Tottenham’s next game, away to second-placed London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, will reveal more about their credentials.
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Dembele immediately provided Garde with an indication of Villa’s problems as he outmuscled Ciaran Clark after collecting the ball on the left-hand side and fired a low shot under the legs of Brad Guzan at the near post.
He will watch Villa at White Hart Lane on Monday evening even if his role has not been rubber-stamped by the club before kick-off.
Garde took his seat in the directors’ box with a pensive expression and if he was in any doubt about the size of the task facing him, the former Arsenal midfielder was given a glaring example of Villa’s numerous flaws in the third minute.
Joleon Lescott’s loose header fell his way and the talented 19-year-old showed a maturity beyond his years to tee up his right-footed shot and find the bottom-left corner.
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose (Davies 82); Dier, Alli (Onomah 89); Lamela, Dembele (Mason 69), Eriksen; Kane.
“Obviously we have a hard task in front of us but I’m looking forward to the challenge with the support of everyone who loves Aston Villa”.
Tottenham continued their climb and Mauricio Pochettio believes his young side are learning their lessons. As it was, Spurs were left hanging on before Harry Kane completed the win in injury time.
Why was Ayew not starting? “You just hope there is no change in how they look at the game and no disruption to the career they wanted”.
Telling the fans that he was “here to do my best”, Garde said that he was “quite confident” of succeeding, particularly due to the fact that there are “very good players in this team”.
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Lerner introduced Frenchman Garde as their new manager following seven successive defeats.
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Lerner is desperate for Garde to “harvest this talent” and ensure Villa do not “buckle under pressure and criticism”. Villa got their just reward with a goal a minute after when Ayew pounced on a loose ball from Alli and saw his deflected shot leave Lloris stranded and produce an exciting finish to the game. “I’ll tell him he’s got something to work with”.
