Aston Villa 1 – 2 Spurs

Tottenham revitalised their fight to remain in the Premier League and climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Champions League.

West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday opened the door for Spurs, and De Zerbi’s team stepped up confidently as the battle to beat the drop took a plot twist.

Aston Villa, who made seven changes from their Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat to Nottingham Forest, were second-best from the first whistle as first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison were as good a contest as any.

Villa’s expected second-half revival never materialised, and despite Emi Buendia’s stoppage-time header, Spurs finished with what was arguably their best performance of the season at this crucial point in the campaign.

Spurs, who have now made it back-to-back league wins from their first two games of the season, are now one point above 18th-placed West Ham with three games of the season remaining.

Meanwhile, Villa, who are fifth with six points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth, have suffered three successive defeats in all competitions and must now respond to a poor performance to overcome a one-goal deficit in their Europa League semi-final second leg against Forest on Thursday.