Tottenham concede first for 10th game in a row in Premier League loss to Aston Villa

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte looks dejected during his side's 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tottenham have endured a miserable start to 2023 with Sunday's 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa and their recent issues have been summed up by one sorry statistic.

Antonio Conte's side fell behind five minutes into the second half to an Emi Buendia goal following a mistake by Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

That was the 10th time in a row that Tottenham had conceded first and their afternoon did not improve as Douglas Luiz made it 2-0 with 17 minutes left to complete a deserved victory for Unai Emery's side.

Spurs have gone behind in each of their last seven Premier League games – against Manchester United, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Leeds, Brentford and now Aston Villa – and only two of those have been converted into wins.

Tottenham also conceded first at home to Sporting CP and away to Marseille in the Champions League, drawing the first fixture 1-1 and winning the second 2-1.

And Conte's side were then beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup in November.

In total, that is 10 straight games in which they have let in the first goal and such sloppiness is surely unsustainable for a team with aspirations of finishing in the top four. 

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.