Dominic Solanke shines but old habits die hard for Tottenham in Aston Villa win

Tottenham produced another Premier League comeback victory as they ran out 4-1 winners over Aston Villa this afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou’s men continue to make life hard for themselves, as this marks the eighth occasion in 2024 where they have conceded first at home, only to go on and claim all three points. The north London club became only the second team to achieve this feat in a single calendar year, following Newcastle, who also accomplished it eight times in 2002.

It’s a predicament no manager wants their team to face, as the law of averages suggests you can’t keep coming back from such a deficit. However, this never-say-die attitude is something Postecoglou would be proud to witness.

Morgan Rogers’ opening goal for Villa in the 32nd minute, marking the 13th time Tottenham has conceded the first goal in a Premier League home match since the beginning of last season. Excluding relegated teams, only Manchester United (with 14 instances) has done this more often during the same time period.

Additionally, it is concerning that only Nottingham Forest (24) has conceded more goals from set pieces in England’s top division since Postecoglou took over than Tottenham, who have conceded 20 via this method.

A lively halftime team talk undoubtedly followed, leading to Brennan Johnson levelling the score soon after the break. The stage was then set for the Dominic Solanke show, as the former Bournemouth marksman scored in the 75th and 79th minutes, putting Spurs in front and guaranteeing victory in the process.

This also meant that Solanke became the first player to score at least four goals in their first eight Premier League appearances for Tottenham since Rafael van der Vaart in the 2010-11 season. In doing so, he established himself as Unai Emery’s arch-nemesis by scoring more Premier League goals against Aston Villa than any other player since Emery’s tenure began, with a total of four goals.

James Maddison came off the bench to score a superb free-kick deep into ten minutes of stoppage time. It was his 50th goal of his Premier League career, with nine of those coming from direct free kicks. Since making his top-flight debut in the 2018-19 season, only James Ward-Prowse, with 15 goals, has scored more direct free kicks than Maddison.

As mentioned earlier, despite concerns about their concentration or being too open in their free-flowing style under Postecoglou, Spurs have shown remarkable resilience. This suggests that their mentality—despite the discussions about “bottling” or being “spursy”—is strong. Since the beginning of last season, only champions Manchester City (37 points) have earned more points from losing positions than Spurs (34 points).

Equally impressive, since the start of last season, Tottenham have gone on to win 10 Premier League matches in which they conceded the first goal, the joint-most of any team in the competition along with City, while winning three of their last four in which they’ve gone 0-1 down.

“If you’re going to be more attacking, you’re going to have more gaps the other way,” Postecoglou said earlier in the season. “I get it. People say: ‘We want you to be more attacking, but we want you to be really solid defensively.’ We’re talking about perfection. That doesn’t exist with anyone.

“We’re erring on the side of being more attacking and aggressive, which may mean we concede more than others, but that’s fine. I’m comfortable in that space.”

This implies that Postecoglou isn’t going to change his approach anytime soon, suggesting that Spurs supporters should prepare themselves for the exhilarating possibility of more dramatic comeback victories in the upcoming future. At least those attending are getting their money’s worth.

*Using Bookmaker/Affiliate links on squawka.com may earn us a commission, at no additional cost to you. 18+ only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. For more information, visit gambleaware.org.