Aston Villa v Tottenham player ratings: Lucas Moura superb for Spurs as Ollie Watkins extends goal drought

A 2-0 win at Villa Park moves Spurs up to sixth in the Premier League, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea

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  ASTON VILLA PLAYER RATINGS: Emiliano Martinez 5 – It was from his poor clearance that Moura and Kane combined to set up Vinicius for the opener. He could do little about Kane’s penalty, but saved well from Hojbjerg with 13 minutes left on the clock. Reuters

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  Matty Cash 5 – Looked dangerous going forward in the first half. He had an excellent chance when he had the ball in the Spurs area, but his cutback to Trezeguet was blocked. He was then guilty of bringing down Kane for the penalty which effectively killed the game. Getty Images

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  Ezri Konsa 6 – Beaten for pace by Vinicius for the opening goal, but was a calm presence throughout. He showed good strength to muscle Bergwijn off the ball late on. AP

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  Tyrone Mings 6 – Got in the way of a Kane shot and was solid alongside Konsa. The stand-in skipper did little wrong. AFP

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  Matt Targett 5 – Managed to get on the end of a deep cross but was conflicted and neither shot nor crossed the ball. Kept Lo Celso quiet in the first half but struggled when up against Moura in the second. EPA

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  Morgan Sanson 5 – Looked very busy in the opening exchanges and was involved in and around the Spurs box with Villa on top. As Spurs came into the game, his influence waned. AP

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  Douglas Luiz 5 – Started strongly but went missing in the second half as the home side went more direct in search of a goal. EPA

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  John McGinn 5 – Played in a deeper role and couldn’t quite get into the game. His passing range was off and he was booked for a late challenge after the break. EPA

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  Bertrand Traore 6 – Gave away a cheap corner at one end, and was guilty of failing to get the ball over the first man when taking a corner at the other. Looked dangerous in the first half and got in behind Reguilon on more than one occasion. PA

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  Ollie Watkins 5 – Had one shot blocked and didn’t look likely to end his run of six games without a goal. Was well marshalled by Rodon and Sanchez. AP

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  Trezeguet 4 – The Egyptian was poor, particularly in the first half. He struggled to control the ball or to make any kind of impact when going forward. EPA

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  SUBS: Anwar El Ghazi (Traore, 60) 5 – Came close with a shot moments after coming up and added another dimension to Villa’s attacking play. AFP

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  Ross Barkley (Sanson) 5 – In the 300th game of his club career he came on and had a shot blocked by Tanganga. AP

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  Keinan Davies (Trezeguet, 78) N/A – Made one dangerous attacking run into the Spurs box after coming on as Villa chased the game. Getty Images

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  TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR PLAYER RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 6 – Had a very quiet evening, which will have delighted him after Thursday night’s defeat in Zagreb. He had a couple of routine saves to make and commanded his box well at crosses. EPA

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  Japhet Tanganga 7 – Solid at the back and made a great lung-busting block to deny a Watkins shot in the last 10 minutes. Looked to drift into the centre, which sometimes exposed the right hand side in the second half. EPA

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  Joe Rodon 5 – After a slightly tentative start he grew into the game. He blocked a shot from Trezeguet and restricted the striker to few moments of note around the Spurs box. AP

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  Davinson Sanchez 6 – Caught on the wrong side on several occasions, luckily none of which lead to any goalscoring chances. Grew in confidence as the game went on, but might have been punished by better opposition. EPA

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  Sergio Reguilon 5 – Forced off early after a heavy challenge, Reguilon had looked dangerous going forward but was exposed several times in his own half. His crossing also wasn’t up to its usual quality. EPA

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  Lucas Moura 8 – Superb in the centre and it was from his attacking runs that Spurs looked a threat. Got an assist for the opening goal and caused Villa no end of problems with his pace. EPA

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  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 6 – Came close to scoring late on when he stung the hands of Martinez. Had looked tired throughout, but guarded his back four admirably. PA

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  Tanguy Ndombele 6 – Another player who looked tired in the second half, but was comfortable on the ball and often found bringing the ball out of the back despite being pressed by the home side. AFP

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  Giovani Lo Celso 6 – Linked well with Tanganga in the first half but his propensity to drift inside in the second left gaps for Villa to exploit. Getty Images

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  Carlos Vinicius 6 – Scored the opening goal that changed the nature of the game, which was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time. AFP

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  Harry Kane 7 – Looked a bit leggy throughout, but combined well with Moura for the opening goal and then despatched his penalty when brought down. EPA

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  SUBS: Ben Davies (Reguilon, 56) 7 – Brought a solidity to the left-back position and made a number of important interceptions. EPA

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  Steven Bergwijn (Lo Celso, 66) 6 – Broke free on the counter on one occasion but he was outmuscled by Konsa and gave up the ball too easily. AP

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  Moussa Sissoko (Ndombele, 81) N/A – Came on to give Ndombele’s legs a rest but was casual in his workload. AFP

Tottenham Hotspur ended a difficult week on a high note after a 2-0 win at Aton Villa kept their Premier League top four hopes very much alive on Sunday.

Carlos Vinicius's first league goal for the club, a 29th-minute tap-in, gave Tottenham a halftime lead and Harry Kane's penalty sealed the points for Jose Mourinho's side.

Tottenham's sixth successive away league win against Villa moved them above Everton and Liverpool into sixth with 48 points from 29 games, three behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

It was quite a turnaround for Tottenham who were heavily criticised for their performance in last weekend's north London derby defeat by Arsenal and castigated after crashing out of the Europa League with a 3-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.

Villa, who were again without captain and playmaker Jack Grealish, started well but were unable to work Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who barely had a save to make. They stay in 10th spot with 41 points.

Following the game at Villa Park, Nick Judd has provided his player ratings in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.