Tottenham's European aspirations took a severe blow on Saturday afternoon as they fell to a 2-1 defeat away at fellow European contenders Aston Villa. Just not getting going at all in the first half at Villa Park as the hosts took a 1-0 lead into the break courtesy of Jacob Ramsey's eighth-minute strike, Spurs, as they have been over the course of the season, were much better in the second half.
Despite creating some good openings, most notably Harry Kane's chance on goal shortly after the interval, it was Villa who scored the crucial second goal of the contest as Douglas Luiz found the net from a free-kick. Pulling one back on 90 minutes as Kane converted from the penalty spot, the striker's 27th league goal of the campaign proved scant consolation.
A day with very few positives for Tottenham, one plus acting head coach Ryan Mason could take from the game was the return to action of Yves Bissouma. Going under the knife in early February to repair a stress fracture to his left ankle, Bissouma has spent the past three months at Hotspur Way working his way back to fitness and desperately watching on as his teammates take to the field.
