Aston Villa finally secured their first Premier League victory of the campaign after beating Tottenham Hotspur in North London on Saturday afternoon.
First Premier League goals from Johan Manzambi and Nicolas Jackson put Villa 2-0 ahead before Emiliano Buendia unleashed a thunderous effort from distance to make it 3-0.
Late strikes from Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke gave the hosts hope, but they were ultimately only consolation goals as the Villans held on to claim all three points with a 3-2 victory.
Villa spent £65m to bring Jackson in from Chelsea and £59.5m to sign Manzambi from Freiburg during the summer transfer window, and both players are beginning to demonstrate why the club were prepared to spend heavily on them.
How Aston Villa Got the Better of Spurs
Unai Emery’s side travelled to North London knowing that Spurs had failed to score in the Premier League this season and would be determined to attack from the start in front of their home supporters.
As a result, the Spanish head coach instructed his team to sit deep and absorb pressure during the early stages, with the Lilywhites creating several opportunities to break the deadlock.
Villa were prepared to take that risk and rely on counter-attacks, knowing they had the pace and physicality of Manzambi and Jackson to exploit space when they won possession.
The quality of their two expensive summer additions eventually made the difference, with the Switzerland international finishing from close range shortly before half-time before setting up former Chelsea striker Jackson to score Villa’s second.
Vs Spurs
| Nicolas Jackson | Johan Manzambi | |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | 88 | 72 |
| Shots | 6 | 4 |
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| Dribbles completed | 5/10 | 1/4 |
| Key passes | 1 | 2 |
| Big chances created | 0 | 1 |
| Assists | 0 | 1 |
Teams can afford to absorb pressure and attack on the break when they possess enough quality in the final third to punish their opponents, and Villa ultimately got the better of Spurs because they had the players capable of executing that approach.
Outshone Jackson & Manzambi: Aston Villa Have Their Next Rogers
While the goals from Jackson and Manzambi were hugely important in securing the victory and making Emery’s tactics work, neither attacker was Villa’s standout performer on the afternoon.
The Villans lost one of their most influential players during the summer when Morgan Rogers joined Chelsea for £117m, having registered 28 goals and 24 assists across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 campaigns combined.
Rogers regularly made the difference in the final third with goals and assists that helped Villa collect crucial points, and Emery may now have discovered his next Rogers-level talent, albeit at the opposite end of the pitch.
Villa paid £30m to sign Zion Suzuki from Parma as Emi Martinez’s replacement during the summer, and the goalkeeper has made an impressive start to life in the Premier League.
He outperformed both Manzambi and Jackson against Spurs, despite their attacking contributions, producing an excellent display between the posts in North London.
Suzuki made five saves, claimed four crosses under pressure and completed three punches to clear danger before conceding two late goals for which he could do very little.
6/27 Premier League
| Zion Suzuki | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 4 |
| Saves per game | 3.8 |
| Save success rate | 75% |
| Successful run-outs per game | 1.8 |
| Run-out success rate | 100% |
| Goals prevented | +0.21 |
| Clean sheets | 1 |
After four Premier League appearances, the Japanese goalkeeper has a positive goals-prevented figure, which is calculated using the expected goals value of the shots faced, highlighting the quality of his shot-stopping.
His ability to make those saves essentially gave Manzambi and Jackson the platform they needed to go on and win the game for Villa, as he produced several excellent stops early on to deny Spurs the opening goal.
Had Suzuki not produced a series of impressive saves during the first half, Villa could easily have fallen 1-0 behind and allowed the game to become much more difficult. Instead, they remained level at 0-0, giving their attacking players the opportunity to make the difference at the other end.
Just as Rogers helped Villa win matches through his goals and assists, Suzuki has the ability to earn points for the club through his saves, punches and claims.
The Japanese goalkeeper is also comfortable with the ball at his feet and has shown that he can deal with pressure inside his own penalty area, making him look like a well-rounded and complete goalkeeper.
Suzuki already looks like an instant Premier League star for Villa and could become a highly sought-after player in the future if he continues producing performances of this level, much like Rogers eventually earned a major move after impressing in claret and blue.
