Emiliano Buendia the Super-Sub Sinks Spurs in Another Classic Tottenham Collapse

Just when you thought it was safe to be a Tottenham fanup steps Emiliano Buendia. They pull a classic Spursy performance out of the bag. A brilliant start, a lead within five minutes, and the sweet, sweet smell of second place in the Premier League table. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything, apparently. Aston Villa, looking like a team that actually remembers how to play for 90 minutes, staged an impressive comeback to win 2-1, thanks to a beautiful late winner from substitute Buendia.

For the Tottenham faithful, this is a story they’ve seen a million times. For everyone else, it’s just another Sunday afternoon soap opera in North London.

How Tottenham Managed to Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Let’s set the scene. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was buzzing. Fans were dreaming big. Just five minutes in, Rodrigo Bentancur pounced on a header from Joao Palhinha to give Spurs the lead. It was a dream start, the kind that makes you think, “Maybe, just maybe, this is our year.” Mohammed Kudus even thought he’d doubled the lead moments later, but the killjoy offside flag had other ideas.

But this is Aston Villa we’re talking about, a team on a seven-match unbeaten streak, and they clearly didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to roll over. Against the run of play, Morgan Rogers decided to remind everyone why he’s suddenly in the England conversation. 

In the 37th minute, he danced past a defender and unleashed a dipping, swerving rocket from the edge of the box that left goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario grasping at thin air. It was a moment of sheer brilliance, the kind of goal that silences a stadium and makes you wonder if Jude Bellingham should be looking over his shoulder. Okay, maybe not, but Rogers is certainly having a moment.

Enter Buendia, Stage Left

The second half was a tense affair. Both teams had their chances, but it was Villa who looked more likely to find a winner. Unai Emery, presumably tired of watching his team create chances without finishing them, decided to shake things up. On came Emiliano Buendia for Evann Guessand in the 60th minute. It was a move that would prove to be a stroke of genius.

With just 13 minutes left on the clock, as the game seemed destined for a draw, Buendia delivered the final, crushing blow. Matty Cash played a fantastic pass to Lucas Digne, who laid it off perfectly for the Argentine. Buendia took one touch, looked up, and curled a sublime low shot into the far corner, right in front of the delirious away fans. The scenes were electric. The silence from the home crowd was deafening. It was a dagger to the heart of every Spurs supporter, and a moment of pure ecstasy for the traveling Villa army.

Brennan Johnson had a golden opportunity to salvage a point in stoppage time, but in true Tottenham fashion, he blazed it over the bar. The final whistle blew, confirming another home defeat for Spurs and leaving them to ponder what might have been.

What Does This All Mean For Spurs and Buendia?

For Aston Villa, this is massive. They’ve now won five straight matches and rocketed up to 10th in the table. After a sluggish start to the season, Emery’s men are clicking, and with fixtures against Manchester City and Liverpool on the horizon, this win gives them a huge dose of confidence. They showed grit, quality, and the kind of killer instinct that separates the good teams from the… well, from Tottenham.

As for Spurs, it’s the same old story. They’ve now dropped more points from winning positions at home than any other team since the start of last season. It’s a statistic that screams “mentally fragile.” The loss of Cristian Romero to an injury in the warm-up didn’t help, but one player can’t be the excuse for a collective collapse. They would have gone second with a win; instead, they’re left licking their wounds in sixth place, wondering how it all went so wrong, so quickly. Again.

So, while Villa fans and Buendia celebrate a hard-earned victory and dream of climbing even higher, Tottenham are left with that all-too-familiar feeling of disappointment. It was a sobering afternoon that proves, once again, that in the Premier League, it’s not how you start, but how you finish. And lately, Spurs just can’t seem to finish.