Tottenham suffer home defeat to Aston Villa in difficult start to Premier League season

Tottenham have now lost three of their opening five matches in the Premier League following a 3-2 home defeat against Aston Villa. The pattern of the match saw Tottenham push forward for a goal, only to look increasingly likely to concede at the back. After the loss, manager Roberto de Zerbi used the word fragile to describe his team. Tottenham had been comfortable and in control of the game until Johan Manzambi scored a scrappy opening goal for the visiting team. That breakthrough occurred while Tottenham were temporarily down to ten players because defender Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving medical treatment. The home side never managed to recover from that setback.