Having made both a winless and scoreless start to the league campaign, unrest was growing at Tottenham, so it was imperative they made a fast start to this game.
They were left wondering exactly what they had to do to break their scoring duck for the season on 10 minutes when Savio was left free at the far post and forced Zion Suzuki into an impressive double save.
The Villa stopper was a busy man in the opening exchanges, denying first-half Spurs substitute Archie Gray with his feet just moments before he had to be alert once more to beat away Savio’s volley from the edge of the area.
For all Spurs’ early pressure, they were almost left red-faced, as after losing the ball in their own box, Emiliano Buendia came tantalisingly close to firing the visitors in front when his fierce drive was turned behind by Antonin Kinsky.
Nicolas Jackson fired in another warning shot moments later when he flashed an effort just wide, but Tottenham hit back with one of their own as Sandro Tonali’s rocket from 30 yards drifted inches just off-target.
And the hosts’ worst fears were realised on the stroke of half-time, when Boubacar Kamara’s miscued strike was turned home from close range by Johan Manzambi.
Introducing Mohamed Kudus at the break was a clear signal that De Zerbi was largely unhappy with what he’d seen in the first half, but his change didn’t necessarily spark the reaction he’d have hoped for.
Spurs needed Kinsky to bail them out within 10 minutes of the restart when he denied Jackson one-on-one as frustration started to build in north London.
The pressure seemed to be relieved on the hour mark when Tottenham thought they’d finally scored, yet half-time substitute Kudus saw his effort ruled out after Andy Robertson had strayed offside in the build-up.
Their misery was compounded a little over five minutes later when Villa doubled their advantage against the run of play.
It was Jackson who grabbed it against one of his favourite opponents, squeezing an effort into the bottom corner despite Kinsky getting a hand to his strike.
Things got even worse 11 minutes from time, thanks to Buendia’s 25-yard rocket, which flew into the top corner, a goal that was greeted by a mass exodus and a chorus of boos.
Scoring their first goal of the season was a small saving grace for Spurs, who did manage to score twice in the closing stages when Conor Gallagher’s strike deflected in off Matty Cash, before Jan Paul van Hecke headed home with the last kick of the game.
However, it certainly won’t be enough to appease the Spurs fans, who will hope De Zerbi can remedy their issues across the three-week international break.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa)
