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Despite a nervous second half against Brighton, they held on to the victory they needed to spark celebrations in the stands. Unai Emery's side leapfrogged Tottenham into fourth after Sunday's victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leaving them just two points off Premier League leaders Arsenal. He can rub people the wrong way but his performances speak for themselves," Begovic said. "He’s been really solid and taken his game to a new level. He really kept his team in the game and made some big saves [against Tottenham] at crucial times, which is what top goalkeepers do. At the end we won against a very good team with their positioning and movement. Even when being organised it was very difficult to stop them.
When Asseyi sent Domselaar the wrong way from the spot with a low finish into the bottom-left corner West Ham should have gained enough confidence to control the game. Tottenham were top of the Premier League table after their first 10 games but are now below Villa after victory in north London sent Unai Emery's them above them into fourth place.
Tottenham are only the fifth side in Premier League history to lose three consecutive games despite opening the scoring in each match, and first since Leicester City in December 2014, whose third game was also against Aston Villa. Before you even talk about their brutally effective high line, settled starting line-up or Unai Emery’s tactical astuteness, this Aston Villa team have two basic attributes that will take them far this season.
Villa just a couple of years ago were not in the best of positions and in the Championship. Now to be in this position with Unai Emery leading the charge, they are really cementing themselves a top six or seven side and that is incredible for them. Pedro Porro has assisted six goals in the Premier League. The only defenders with more assists in the competition than the Spaniard since his debut in February are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier (both nine). Neil: Two key players don’t make a team but their absence through injury [Van de Ven and Maddison] is having a disproportionate effect. The wheels have truly come off Tottenham’s wagon.Villa took the lead through Adriana Leon before Lisa Evans looked to have earned West Ham a point with a brilliant half-volley. I interviewed Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou this week and he came across really well. He has a process he believes in and it has brought him a lot of success. This week, he takes on Barry Can't Swim, aka DJ and producer Joshua Mannie - who is an Everton fan.
There is no doubt Emery has done a superb job marshalling Villa’s resources and they are now serious contenders to finish in the top four in my opinion. As for January, Villa are a very ambitious club and I’m sure Emery and Monchi, the club’s president of football operations, are already working on some ideas. Mike: It’s easy to forget in all the excitement of where we are in the table relative to just before Unai Emery arrived, but take a moment to imagine the table without five goals shipped at Newcastle on matchday 1. We’d be top by a point.Before the match we were speaking about the opportunity to win or not win. After the match we played in Nottingham against Forest away -we were speaking about how we can continue improving our mentality and keeping consistent. We shouldn't be accepting sometimes when we are losing. However, the stark reality is that West Ham have failed to win any of their last 10 home league matches. Julian: Bailey deserves to start. As the best sub in the league it would be great to see his work from the word go. It is going to be fascinating to see how they get on because Aston Villa are so well organised under Unai Emery, and you know they will be ready for them. If Diaz scores the winner against City to take Liverpool to the top of the league, just get in touch with Hollywood at the final whistle for the film rights, though they will think it all a bit far-fetched.
On Villa's away form: "Naturally, it is more difficult than playing at home, but it is not an excuse. The way to improve is to create and build a structure, with the ball and without the ball." Nunez scored as Uruguay defeated Argentina, masterminded by Marcelo Bielsa, in Buenos Aires, but even that pales beside Diaz’s towering headed double against Brazil in Colombia’s 2-1 win. ESPN's Mark Ogden added: "I love his wind-up tactics, I love the fact you know if he makes mistakes it won’t bother him in the slightest. Some keepers go into their shell a little bit. He does care but plays like he doesn’t care." Emery would like to add another director to the club's boardroom after Alemany was targeted earlier this year and Monchi appears set to leave Europa League champions Sevilla for the second time in his career due to a power struggle at his current club. Monchi rejoined to Sevilla in March 2019 having left the club a year after Emery's exit in 2017 to join Roma. He departed the Italian club two years after signing a four-and-a-half year deal. Tottenham are only the third team in English top-flight history to go unbeaten across their first 10 games of a season, and then lose their next three games, after Huddersfield Town in 1924-25 and Sheffield United in 1971-72.We know realistically they won’t be there at the end challenging for the title, but at this moment why not dream and think this can happen?"
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