Just how good was this match between Aston Villa & Tottenham Hotspur? It ranks fifth on my all-time list of great matches: behind only that Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 belter (Stan Collymore); the legendary Chelsea-Barcelona clash dubbed 'The Greatest Game'; the Portugal-Netherlands 'Battle of Nuremberg' at the 2006 World Cup; and the unforgettable Man Utd v Arsenal FA Cup Semi-Final of 1999.
This was a true advertisement of the beauty of English football: fast; intense stuff with attacking intent and chances galore. Villa actually started brightly and went ahead through an own goal from Spurs' Toby Alderweireld; who betrayed Spurs' early nerves with a calamitous own-goal past Hugo Lloris. The Belgian defender made amends though; scoring beautifully with a sharp turn from a corner that fizzed high into the net. Spurs then went in front just before the break when Bjorn Engels made a rather rash challenge on Steven Bergwijn; with Son Heung-Min scoring from the resultant penalty after a rebound.
It was now Engels' turn to go from zero to hero; as he headed in superbly from Jack Grealish's corner to level things up again early in the second half. But keeping in nature with this topsy-turvy contest; he would turn villain yet again; as his costly slip right at the end allowed Son through to score the priceless winner past Jose Reina.
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