• It was his rash challenge on Bergwijn that allowed the visitors to go in at the interval with the lead in a game Villa had enjoyed the better of until then.
• Son had seven of Tottenham’s 23 efforts on goal, with Alli next on five — including some of their best chances.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith says a ‘farcical VAR decision’ contributed to Tottenham’s last-gasp Premier League win at Villa Park on Sunday.
Spurs were awarded a penalty by VAR when the score was 1-1, with Son Heung-min scoring the rebound. The South Korean forward later scored a stoppage-time winner, taking Jose Mourinho’s side up to fifth in the table, a point behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Smith was heavily critical of VAR’s intervention. “I don’t get it,” he said.
“There’s 42,000 people in the stadium, he [referee Martin Atkinson] gives a goal-kick and everyone believes it’s a goal-kick. It was a farcical VAR decision. The criteria is clear and obvious. It’s not clear and obvious. Martin Atkinson stood up but his authority has been taken away.”
“I told Martin at half-time I didn’t blame him, but if he was brave enough to walk over to that monitor it takes 30 seconds, you go, ‘No, I’m happy with my decision’ and we play on. Instead, we go into an environment where there’s no feel for the game or what’s happened and we make a decision. It was a sore result for us, it’s a tough one to take.”
The result means Villa remain a point above the bottom three in 17th.
They made the stronger start and took the lead via Toby Alderweireld’s own goal - with the Spurs defender prodding Anwar El Ghazi’s cross past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The Belgian atoned by equalising with a superb angled effort that flew into the top right corner of the Villa goal from 10 yards.
Spurs went in front when Steven Bergwijn won the penalty after being judged to have been fouled by home defender Bjorn Engels. While Engels headed in from a Jack Grealish corner to again draw the sides level, his late mistake allowed Son to race clear to place the ball past Reina as Villa’s miserable run against sides in the top half of the table continued.
While Dean Smith’s side have earned just one point against sides currently in the top half, a wider concern for the Villa boss is that eight of their 15 defeats this term have been by a solitary goal. This was another occasion on which they could have taken at least a point from a hard-fought contest but for individual errors — with Engels having an afternoon to forget.
The 25-year-old Belgian, who started because of Tyrone Mings’ absence through illness, had a difficult time dealing with the movement and pace of Bergwijn, Son and Lucas Moura.
It was his rash challenge on Bergwijn that allowed the visitors to go in at the interval with the lead in a game Villa had enjoyed the better of until then.
In his late lapse, Engels allowed the ball to run under his studs, enabling Son to score the decisive goal. Engels’ first goal for the Midlands club will have provided little consolation. Villa had enjoyed a bright start as Grealish imposed himself on the game.
The Villa captain, who is the last survivor from the club’s top-flight relegation in 2016, delivered a wonderful display, which is unlikely to have gone unnoticed by the clubs that are reportedly keen to sign him this summer.
He spent the early stages of this encounter tormenting Serge Aurier, flashing a shot wide and laying on a glorious chance from which Douglas Luiz should have converted. Now 24, Grealish is maturing into a player capable of controlling games, and is exhibiting the sort of form that may bring him into England manager Gareth Southgate’s planning for Euro 2020.
While Grealish is yet to make a senior England appearance, Spurs midfielder Dele Alli is someone Southgate knows all about - although his last cap came in June 2019. Since then, Alli has suffered form and injury problems, but has appeared rejuvenated since Jose Mourinho took charge of Tottenham in November.
Although he did not add to the eight goals he has scored this season, his intelligent running caused Villa problems throughout.
Son had seven of Tottenham’s 23 efforts on goal, with Alli next on five - including some of their best chances.
Kortney Hause’s superb block prevented him from equalising at 1-0 down, and Alli stretched as he headed Bergwijn’s cross back across goal but wide of the right far post. The 23-year-old then badly miscued a right-foot shot before half-time, slicing it wide, but he continued to pop up in dangerous areas after the break, teeing up Son for an effort that was brilliantly saved by Reina.
Villa’s Spanish keeper made two further outstanding stops to prevent the South Korean from adding to his goal tally. Like Alli, Son kept plugging away, and his reaction to Engels’ late mistake was the reward for a high-energy performance that included 26 sprints, more than any other player on the pitch.