Tottenham Hotspur’s wretched Premier League away form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa that left their hopes of qualifying for Europe in the balance on Saturday.
Jacob Ramsey smashed home Villa’s opener in the eighth minute and Villa could and should have been out of sight before halftime against a lacklustre Spurs side.
Tottenham did show more appetite after the break but there was no coming back after Villa’s Douglas Luiz found the net with a 72nd-minute free kick that keeper Fraser Forster should have saved.
Villa were full value for the points, which boosted their own hopes of a European finish, although they did have some anxious moments late on after Harry Kane fired home a penalty.
Unai Emery’s side moved up a place to seventh with 57 points – the same as sixth-placed Tottenham with both sides having two games left to play.
Eighth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, who face Arsenal on Sunday, are two points behind both Villa and Spurs but have three games in hand in the battle to qualify for Europe.
ESPN
