Premier League Results: Gameweek 8 - Spurs move to fifth spot with a 2-0 win against Aston Villa

Roberto Soldado of Spurs (R) celebrates scoring their second goal with Paulinho of Spurs during the Barclays Premier League match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park on October 20, 2013 in Birmingham, England.

Goals from Andros Townsend and Roberto Soldado, first from open-play, helped Tottenham Hotspur register a comfortable 2-0 victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park despite not looking entirely convincing as Andre Villas-Boas is still trying to figure out the best way forward with the influx of new talents.

The game was off to a dull start as both the teams remained compact at the back with the rain not making the game-play any easier. The fact that Spurs were patient in their build up with a number of short passes in their own half did not help either. The first action of the game came when Ashley Westwood’s free-kick forced Hugo Lloris to make an outstanding save to deny the opener. The visitors continued to be reluctant moving forward and out of nowhere, Andros Townsend found the back of the net in the 31st minute of the game when his intended cross eluded the team mates only to beat the Villa goalkeeper.

Both the sides had decent chances to score, Townsend came close to scoring a double, but could not convert them as the first half came to an end. Villa put in number of balls in the Spurs area and could have considered them a bit unlucky to head into the break trailing by one goal to nil.

Brad Guzan, after making a brilliant save to deny Roberto Soldado’s flick as soon as the second half resumed, could not do much when Paulinho again found the Spaniard with a delicate touch in the 69th minute to double the lead. The second goal came in as a hammer blow for the home team, as they were gaining momentum after the introduction of Christian Benteke who seemed to induce the spark that was lacking at Villa Park.

Townsend somehow managed to keep his energy levels high, while it was quite visible that the rest of his team mates were slowing down the pace, and could have done more damage to the scoreline. It was not required though as Spurs moved to fifth spot with the win.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Bacuna, Vlaar, Baker, Luna, El Ahmadi, Westwood, Delph, Weimann, Kozak, Agbonlahor. Subs: Steer, Helenius, Sylla, Benteke, Bowery, Tonev, Lowton

Spurs: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Vertonghen, Paulinho, Sandro, Townsend, Holtby, Sigurdsson, Soldado. Subs: Lennon, Defoe, Dembele, Friedel, Naughton, Eriksen, Lamela.