Manager Unai Emery praised his Aston Villa side after they piled the pressure on Tottenham boss Antonio Conte with a “fantastic” away win.
A mistake by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in their first game since the World Cup allowed Emiliano Buendia to score, before Douglas Luiz doubled the lead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Villa have won back-to-back away league games as they have improved under Emery.
“We are very happy. We competed very well,” he said.
Lockster Spurs, who dropped out of the Premier League’s top four on Saturday, have now won just two of their last seven matches.
France keeper Lloris endured a shocking moment in the 50th minute. He parried Luiz’s long-range effort and Ollie Watkins squared the rebound for Buendia to slam home.
Luiz started and finished the move to make it 2-0, sliding a pass past John McGuin before stepping up to get the rebound and beat Lloris beautifully.
Emery told JEE News: “Spurs were pushing us and we had options in the attacking third, and that was good for our confidence. To get three more points was fantastic.”
Spurs were booed at the final whistle, with some fans shouting angry chants at chairman Daniel Levy.
Emery maintains a strong record against Spurs
Although Emery’s tenure at Arsenal was not a successful one, they managed to get the better of Tottenham, going unbeaten in three games against their local rivals.
He continued that trend on Sunday, with a solid defensive performance justifying the decision to drop the World Cup winner.
The contest looked set to pit the two keepers against each other in the 2022 World Cup final in a penalty shootout, but Argentina’s spot-kick hero Emiliano Martinez had to settle for a place on the bench. .
Robin Olsson kept his place in goal as Emery was unchanged from the side that lost to Liverpool on 26 December.
He was rewarded. Watkins and Buendia were bright early on for the bounce in Lloris’ hands, while Luiz and Boubacar Kamara controlled the midfield.
“Luiz and Kamara are a good combination,” Emery said. His performance today was outstanding to help us win.”
The victory ensured Emery became the first Villa manager since John Gregory in 1998 to win his first two Premier League away matches.
“Every day when we are working, the players show me great attitude and determination,” he said. “They showed today how they can run, stay together, be tactical as well as disciplined and use our skills.”
Emery also went on to record 55 Premier League games without a goal, surpassing former Spurs boss Osei Ardilis.
Leaky Tottenham continue to trouble Conte
After losing their place in the top four to Manchester United, the onus was on Tottenham to do better.
While they had improved on their previous five games by not trailing at half-time, Spurs continued to look out of sorts, exemplified after 18 minutes when Son Heung-min tore off the protective mask he has worn throughout the World Cup. Diya and threw it away in despair.
Striker Harry Kane also cut a nerve, dropping deep into midfield to win the ball after barely touching it in the opening periods.
The England captain went close to opening the scoring in the first half.
Ivan Perisic was played over before being forced by keeper Robin Olsen, but he cleverly turned a cross back for Kane to head down. Ashley Young covered, initially playing Perisic onside, and managed to direct an effort behind for a corner.
Perisic should have scored shortly after Buendia’s opener when the ball fell 15 yards out and hit the top of the bar.
However, Spurs set an unpopular club record of scoring at least two goals in seven consecutive Premier League fixtures.
They looked toothless in attack – Brian Gill made his first league start in place of the injured Dejan Klosewski, but was replaced after just an hour after an anonymous display – and Conte looked more miserable as he slipped to another worrisome defeat.
