London, Sep 19 (IANS) Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory of the season after beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 in an entertaining clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendia scored for Villa, while Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke found the net for the hosts as Unai Emery’s side held on for all three points.

The result means Villa have now won three of their last four matches in all competitions and have lost only once in their last five games.

Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki played a key role in the victory, making several important saves, including three to deny Savio in the first half.

After an open start, Villa broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. John McGinn kept the ball in play before finding Boubacar Kamara, who played Manzambi through. The youngster finished from close range to score on his full debut for Villa.

Tottenham thought they had equalised shortly after the hour mark when Mohammed Kudus found the net, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for offside in the build-up.

Villa then doubled their lead in the 67th minute. Suzuki sent a long ball forward, which Manzambi collected before laying it back for Jackson. The striker took a fine touch before placing his shot into the far corner.

Buendia added a third in the 78th minute with a superb long-range finish. He received the ball from McGinn before curling his effort into the top corner from around 25 yards.

Tottenham pulled one back in the 86th minute when Gallagher finished from close range, giving the home side hope of a comeback.

Van Hecke then scored with a far-post header deep into added time, but Villa managed to see out the remaining moments and claim victory.

The win also continued Villa’s strong recent record against Tottenham. They have now won eight of their last 11 meetings with Spurs in all competitions, including five of their last six visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Meanwhile, after this loss, the Spurs have entered the relegation zone with just 2 points in their 5 matches.

–IANS

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