Tottenham Hotspur fell 3-2 to Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, extending their winless streak to five Premier League matches in the 2026–27 season.
Saturday Telegraph reports that despite splashing over £300 million on new talent during the summer transfer window, Roberto De Zerbi’s side remains stuck in the lower reaches of the table. This has left the Italian manager under severe scrutiny.
Aston Villa established a commanding 3-0 lead through clinical finishing, starting deep in first-half stoppage time when record signing Johan Manzambi prodded home Boubacar Kamara’s pass while Tottenham captain Micky van de Ven was off the pitch receiving treatment.
Villa expanded their advantage in the second half as Nicolas Jackson doubled the score in the 67th minute by curling a precise shot into the bottom left corner, before Emiliano Buendía capitalized on Spurs’ growing frustration in the 79th minute with a spectacular long-range curling strike from a John McGinn pass.
Tottenham launched a desperate late response after failing to capitalise on earlier chances, including a Mohammed Kudus effort ruled out for a marginal Andy Robertson offside by VAR.
Conor Gallagher tapped in a cross from Kudus in the 86th minute to pull one back, and Jan Paul van Hecke headed home Robertson’s delivery deep into stoppage time with the last touch of the game, but the late double came too late to prevent a 3-2 defeat.
Recall Spurs invested heavily in the summer, spending well over £300m on recruits to compete at the top end of the Premier League.
However, the team has struggled significantly, failing to register a single league victory across their first five fixtures of the 2026–27 campaign
De Zerbi was appointed in late March 2026 to steady the squad. Over his initial tenure toward the end of the 2025–26 season, Tottenham won three, drew two, and lost two of their final seven league matches, securing a modest finish.
Combining last season’s tail-end fixtures with the current winless five-game slide, Spurs have won just 3 of their last 12 Premier League games under De Zerbi, raising urgent questions about tactical clarity and defensive structure.