Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Aston Villa: Spurs wake up to a dominant win in the second half

Tottenham Hotspur's second-half lead saw the home team claim all three points in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

The first half between Villa and Spurs wasn't a particularly entertaining game as the away side fended off Spurs' early press and won more 50/50 balls to take an early lead.

With the Ollie Watkins altercation and the need to fix the back post defense, Spurs fans were filled with fear in the first 30 minutes as the away side missed their chances to score the first goal.

However, one nuisance that continues to linger in Spurs' minds is their defense from set pieces, as Aston Villa scored first from a corner. Guglielmo Vicario battled with Morgan Rogers for positioning inside his five-yard penalty area. Nevertheless, the goalkeeper had to save a possible own goal from Rodrigo Bentancur from a corner, which allowed Rogers to get the second ball and take a 1-0 lead.

With Spurs still having no answer to defending the near post or getting the ball out for relief, they kept the game trailing 1-0 until halftime.

From then on it was just Spurs.

Tottenham tied the game three minutes into the second half with Son Heung-min alone on the other touchline. Son picked up the ball and sent it down his left side. He took a few steps to create space for a Sonsational left-footed cross to the back post, which Brennan Johnson was able to run towards and tap it past Emi Martinez.

Ange Postecoglou made the change a few minutes after the equalizer, subbing Son as a precaution to save his star. Although Son was frustrated by the decision, others stepped in.

One player who made his game particularly special was Pape Sarr, who helped the team take the lead with two crucial plays.

Spurs took the lead after a strong foul from Ben Davies – who came on for the injured Cristian Romero – and fended off a potential Villa counter-attack. As the ball hit Sarr's feet, midfield pushed a ball around Johnson into the 18-yard area. Johnson took advantage of a touch of the ball for Kulusevski to lay a weighted pass from Diego Carlos to Dominic Solanke, who created a one-on-one chance with Martinez and put him ahead.

Spurs scored another goal and led 2-1, with Sarr taking the lead again at the break. After a loose pass from Pau Torres, Sarr initiated the short counterattack in Villa's half with Solanke and Richarlison on either side. The Brazilian played the ball and fed Richarlison on his left side. The Brazilian sent a pass into the penalty area, where Solanke received a run-up that gave him a brace.

Richarlison was substituted shortly afterwards. When he delivered the pass for Solanke's goal, he pulled himself up and held his thigh muscles.

Spurs added another goal when James Maddison curled his free-kick around the Villa wall and froze Martinez for a stunning touchdown to make it a 4-1 second-half comeback.

Notes:

• Radu Dragusin played well as he filled in for the injured Micky Van de Ven.
• Ben Davies came on for the final 30 minutes, replacing the injured Romero. Davies started the break for Spurs and secured the lead.
• Sarr was the star today. With Maddison out of the starting lineup and Kulusevski more dominated by Villa players, Sarr stepped up.
• Solanke scored his first brace in a Spurs jersey.
• Moments after the final whistle, Maddison and Ange Postecoglou shared the manager's decision to leave his playmaker on the bench, leaving many wondering why.