LONDON -- Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendía's strikes from range saw Aston Villa come from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur in a high-octane affair on Sunday.
After a wobbly start to the season, Unai Emery appears to have stabilised the ship. His side have now won five successive games in all competitions, and climbed into the top half of the table.
A win would have taken Spurs into second, but their home form continues to hold them back.
The hosts made a rapid start to the game and took a fifth-minute lead through Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguay international slotted home from a Micky van de Ven knockback.
Villa struggled to find a foothold in the game and their equaliser came against the run of play after Rogers lashed home from outside the box with Villa's first shot on target.
Mathys Tel and João Pahlinha came close to putting Spurs ahead either side of half-time but were denied by a combination of poor finishing and Emi Martínez.
Buendía has been integral to Villa's recent upturn in form and his impact was again decisive on Sunday. The second-half substitute scored with Villa's second shot on target, with an angled left-foot finish from outside the box in the 77th minute. -- Shubi Arun
Spurs' failing 'fortress'
Thomas Frank spoke of making the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a "fortress" in his news conference on Friday, but his side continue to be over-indulgent hosts.
The defeat means Frank's side have now won just one of their four Premier League home games this season. That victory was on the opening day against Burnley.
They have taken just 13 points from their last 18 home games, the worst record for any Premier League team during that time.
While the home form is yet to dent the atmosphere in the stadium this season, there were a smattering of boos at full-time. But they were largely drowned out by a delirious away end.
Frank knows how important it is to keep the fans on his side, as was evidenced by the manner in which he ensured his players showed their appreciation to the supporters post-match. -- Shubi Arun
- Sunday's Premier League action: Follow ESPN's live blog
- Report: Buendía strike sees Villa come from behind to beat Spurs
- Premier League table
Rogers shows England form for Villa
Rogers' form has dominated the conversation around Villa's season so far. He struggled to get going in Villa's first few games, and lo and behold so did Unai Emery's side, taking four games to score their first goal.
Since then he has well and truly put his name in the conversation to be England's No. 10 at the World Cup next summer and he showed exactly why in north London on Sunday.
Villa looked disjointed going forward for much of the first half with €35 million man Evann Guessand, who is yet to score his first league goal, unable to replicate that Watkins-Rogers connection that Thomas Tuchel saw first-hand in England's win over Wales in the international break.
Rogers picked up the ball just outside Spurs' box in the 37th minute before unleashing a thunderbolt that sailed over Guglielmo Vicario. It was Villa's first shot on target in the game.
Before his stunner on Sunday, Rogers had gone 20 games in all competitions without scoring for Villa while also sitting top of the Premier League's assist charts for 2025 with nine. The two truths perfectly encapsulate the enigma of how his uninspiring recent club form sat alongside the world-class potential that many, including England manager Thomas Tuchel see in him.
If Rogers can add consistency to his game then Jude Bellingham may have a problem come next summer and Villa could have one of the Premier League's best players in their team -- a feeling they have not had since Jack Grealish left for Manchester City in 2021. -- Aiman Khalid
Clinical Villa make Spurs pay
Villa only registered two shots on target in the 90 and that was all they needed, highlighting just how fine the margins can be in the Premier League, especially when you are without your first-choice striker.
Their bluntness before Ollie Watkins' introduction near the hour mark proved merely an inconvenience rather than a match-defining struggle as two solo stunners were enough to send Spurs fans home reeling from another home loss, a sight all too familiar for the Lilywhites.
Without the focal point of Dominic Solanke, Spurs had their fair share of chances with Wilson Odobert, Tel and the ever-threatening Kudus but just couldn't get over the line as they put slightly more faith in Kevin Danso's long throws than many inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would like.
Despite the hosts' huffing and puffing, Villa showed Frank and Spurs that being clinical comes before all when Buendía found the bottom corner with his left foot in the 77th minute.
It doesn't get any easier for Spurs with a trip to Monaco in the Champions League and domestic challenges against Newcastle and Chelsea on the horizon -- games where their attacking efficiency will once again be tested as Frank's up-and-down start to life in N17 rolls on. -- Aiman Khalid
Kudus' effort falls short
The Ghanian is arguably the best crosser of the ball in the Premier League right now.
Spurs came into this weekend ranked second for completed open-play crosses (119) and that is largely down to the Ghana international.
Their opener came from a whipped Kudus cross into the box that Van de Ven headed across goal for Bentancur to slot home from.
The former West Ham attacker was unlucky to not add to his tally of four assists this season -- joint-highest with Jack Grealish -- late in the first half after Tel failed to convert his inviting cross from a couple of yards out.
Kudus had Lucas Digne's number through the game and was left rueing another stellar performance that failed to translate into a win. -- Shubi Arun
Key stats
Bentancur's opener after 4 minutes and 38 seconds was Tottenham's earliest goal in the Premier League since January -- Solanke scored after 3 minutes and 23 seconds in a home defeat by Newcastle United
Villa have now conceded 3 goals in the first 15 minutes of matches in the Premier League this season -- no team have let in more during this period
Since the start of last season, sides managed by Thomas Frank have scored more Premier League goals in the opening five minutes of games than any other manager (6)
Before his equaliser against Tottenham, Rogers went 20 matches in all competitions without scoring for Aston Villa since his goal away at Paris Saint-Germain in April.
Villa registered their third win in their last four visits to Spurs in the Premier League after earning only three wins in their prior 11
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story