At a glance:
- Tottenham beat Aston Villa 2-1
- Some journalists slam Villa for rotating their team
- Spurs have eight players out due to injuries
Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park helped them climb out of the Premier League relegation zone on Sunday.
Spurs came into the game with eight players missing due to their respective injuries. Meanwhile, Pape Matar Sarr and Destiny Udogie were only returning from their injuries, while James Maddison is still unfit to contribute. However, they dominated the game and won 2-1.
Conor Gallagher (12’) and Richarlison (25’) were the goal scorers for Tottenham. Emi Buendia (90+6’) scored a late consolation goal for a much-changed Aston Villa side.
Ange Postecoglou proven right about Tottenham double standards
After Spurs beat Aston Villa, some journalists, like John Cross, questioned Unai Emery’s decision to rotate his side.
Villa, notably, lost 1-0 against Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi-final first leg on April 30. The second leg will take place on May 7.
Hence, like every other team in this situation, Villa rested some key players. However, this has led to major outrage on social media.
Amidst this, Ange Postecoglou’s comments from last season have resurfaced, where he said (h/t Sky Sports):
“I’ve never heard that before. I’ve said it before, mate, Spurs does crazy things to people. It does, it does. You put that club into any sentence or any issue, and invariably, they all come out and try and diminish as much as they can.
“Why wasn’t there an issue before, and it’s an issue now? What’s the difference? I don’t understand what the difference is.”
Also Read: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham: Three biggest takeaways
For the unversed, Postecoglou made this statement ahead of the Europa League semi-final second leg against Bodo/Glimt.
Many journalists and pundits had claimed that Tottenham should not get a place in this year’s Champions League even if they win the Europa League because of their lowly Premier League position.
Spurs does “crazy” things to people
Resting players for a crucial game has always been a part of football, and understandably so. Aston Villa sit fifth in the Premier League, six points above Bournemouth, with three games remaining.
They face Burnley next and have largely secured their place in the Top 5.
Hence, rotating players for an opportunity to win a major European trophy is a normal position. Even Crystal Palace did it against West Ham a few weeks ago, but it ended in a goalless draw.
There was no outrage back then, and rightly so.
Also Read: ‘When he plays well, we play with 12’ – Roberto De Zerbi blown away by Tottenham player
Regardless, Tottenham put in a really good performance against Villa, who struggled even after some of the starters were subbed on.
Spurs have been rejuvenated under Roberto De Zerbi and now have winning momentum as well. They will next face Leeds United at home, and a win could, more or less, seal their survival this season.
