Dominic Solanki scored twice as Tottenham thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in the second half on Sunday, closing the gap on their rivals for a top-four finish. Spurs scored all four goals in the second half, after Morgan Rogers put the visitors ahead in the first. Shortly after halftime, Brennan Johnson leveled the score for the revitalized home side. Solanki then grabbed the stage, scoring with a lovely dinked finish in the 75th minute and then converting Richarlison’s cross four minutes later. James Maddison added polish by converting a free kick deep into stoppage time. The triumph takes Ange Postecoglou’s men to seventh in the rankings with 16 points—two behind Villa.
During the warm-up, Villa players wore training tops reading “Fuerza Valencia” in support of the victims of the terrible floods in Spain, Villa manager Unai Emery’s home country. Spurs played a lot of inventive football early on but had limited penetration, despite captain Son Heung-min’s comeback from injury.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s long-range shot midway through the half hit the roof of the net At the opposite end, Radu Dragusin diverted Jacob Ramsey’s shot over the bar before Amadou Onana headed into the post. However, Villa went ahead seconds later as Spurs failed to deal with Luca Digne’s corner, with Rogers tapping home following Guglielmo Vicario’s initial save.
It was either team’s sole effort on goal in the first half, continuing Spurs’ tendency of conceding first and highlighting their set-piece issues.
Spurs could have been in further trouble if Ollie Watkins hadn’t screwed his shot wide shortly before halftime. Postecoglou chose not to make any changes at halftime, and his team drew level in the 49th minute when Johnson headed home Son’s inviting cross at the far post.
Minutes later, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez used a strong right hand to save Solanki’s close-range shot, as Spurs suddenly rediscovered rhythm and energy.
Villa captain John McGinn shot wide before Postecoglou replaced Son with Yves Bissouma and Richarlison, much to his astonishment.
The game turned feisty, with several injury breaks before Pape Sarr attempted a long-range shot as Spurs continued to probe. The game was theirs to take, and Spurs took the lead when Dejan Kulusevski found Solanke, who finished cutely over the diving Martinez.
Minutes later, Villa lost the ball in midfield, and Spurs broke quickly, with Sarr feeding Richarlison, who crossed for Solanke to score from close range. Maddison made it 4-1 in the 96th minute, scoring his 50th Premier League goal.