90’+4’Full TimeSecond Half ends, Aston Villa 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1.90’+3’Post updateAttempt missed. Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Harry Kane.90’+2’Post updateFoul by Matty Cash (Aston Villa).90’+1’Post updateMatty Cash (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.90’Post updateAttempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Yves Bissouma.90’Post updateAttempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Yves Bissouma.90’Post updateSubstitution, Aston Villa. Matty Cash replaces Ollie Watkins.89’Post updateFoul by John McGinn (Aston Villa).89’Post updateMoussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.88’Post updateAttempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Yves Bissouma.87’Post updateAttempt missed. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Yves Bissouma with a cross following a corner.87’Post updateCorner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Emiliano Martínez.86’Post updateAttempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Yves Bissouma.
Unai Emery says it is his “dream” for Aston Villa to qualify for Europe this season after their impressive victory over Tottenham continued their transformation from relegation strugglers to continental contenders. Villa climbed to seventh after defeating Tottenham, their sixth consecutive home league win which moved them level on 57 points with their sixth-placed opponents. Aston Villa were 19th in the table after losing four of their first five Premier League games of the season, but have made impressive progress under Emery and now have a chance of qualifying for Europe for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
Brighton, in eighth spot, are two points behind Villa with three games in hand, but Villa took control against Tottenham through Jacob Ramsey’s tidy eighth-minute finish which was followed by Douglas Luiz’s free-kick. Spurs, who can no longer finish in a Champions League place, were flat and uninspiring, although Harry Kane did score a consolation from the penalty spot after he was fouled by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Martinez produced a fine save to deny Kane a second-half equaliser before he was beaten by the Tottenham captain from the spot.
Even that, however, failed to dampen the full-time celebrations as Villa took a huge stride towards qualifying for Europe. John McGinn was named Player of the Match with an average rating of 7.77, while Spurs offered little in terms of an attacking threat before Kane’s consolation from the penalty spot and will finish outside the top four for the third time in four seasons – despite occupying a Champions League spot for the majority of the season. With two matches left – at Liverpool on 20 May and at home to Brighton on the final day eight days later – Villa have given themselves a great chance of returning to the continent after another assured performance in front of their own fans.