Tottenham let a lead and their place in the top four slip on Sunday in a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Villa have struggled on the road of late but produced two suckerpunch goals to climb above Ange Postecoglou's injury-hit side in the Premier League table and leave their opponents with that all-too familiar Spurs-y feeling after a positive, energetic performance that was not enough to prevent a third straight defeat.
With kick-off coming only hours after the announcement of Tottenham hero Terry Venables' death, there was a risk of a sombre atmosphere pervading over this crucial top-five meeting.
However, a fast and furious opening led to several chances, the best of which saw Dejan Kulusevski rattle the post after jinking around his defender before Pau Torres headed a golden opening wide five minutes in.
Spurs took a deserved lead on 22 minutes when a corner drifted to Giovani Lo Celso at the edge of the box, the Argentine drilling home via a deflection on his first start of the season.
VILLA LEAD!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 26, 2023
What a finish! Ollie Watkins has his 7th Premier League goal of the season 🎯 pic.twitter.com/wmIVp9Kxst
VAR then came to the hosts' rescue as Ollie Watkins drifted in behind from a deep cross and flicked home an instant reply - only for the tightest of offside calls to go against the Villa striker.
Like Lo Celso, the returning Rodrigo Bentancur excelled only for Matty Cash's rash challenge to force him off at the end of a nine-month absence due to a serious knee injury.
Tottenham pushed for a second but always looked vulnerable from high balls into the box, and Douglas Luiz perfectly picked out Torres eight minutes into first-half stoppage time for the equaliser.
Unai Emery made two changes at the break to up the pressure on the hosts and one substitute, Leon Bailey, hit the woodwork early in the second half.
Spurs were still on top and almost found Brennan Johnson at the far post to finish off a slick counter before Watkins struck with just over 20 minutes to go. A fairly straightforward passing move through the middle of the pitch allowed him to power home into the far corner.
A quick reply of Tottenham's own was denied expertly by Emi Martinez, first as Johnson darted into the box and seconds later from Pierre Emile Hojbjerg's long-range hit.
Watkins should have made it 3-1 with a late header as both sides began to show fatigue in such a high-octane clash. Up the other end, Son turned home a rebound but the flag instantly went up.
