Villa blown away by slick Spurs and McGinn madness
Aston Villa's John McGinn (centre) is held back by manager Unai Emery (centre left) as he is confronted by Tottenham Hotspur players and staff after his challenge on Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie which resulted in a red card during the Premier League match at Villa Park, Birmingham. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire.
AFTER four goals kept Tottenham very much in the hunt for the top four, James Maddison needed just four words to sum up their domination of this mismatch.
Aston Villa's grip on the final Champions League qualifying place was significantly loosened by opponents who now trail Unai Emery's side by only two points, with a game in hand following a statement win at Villa Park.
"We blew them away," reflected Maddison, one of four second-half goal-scorers in a contest as one-sided as the scoreline suggested. The hosts played for more than half an hour at a numerical disadvantage after John McGinn rightly saw red for one of the worst challenges you will see this or any other season, but that should in no way be used in mitigation.
Villa were sinking fast long before their skipper's unfathomable idiocy, not that Ollie Watkins could discard the claret and blue blinkers sufficiently when asked about the Scot's near assault on Destiny Udogie with 25 minutes remaining which will rule the midfielder out of the next three games.
"The sending off I think is harsh," insisted Watkins, who barely had a sniff all game in his quest to add to the 16 Premier League goals he has scored this season. "Obviously it looks a little bit reckless because it's in front of their bench and there's a big reaction from their side.
"We're really disappointed and it's a tough result to take but there's still a lot of football to play, I believe in us and Champions League qualification is in our hands."
It isn't if they surrender as tamely as they did in the second half as Tottenham stretched to 39 the number of consecutive games in which they have scored as they close in on the Premier League record of 50.
Looking leggy after their midweek European exploits against Ajax, Villa were two goals down and already beaten before McGinn's exit as Spurs scored twice in the space of three minutes soon after the re-start.
Maddison stole in at the near post to poke home Pape Sarr's sumptuous cross from the right for the England midfielder's first Premier League goal since October, and his third in four visits to his happy hunting ground of Villa Park.
Ezri Konsa surrendered possession to put the second on a plate, thrashed into the roof of the net by Brennan Johnson from Son Heung-min's pass. A dominant Spurs side didn't really need any favours as they imposed their intensity and tempo on their opponents almost at will.
"We lost control of our emotions and the red card was disappointing," admitted Emery, who also defended McGinn. "It's only his second red in 600 games. His intention is not bad." Try telling that to Udogie's right knee, Unai.
After suffering his joint heaviest home defeat as a manager, the Spaniard added: "We controlled the game in the first half but the first two goals were crazy. We're still fourth with a two-point difference and sometimes you have to accept a defeat. We have to move on from this."
Son and Timo Werner embellished the margin of victory with goals in stoppage time. The Spurs skipper lashed in from 15 yards to go fifth on the club's all-time leading scorers' list, before turning provider with an inviting cut-back for the German substitute to deftly place the fourth into the corner past Emi Martinez.
The only downside on an otherwise profitable trip to the West Midlands was the loss to a hamstring problem early in the second half of Micky van Ven, the Dutch defender whose injury absence earlier in the campaign coincided with a forgettable string of results.
"We were outstanding in all facets," Ange Postecoglou said: "First half, we made them work really hard and maintained that pressing and tempo. Heading up to half-time they were working awfully hard to try and press us. That was the message at the break, that perseverance would get us there today. We showed great focus and did just that. We handled ourselves well and were hard to stop.
"It was a big game with plenty of significance so for us to perform like that is big credit to the players. Everyone was billing this as a do-or-die thing for us but for us it's just one game closer.
"I assume," added the Spurs boss, concluding the pithy four-word theme, "we're not dead yet."
Martinez 5; Konsa 4 (Diego Carlos 86, 5), Lenglet 4 (Zanoilo 58, 4), Torres 4, Digne 4 (Moreno 58, 5); Cash 4, McGinn 2, Douglas Luiz 5, Tielemans 4; Bailey 5 (Iroegbuman 65, 5), Watkins 4.
Vicario 7; Porro 7, Romero 7, van de Ven 6 (Dragusin 49, 6), Udogie 7; Bissouma 7, Sarr 7 (Bentancur 70, 6); Kulusevski 7, Maddison 8 (Werner 88, 7), Johnson 8 (Hojbjerg 88, 6); Son Heung-min 9.
Chris Kavanagh Ends
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