Tottenham ends scoring drought but slump continues against Aston Villa
By Luke Oluoch, September 19, 2026English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur bagged their first league goals of the new season, but it was not enough to reverse their poor run of form following a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, September 19, 2026.
Under-pressure Roberto De Zerbi’s charges finally managed to end a run of 493 minutes without a league goal after Conor Gallagher scored in the final stages of the clash that ended with Villa running out 3-2 winners.
Kudus’ goal disallowed
Joan Manzanbi, Nicolas Jackson, and Emiliano Buendía scored for Unai Emery’s team, as Gallagher and a late strike from Jan Paul van Hecke only made for a tense end to the early kick-off on Saturday.
Spurs thought they had their first Premier League goal of the season in the fifth game of asking after having played more than 450 minutes of football, but initial muted celebrations by home supporters were quickly turned to disappointment as VAR ruled it out for offside.
Mohammed Kudus was the man thought to have broken the curse as he pounced on a low cross from Andrew Robertson to poke home. VAR, however, showed the Scotland left-back had just veered marginally offside.
Jackson adds to Spurs struggles
The down moment then turned sour seven minutes later as Nicolas Jackson got the second in the 66th minute after poor defending from centre-backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven. The Senegalese striker netted his first league goal for the Villans after a brilliant exchange while under pressure from the Dutch centre-back duo.
The goal sparked a walkout as a section of fans started walking out of their magnificent home stadium in mild protest of the ongoing struggles at the North London club.
Spurs’ close brushes with a first goal continued, but they missed after nice interplay on the left flanks.
Spurs’ dismal start then hit a new low as the club conceded a third goal in their last two games, as Emiliano Buendía was afforded space to curl a beauty past Antonín Kinský for the third goal.
The strike was the Argentine’s fourth in a row against Tottenham in all competitions.
Gallagher and Van Hecke score first goals
Spurs ultimately broke the scoring curse as Conor Gallagher scored in the last gasp. The late drama continued as Van Hecke scored his first goal for the club to set up a tense final moment.
The visiting Villans, however, held out to claim a massive win in the early Saturday clash pitting the struggling sides, inflicting a defeat that leaves Spurs at 18th in the Premier League and firmly in the relegation zone.
Roberto De Zerbi has now seen his side score just two goals in the league this season, having drawn twice and suffered three defeats in their first five Premier League games.