Despite a lively second-half comeback, Tottenham Hotspur were eliminated from the FA Cup following a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa, increasing the scrutiny on manager Thomas Frank.
Frank’s recent troubles were compounded by a troubling week, which included an awkward incident where he was seen using a coffee cup branded with the logo of Spurs’ rivals, Arsenal, just before a 3-2 loss at Bournemouth on Wednesday.
A successful cup campaign last season had provided his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, with some breathing room, but first-half goals from Villa’s Emiliano Buendía and Morgan Rogers contributed to Tottenham’s fourth defeat in their last seven matches.
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Wilson Odobert narrowed the scoreline in the 55th minute, and Spurs pushed for further chances in the second half, but they ultimately fell short, igniting boos from the crowd toward Frank and raising questions about his position.
Tempers flared at the final whistle, but Villa celebrated their 13th win in 15 matches, ensuring Unai Emery’s side remains competitive on multiple fronts.
This had been a tumultuous week for Tottenham, marked by injuries to key players, Frank’s coffee cup controversy, and captain Cristian Romero expressing frustrations towards certain members of the club hierarchy. However, the return of Dominic Solanke to the bench was a slight positive.
Both teams made several changes, but Villa had to make an early substitution when Boubacar Kamara went off with an injury.
Donyell Malen shot just over from distance for the visitors, before Spurs, donning a commemorative kit for the 125th anniversary of their 1901 FA Cup victory, started to gain some momentum.
Odobert tested Villa’s backup goalkeeper Marco Bizot
with a shot before Mathys Tel mishit an attempt. However, Tottenham’s vulnerability was exposed in the 22nd minute when John McGinn passed to Malen, who turned away from Pedro Porro and set up Buendía to score by firing into the roof of the net.
Tottenham’s goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made a spectacular save from a powerful shot by Villa’s full-back Matty Cash, but Frank’s frustrations deepened in the 28th minute when Richarlison had to leave the game with a muscle injury, followed by Randal Kolo Muani taking his place.
Spurs tried to rally, with Danso heading over from a Tel corner, but Kolo Muani had a goal disallowed for offside. Danso then missed another chance before Villa dealt a decisive blow in first-half stoppage time; after a Tel pass was intercepted, Buendía quickly set up Rogers, who bent the ball into the corner of the net.
Boos rang out at half-time as Villa’s fans jeered Frank for the earlier coffee cup incident.
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Tottenham struggled to gain control early on, and after an errant pass from Vicario went unpunished, they began to push back, with Xavi being denied before Ben Davies shooting wide.
They cut the deficit just nine minutes after the break when Kolo Muani reclaimed the ball from Lamare Bogarde and fed Odobert, who calmly slotted it into the bottom corner.
Tottenham’s South Stand erupted, and Xavi nearly equalized, but Bizot made the save, followed by Odobert’s attempt being thwarted by the Villa goalkeeper.
João Palhinha came close next, his curling shot headed wide by Pau Torres. Villa had a chance to secure the victory when Buendía slipped the ball past Vicario, only for Porro to clear it off the line.
Xavi was on the brink of scoring but had his effort ruled out for offside after rounding Bizot.
Solanke was welcomed back onto the pitch to roaring applause for his first appearance since August 23, but Villa stood firm, leading to a full-time melee sparked by Palhinha and Ollie Watkins.