Tottenham clinched crucial three points by beating Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Tottenham Hotspur stunned Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park on Sunday, claiming three crucial points in the relegation dogfight. Conor Gallagher and Richarlison struck in the first-half, which made Emi Buendia’s stoppage-time header futile.
The result saw Spurs climb out of the relegation zone by a single point, with West Ham dropping below them following their 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Saturday. It was a massive relief for Roberto De Zerbi as his club’s position would have looked very perilous had they not beaten Aston Villa away.
It cannot be denied that Unai Emery’s decision to heavily rotate his squad ahead of Villa’s crucial second leg of the Europa League semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest worked in favour of Tottenham. At the same time, nothing can take away from the effort, commitment, desire and quality from De Zerbi and Co. that was demonstrated at Villa Park.
Glenn Hoddle predicts Tottenham’s survival bid after Aston Villa victory
Tottenham have bagged Premier League wins in back-to-back trips to the Midlands under De Zerbi. The North Londoners knew the challenge they had in front of them, and the players turned up for the fight. Supporters are starting to believe, and the players are totally united and following the Italian tactician’s instructions, with many producing strong performances at Villa.
Spurs great Glenn Hoddle saw enough in the performance against Villa to be confident about the De Zerbi-managed club beating the drop and staying in the Premier League. The TNT Sports commentator also feels his former club will beat Leeds United at home and Everton away on the final day of the season.
“I do,” Glenn Hoddle said on TNT Sports (h/t BBC Sport) when asked if he now believes Tottenham will retain their Premier League status.
“You asked me the question earlier, and I said ‘well my heart was saying they will stay up but my head was going no if we lost today’. That is a titanic performance and a titanic result, and it puts a load of pressure on the other teams – well West Ham down there actually.
“It was the way that they played today, I thought it was excellent, absolutely spot on tactically and the players had that hunger. Every player played eight or nine out of ten, they were brilliant today.
“Only [negative] was the goal conceded right at the end. The passion and the hard work they put in, if they do that again on Monday night at home, then they will start getting good results at home.”
Tottenham players respond to De Zerbi’s emotional call
De Zerbi has been loud and clear about his club’s prospects of staying in the top flight. His emotional call “to die” on the pitch was responded by his players with their finest display of the campaign, securing a richly deserved success against Emery’s men.
Emery’s team selection, keeping in mind the Europa League second leg vs. Nottingham Forest, was a letter of encouragement to the Lilywhites. And the intent of the Tottenham players was evident right from the first blow of the whistle, which begs the question- where has this version of Spurs been all season?