Villa Tighten Champions League Grip with Spurs Victory

Aston Villa continued their remarkable late-season surge towards the Champions League places with a well-earned 2-0 home victory over Tottenham.

In front of an expectant Villa Park, Unai Emery’s side dominated the second half, with unlikely scorers Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara securing the win. Konsa opened the scoring just before the hour mark, steering home a neat finish after Ollie Watkins smartly nodded down a corner.

With Spurs’ minds arguably on next week’s Europa League final in Bilbao, Villa took full advantage. Kamara doubled the lead in the 73rd minute with a composed strike after drifting through a static Tottenham defence to slot past stand-in goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky — a first-ever Premier League goal for the French midfielder.

Despite a lively first half from Son Heung-min and some early saves from both keepers, Spurs faded as Villa’s pressure mounted. The hosts finished with an xG of 1.56 to Tottenham’s meagre 0.32, reflecting their control of the contest.

The victory moves Villa who’ve now won eight of their last nine league games — temporarily into fourth place, piling pressure on Chelsea in the race for a Champions League spot. With one game remaining, against Manchester United next week, Emery’s side have sprinted to the Premier League finish line in superb form.

As for Spurs, their domestic woes continue, suffering a 21st league defeat in what’s been a torrid campaign, though all eyes now turn to Bilbao and a potential silver lining to their season.