Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 3–2 defeat to Aston Villa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, September 19, but one of the biggest talking points was Mohammed Kudus’ disallowed goal.
Spurs started the match brightly and created several opportunities, with Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki making important saves to keep the visitors in the game. Tottenham appeared to be gaining momentum, but their problems began just before half-time.
Villa take the lead
Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven was temporarily off the pitch receiving treatment for a cut below his eye. While Spurs were down to 10 men, Villa capitalised.
Johan Manzambi, making his first Premier League start for Villa, reacted quickest inside the box and scored in the 45+4th minute, giving Unai Emery’s side a 1–0 lead at half-time.
Kudus goal ruled out
Roberto De Zerbi introduced Mohammed Kudus at half-time, and the Ghanaian appeared to have finally ended Tottenham’s long wait for a Premier League goal.
Kudus put the ball into the net in the 60th minute, but the celebrations were short-lived. VAR checked the build-up and determined that Andy Robertson was in an offside position before the ball reached Kudus.
The goal was therefore disallowed. Match-event records also list the decision specifically as “Goal Disallowed – offside.”
The decision generated frustration among Spurs supporters, who felt the marginal offside call had denied their team a potential route back into the game. However, the available match reporting confirms that the stated reason for the decision was offside in the build-up, rather than Tottenham’s injury-related substitution rule.
Villa punish Spurs
Instead of Tottenham equalising, Villa increased their advantage.
Nicolas Jackson made it 2–0 in the 67th minute after combining with Manzambi before finishing past Antonín Kinský. Jackson’s goal was followed by another excellent finish from Emiliano Buendía, who fired into the top corner from distance in the 79th minute.
Tottenham were suddenly 3–0 down.
Late Spurs comeback
Spurs eventually found the breakthrough they had been searching for all afternoon.
Conor Gallagher scored in the 86th minute after Kudus provided the assist, finally ending Tottenham’s Premier League scoring drought.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Jean-Paul van Hecke headed home to make it 3–2. But there was no time for Tottenham to find an equaliser, and Villa held on for their first Premier League victory of the season.
The defeat leaves Tottenham with two points from five league matches and still without a Premier League win, while Villa moved onto four points.
The result has intensified the pressure surrounding De Zerbi and his Tottenham side, while the disallowed Kudus goal has become another major talking point among frustrated Spurs supporters.
