Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz scored the goals as Aston Villa recorded a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on New Year's Day.
Unai Emery's side took the lead in the 50th minute through Buendia before Luiz doubled their advantage in the 73rd minute to make it a miserable afternoon for the hosts.
The result has left Spurs in fifth spot in the Premier League table, two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, having played a game more than the Red Devils, while Villa are 12th, boasting 21 points from their opening 17 games of the campaign.
Villa had a half-chance in the ninth minute when Ollie Watkins beat the offside trap before breaking into the Spurs box, but the forward dragged his effort wide of the post.
The returning Cristian Romero was booked in the 28th minute of the match for clattering into the back of Watkins, and the untidiness of the challenge represented what was happening on the field, with Tottenham really struggling to carve out openings against Emery's side.
Clement Lenglet was then booked for pulling Leon Bailey to the ground during a Villa break, with Spurs wary of the threat that their opponents could pose on the transition.
Ben Davies completed the set in terms of Tottenham defenders on a yellow card in the 37th minute for a late challenge on Villa's Ashley Young, who prevented a Harry Kane header from finding the back of the net five minutes before the end of the first half, when he threw himself at the ball in a brilliant piece of defensive work.
Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen did well to beat Kane to a loose ball in the closing stages of the first half before Buendia fired wide down the other end, and a frustrating opening 45 minutes for Spurs ended all square, with the supporters unhappy with what they were seeing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The visitors made the breakthrough in the 50th minute of the contest when Buendia picked out the bottom corner with a composed finish after Hugo Lloris had a spilled a long-range Luiz effort; Watkins was first on the scene, setting up Buendia, who found the back of the net.
Ivan Perisic had a golden chance to level the scores in the 57th minute, but the Croatian lifted the ball over the crossbar following a dangerous delivery from Yves Bissouma.
Watkins then had a strike blocked in the 64th minute after again finding space inside the Tottenham box following strong work from John McGinn.
Kane passed up a good chance to level the scores in the 68th minute, scooping over the crossbar from a strong position inside the Villa penalty area.
The visitors then doubled their lead in the 73rd minute when Luiz collected an excellent pass from McGinn before finding the back of the net with a clever finish.
There was still time for Tottenham to launch a response, but it was a highly frustrating afternoon for Antonio Conte's side, who struggled to make their mark in the final third of the field.
Not even the seven additional minutes provided a chance for Spurs to produce a late comeback, with Villa comfortably easing their way to a huge victory in North London.
Next up for Spurs in the Premier League is a trip to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, while Villa will be bidding to build on the strong result when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on the same night. body check tags ::
