{
  "id": 8487938,
  "title": "Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa: What De Zerbi said",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/tottenham-2-3-aston-villa-what-de-zerbi-said",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-19T15:42:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tottenham-2-3-aston-villa-150808904.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi spoke to BBC Match of the Day, lamenting his team's 2-3 defeat against Aston Villa. He stated that the victory had already been sealed before goals from De Zerbi and Villa's Jamie Paterson. De Zerbi criticized the team's performance, saying they failed to communicate effectively and stayed like a family. He also mentioned a disallowed Tottenham goal due to an offside decision, indicating better focus was needed. De Zerbi emphasized the importance of putting more effort onto the pitch and noted that football requires tactical play, blood, fighting, and being the first one on the ball. He took full responsibility for the loss and expressed the need for improvement in the team's behavior. De Zerbi questioned the timing of the international break, suggesting the team isn't fortunate enough to deserve luck at this moment. He urged the players to reflect on whether this period is suitable for an international break. The article also notes that Tottenham has lost 22 home league games since the start of the 2024-25 season, tying their previous four seasons combined. Additionally, the team has not won any of their last 48 games in all competitions where they conceded the opening goal, with 37 of those games occurring in the Premier League. Tottenham has the worst start to a Premier League season after five games, with two points and a goal difference of -6, surpassing their 2008-09 start of two points and a -3 goal difference.",
  "summary": "Second goal, we have the offside decision [disallowing Spurs' goal] but the focus had to be better. This is Spurs' worst start to a Premier League season after five games, with two points and a goal difference of -6, eclipsing their 2008-09 start (2 points, -3 goal difference).",
  "key_points": [
    "Tottenham lost 2-3 to Aston Villa in a crucial Premier League match.",
    "Roberto De Zerbi criticized team communication and performance.",
    "De Zerbi questioned the impact of the international break timing on the team's performance."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}