The Frenchman barely had time to take his seat in the stands
before Mousa Dembele was off celebrating after giving
Spurs the lead inside five minutes.
Dele Alli doubled the advantage in added time of the first
half before Villa finally got a goal through Jordan Ayew.
That gave the visitors the belief for a grandstand finish
but it was Harry Kane who got the next goal meaning Villa stay bottom of the Premier League with
only four points from 11 games.
If Garde was not already aware of the monumental task he had
on his hands with Villa, he was after only three minutes when Dembele gave
Spurs the lead.
Dembele outmuscled Ciaran Clark far too easily down the left
channel, before strolling unchallenged into the box and firing the ball through
Brad Guzan’s legs to leave Garde speechless in the directors’ box.
Ten minutes in and Villa finally showed some signs of life
as Scott Sinclair stung the hands of Hugo Lloris
before Jack Grealish volleyed wide of the near post.
Despite losing, Villa seemed to adopt a 4-6-0 formation
which managed to prevent any further clear-cut chances for Spurs, until Harry
Kane saw his header tipped over before Danny Rose’s shot ended up on the roof
of the net from the subsequent corner.
Villa’s woes worsened seconds before half time when Alli
doubled Spurs’ lead with a neat control and volley after Joleon Lescott’s
heading clearance fell straight to him on the edge of the area.
Garde was visible in his condemnation for his new players as
he was pictured shaking his head while Villa trudged off the White Hart Lane
turf.
Caretaker manager and former Swindon boss Kevin MacDonald must have said something to his
side at the break because Villa’s defence improved as they managed to disrupt
all that Spurs attempted to muster, but neither side managed to conjure any
real efforts on goal.
Christian Eriksen
had a couple of attempts from free kicks around the Villa box, but his radar
was off on both occasions as he cannoned the ball into the wall with one and
missed the target with the other.
Substitute Gil had an opportunity to set up a nervy finish
for the hosts but his shot smacked back off the post even though Lloris was
beaten.
However Ayew did set up a frantic finish when he stole the
ball from Ryan Mason before seeing his shot end up in the back of the net, via
a Jan Vertonghen deflection.
And Rudi Gestede was inches away from drawing Villa level
with seven minutes remaining as he beat Lloris in the air but his header was
just off target.
Villa finally began to look like a team who wanted to win
the game but a breakaway move finished well by Kane in the 93rd minute for his
fourth goal in two games to put Spurs fifth.
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