Credit: Imago

Tom Griffin

Mon 20 October 2025 8:15, UK

It was a miserable return from the international break for Tottenham, who dropped more points in the Premier League on Sunday, October 19.

Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa saw the visitors stage a second-half fightback as goals from Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia cancelled out Rodrigo Bentancur’s early strike.

Thomas Frank was hit with some bad news pre-match, as Cristian Romero suffered a minor abductor injury and was replaced by Kevin Danso in the warmup.

Spurs sorely missed Romero’s presence, with Frank’s men lacking presence and aggression in defence, something the Argentine notoriously provides.

Tottenham supporters were also unhappy with Mathys Tel, who struggled as a central striker before being substituted, and he wasn’t the only one.

Troy Deeney criticises Tottenham’s attacking play

In some matches this term, Spurs have lacked any patterns of play and have found it difficult to break down rigid defences.

The Lilywhites rank 13th in the Premier League for expected goals (9.16), and have outperformed that metric by 4.84, as per Understat.

However, former Watford striker Troy Deeney noticed how their attackers can often overcomplicate things, and instead of launching the ball into the box, they turn back and go for glory themselves.

Mohammed Kudus, who has been excellent for Spurs since joining from West Ham this summer, was guilty of that on numerous occasions.

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day 2, Deeney picked out one instance of Kudus overplaying when there was an opportunity to swing a cross in.

“Really good from [Mohammed] Kudus, comes short, runs in behind,” Deeney said. “It’s great, but then the old tendencies come back in, because it should be a touch here and then play Tel into the box and obviously he has a one vs one.

“But look again, chops, chops, don’t know when it’s coming in, ends up winning a corner, but it just kills the momentum.”

Dominic Solanke’s return will be vital

Whilst their midfielders have been criticised during the build-up phase, fingers can be pointed at their attackers for not piling into the box, presenting limited options for the man in possession.

Tel doesn’t have the instincts to play centrally, and neither does Richarlison. That has given Frank an issue in the absence of Dominic Solanke.

Solanke underwent surgery at the start of October to fix a niggling ankle problem, and although the Englishman is progressing well, it could be months before he returns to the pitch.

The 28-year-old plundered 16 goals in all competitions last term, and it’s clear to see how much Spurs have struggled without having him as a focal point up top.