Several senior players endured a torrid afternoon for Tottenham in the 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur are showing signs of getting dragged into another Premier League relegation scrap following a disastrous start to the new campaign.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side suffered a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon, leaving them with their lowest points tally ever after five matches. The dismal run of form comes after a summer of significant expenditure aimed at moving the team away from the bottom of the table, following back-to-back 17th-place finishes. However, the heavy investment has yet to translate into results on the pitch, leaving the Italian boss under immediate pressure.
Tottenham were defensively all over the place in the Aston Villa defeat
Like against Everton a week ago, Spurs started on the front foot yet simply couldn’t find a way to score, having been continually denied by Zion Suzuki. The Aston Villa goalkeeper made four saves in the first half, before Villa sucker-punched Tottenham just before half-time through Johan Manzambi’s goal.
Nicolas Jackson then rubbed salt into the wounds by firing past the outstretched Antonin Kinsky, who got fingertips but couldn’t keep the ball out of the net. There was little Kinsky could do about Emi Buendia’s sensational strike from distance.
Stuart Pearce questions Jan Paul van Hecke’s price-tag after Aston Villa defeat
The big problem for Tottenham has been scoring goals, undoubtedly, but there are still glaring issues at the back. Indeed, the centre-back pairing of Micky van de Ven and Van Hecke endured a torrid afternoon against Nicolas Jackson. With his pace, direct running and physicality, the Senegalese striker ran the Dutch duo ragged.
A £52m signing from Brighton and Hove Albion, Van Hecke has had a decent start to life in N17. However, for all the line-breaking passes and ball-carrying ability, the centre-back cannot compromise his basic duty, i.e. defending. He was partly guilty for Villa’s second goal, scored by Jackson, who hadn’t scored a league goal as yet this season after joining from Chelsea.
TalkSPORT pundit Stuart Pearce delivered a damning assessment of Van Hecke’s performance against Villa. He questioned the Netherlands international’s price tag after his mistake that led to Jackson’s goal.
When talkSPORT commentator Sam Matterface was unimpressed with 5/10 Van Hecke’s defending for Villa’s second goal and said “he sold himself completely,” Stuart Pearce responded in agreement: “He certainly did. Was that £52million worth of central defending?”
“Honestly, when he moved for the summer money that he did, it raised an eyebrow or two in my head.”
Despite a tough afternoon, Van Hecke opened his Spurs account with a late goal. He powered home Andy Robertson’s cross at the back post in stoppage time to make it a respectable scoreline for the hosts.
The Dutchman has been a steady performer at the back, but every credit he built was undone against the Villans. Of course, it would be extremely harsh to suggest that Van Hecke was the only issue as Spurs crumbled in the second half, but it was easily the 26-year-old’s most uncomfortable outing in our famous White shirt thus far.
