Emery delighted by Villa resilience in victory over Spurs

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Unai Emery praised Aston Villa’s resilience after they claimed their first Premier League win this season by defeating Tottenham 3-2 on Saturday.

Johan Manzambi put Villa ahead on the stroke of half-time, making the most of Micky van de Ven being off the field after receiving treatment for a blow to the head.

Spurs had a goal by substitute Mohamed Kudus ruled out before Nicolas Jackson struck after Jan Paul van Hecke and Van de Ven failed to deal with a route-one ball from Zion Suzuki.

Emiliano Buendia added a stunning third from 25 yards, which meant late goals from Conor Gallagher and Van Hecke were not enough to deny Emery’s side three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“We knew before the match what our gameplan would be, facing Tottenham. Defensively, we worked fantastically because the players believed in the way we have worked before here,” Emery told a post-match news conference.

“For four years in a row, we have needed to build a team that is resilient. We had to be patient and resilient in the moments when they were attacking.

“We needed to defend and be committed in this direction. Through that, we could grow into the game, create chances to score and eventually win.

“Deserved or not, this is the competitive way that we have achieved results before, during the time I have been here.

“We are delighted with how the players responded to the plan that we put in place, and also with how the players felt comfortable and gained confidence during the game.”

That connection with the away end  pic.twitter.com/puimy2NQhI

— Aston Villa (@AstonVilla) September 19, 2026

Suzuki made a brilliant double-save from Savio early in the first half and caused Tottenham problems with his distribution, finishing with a team-high seven completed passes ending in the final third.

“Suzuki is a player who should first save balls from his goal. Second, he should help us build in combination, like we want. We signed him for that,” said Emery

“He is a fantastic goalkeeper, making saves and having the qualities to build up like we want, with short and long balls that can threaten the opponent when they go into a high press and man-to-man. We must react quickly.

“Zion is maintaining the performance he showed before, and Jackson clearly improved from the previous matches. This is the way and the example of how he played.”

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