Aston Villa goal highlights Tottenham’s struggle after conceding first

Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start to the Premier League season deepened as an injury to Pedro Porro was followed by Aston Villa taking the lead in first-half stoppage time.

The teams are meeting on Saturday in the fifth round of the Premier League, with Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi forced into an early change before Villa struck in the final seconds of the opening period.

Porro went down in the 17th minute after suffering an injury, prompting Tottenham’s medical staff to attend to the Spain international. Although they initially tried to assess whether the right-back could continue, he was unable to remain on the pitch.

De Zerbi made the replacement a minute later, withdrawing Porro and sending on Archie Gray in the 18th minute. It was Tottenham’s first forced substitution of the match.

The night became more difficult for Tottenham in the fourth minute of added time at the end of the first half, when Aston Villa moved in front.

A defensive mistake, involving both Tottenham’s back line and goalkeeper, allowed Boubacar Kamara to deliver a cross into the penalty area. Yohan Manzambi met it with a powerful finish to put the ball into the net and give Villa the advantage at 45+4.

The goal also highlighted a worrying statistic for Tottenham. According to statistics outlet Squawka, they have now failed to win any of their last 36 Premier League matches in which they conceded the opening goal.

Tottenham’s last victory after falling behind in the competition came against Aston Villa on 3 November 2024.

The London club are still searching for their first Premier League win of the current campaign after a poor opening to the season. They lost to Brentford and Newcastle in their first two matches before drawing 0-0 with Nottingham Forest and Everton.

Those results have left Tottenham without a victory after four league games, while their difficulties have also continued in the English League Cup.

Tottenham were eliminated from that competition after losing 3-1 to Liverpool, adding to the pressure on De Zerbi as his side attempt to recover from their latest setback.