Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa: Hojbjerg finish and Targett own goal give Spurs much-needed win

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Last updated on 7 minutes ago.From the section Premier League

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scores for Tottenham against Aston VillaHojbjerg scored a timely first goal of the season to give Tottenham a much-needed league win

Tottenham produced their best league display since the opening-game win over Manchester City to end a run of three straight league defeats with victory over a stubborn Aston Villa.

Humbled at north London rivals Arsenal in the last of that trio of losses, Spurs overcame a ropey start to produce a display that was far from perfect but at least showcased a greater defensive organisation and attacking edge.

Son Heung-min was typically bright, providing two assists, Lucas Moura looked sharp and Harry Kane -fresh from his 20-minute hat-trick against Mura on Thursday - was more involved in the final third than of late.

However, they were still made to work by a Villa side who did not panic after falling behind to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's coolly-taken opener midway through the first half.

Their enterprise and endeavour was rewarded with just over 20 minutes to go, with Oli Watkins meeting Danny Ings' superb low cross to net his first goal of the season from close range.

Their joy was short lived, though, with Son speeding past Kortney Hause and providing a superb low ball that was bundled into his own net by Matt Targett under pressure from Moura.

Spurs had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed but failed to convert, the most notable being an Emiliano Martinez save to deny Kane his first Premier League goal of the season.

The win moves Nuno Espirito Santo's side up to eighth on 12 points, two places and points better off than Villa.

More to follow.

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Tottenham Hotspur

  1. Squad number1Player nameLloris

  2. Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal

  3. Squad number4Player nameRomero

  4. Squad number15Player nameDier

  5. Squad number3Player nameReguilón

  6. Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg

  7. Squad number29Player nameSkipp

  8. Squad number27Player nameLucas Moura

  9. Squad number28Player nameNdombele

  10. Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-Min

  11. Squad number10Player nameKane

  1. Squad number11Player nameGil

  2. Squad number18Player nameLo Celso

Aston Villa

  1. Squad number1Player nameMartínez

  2. Squad number4Player nameKonsa

  3. Squad number30Player nameHause

  4. Squad number5Player nameMings

  5. Squad number2Player nameCash

  6. Squad number7Player nameMcGinn

  7. Squad number6Player nameDouglas Luiz

  8. Squad number41Player nameRamsey

  9. Squad number3Player nameTargett

  10. Squad number11Player nameWatkins

  11. Squad number20Player nameIngs

  1. Squad number10Player nameBuendía

  2. Squad number15Player nameTraoré

  3. Squad number35Player nameArcher

Line-ups

Tottenham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Lloris
  • 12Leite de Souza Junior
  • 4RomeroBooked at 68mins
  • 15Dier
  • 3Reguilón
  • 5Højbjerg
  • 29SkippBooked at 36mins
  • 27Lucas MouraSubstituted forGilat 89'minutes
  • 28NdombeleSubstituted forLo Celsoat 76'minutes
  • 7Son Heung-Min
  • 10Kane

Substitutes

  • 2Doherty
  • 6D Sánchez
  • 8Winks
  • 11Gil
  • 14Rodon
  • 18Lo Celso
  • 20Alli
  • 22Gollini
  • 44Scarlett

Aston Villa

Formation 3-5-2

  • 1Martínez
  • 4Konsa
  • 30HauseSubstituted forTraoréat 80'minutes
  • 5Mings
  • 2Cash
  • 7McGinn
  • 6Douglas Luiz
  • 41RamseyBooked at 31minsSubstituted forBuendíaat 69'minutes
  • 3Targett
  • 11Watkins
  • 20IngsSubstituted forArcherat 89'minutes

Substitutes

  • 10Buendía
  • 12Steer
  • 15Traoré
  • 16Tuanzebe
  • 18Young
  • 19Nakamba
  • 21El Ghazi
  • 32Philogene-Bidace
  • 35Archer

Referee:Chris Kavanagh

Attendance:53,076

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 1.

  2. Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa 1.

  3. Bryan Gil (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  4. Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).

  5. Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Matt Targett.

  6. Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Douglas Luiz.

  7. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  8. Foul by Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa).

  9. Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Emiliano Martínez.

  10. Substitution, Aston Villa. Cameron Archer replaces Danny Ings.

  11. Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Bryan Gil replaces Lucas Moura.

  12. Corner, Aston Villa. Conceded by Cristian Romero.

  13. Foul by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur).

  14. John McGinn (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal.

  16. Attempt saved. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Hugo Lloris.

  17. Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Tyrone Mings.

  18. Attempt blocked. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Harry Kane.

  19. Attempt missed. Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Son Heung-Min.

  20. Attempt missed. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) header from the left side of the box misses to the left.

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