defender Micky van de Ven being temporarily off the pitch receiving treatment for a gash under his eye, before Manzambi punished Tottenham’s defensive lapse.

International break pressure

With a three-week international break following Saturday’s match, Spurs were left to stew on another defeat while rooted in the relegation zone, and Villa hoped the victory could be a catalyst to storm up the table.

pushing them into the relegation zone

NewsBytesNewsBytes

NewsBytes said the loss left Spurs winless in their opening five league games and pushed them into the relegation zone, while also raising questions over the future of Roberto De Zerbi.

The BBC preview had already highlighted that the teams meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday with both clubs sitting in the bottom four, and it noted that an extended three-week break follows the match.B

CNA reported that Tottenham’s season lurched deeper into trouble after another demoralising defeat, even as Villa claimed their first Premier League win of the season.

In the aftermath, Tottenham’s late goals from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke were described as consolation, with Villa’s 3-2 result leaving Spurs without a league win and Villa with three points to build on.