Unai Emery has ‘real problems’ to solve at HT after what Aston Villa have done vs Tottenham
Aston Villa have gone in at the break on level terms with Tottenham.
Former Villa transfer target Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring after just five minutes as the away side failed to defend the second phase of a corner.
After returning from Belgium national duty, Amadou Onana couldn’t stop the Uruguayan’s effort as it deflected beyond Emi Martinez.
Villa beat Burnley 2-1 last time out, and the performance level was chalk and cheese for Unai Emery’s side in the opening 45 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Spaniard has plenty of work to do during the interval if the claret and blue outfit are to take anything away from North London.
Rob Green bewildered by Aston Villa vs Tottenham
Villa turned up to face Tottenham with the hope of making it five wins from five after a perfect run in recent weeks for the B6 side.
That level of form wasn’t on show in the early stages against the Lilywhites, with very little of note to speak of from a Villa perspective.
Matty Cash has the only real effort of note before Morgan Rogers scored a stunner, but the Poland international’s effort sailed well wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s posts.
This is proof of how poor Emery’s men had been in the early stages on White Heart Lane.
Former England goalkeeper Rob Green has been left baffled by what he’s seen from Villa as he spoke out in worried fashion via BBC Radio Five Live on 19 October.
He said: “Villa have got real problems here. They can’t get out. They can’t play through Spurs. They’ve got to find an answer quick.“
Unai Emery must fire up his Aston Villa side vs Tottenham
There is almost nothing to say that can showcase how dreary this performance had been before Rogers netted the equaliser.
Villa have been outdone in possession, with Spurs having the better of the chances and obviously taking the lead in simple fashion.
Tottenham have had 56 per cent of the ball compared to Villa’s 44 per cent and have utilised that to create one big chance and breach Martinez’s goal.
| Stat | Tottenham | Aston Villa |
| Possession (%) | 54 | 44 |
| Expected goals | 0.28 | 0.12 |
| Big chances | 3 | 0 |
| Accurate passes | 206 | 150 |
Spurs have also completed 206 passes and have made the most of those by creating three shot-creating actions in the first half.
Emery has problems to solve, and it will undoubtedly be interesting to see what he can do in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium dressing room.
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