Earning Their Spurs

It was supposed to be a tight match: one shaping up as the race for Champions League football: 4th-placed Aston Villa taking on 5th-placed Tottenham Hotspur; both teams bang on form; and surprising in so many pleasant ways.

In the end though; it was anything but: as Unai Emery's more-conservative 3-5-2 formation backfired in its face; with his team neither convincing in defence and failing to offer enough in attack; and ultimately not showing the free-spirited play that brought them to this position in the first place.

Suffice to say: Tottenham Hotspur have been a breath of fresh air this season; with Ange Postecoglu's devil-may-dare approach seeing full-backs Pedro Porro & Destiny Udogie pushing high up as inside wingers; thus offering them plenty of overload advice and dare I say it transforming the face of modern football. Porro & Udogie are the perfect defenders for that; as their stamina and attacking enterprise mean they are well suited; so they might as well flaunt it.

Villa did not help themselves; with the over-enthusiastic John McGinn getting himself needlessly sent off after having had enough of this debacle when 0-2 down. And while Pape Sarr's brilliant cross was responsible for James Maddison's first goal; it was Ezri Konsa; recently called up into the England national team; whose mistake in possession led to Brennan Johnson's second goal and a mountain to climb for Villa,