Tottenham Hotspur came from 1-0 down to defeat Aston Villa 4-1 and claim three huge points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Morgan Rogers' first half goal gave the visitors the lead after Spurs failed to deal with a Lucas Digne corner.

In the second half, though, they found their feet, with Brennan Johnson equalising immediately before a late brace from Dominic Solanke all-but secured the victory.

Deep into added time, substitute James Maddison put the cherry on top of an impressive win, dispatching a fantastic free kick into the top corner to make it four goals and three points for the hosts.

As it happened On a weekend of missed opportunities, Aston Villa knew they couldn't let this one slip. With Arsenal and Manchester City both falling to shock defeats on Saturday, Unai Emery's side couldn't pass up on this chance to cement themselves in the top four - and keep themselves within sight of Liverpool at the top in the process.

For Spurs, though, every game is a necessary three points. Sat in 10th before kick-off, they knew a win could see them rise as high as seventh in the table, with their inconsistency over recent weeks having left their European fate up in the air. Once more on what felt ever more like a very important weekend at the top of the table, both sides found themselves fighting for an extremely important set of three points.

Neither side could really grasp control over proceedings in its early stages, though. Both sides were limited to speculative efforts from distance; Morgan Rogers was the first to try his luck in the third minute, ballooning a strike well over the crossbar.

From then on, it was more of the same. Pape Matar Sarr would try from outside the area, only to crash his effort into a crowd of Villa bodies. Then it was the turn of Rodrigo Bentancur, his effort dipping a tad too late to nestle under the crossbar. Jacob Ramsey would try next, with his strike deflected out for a corner. Both sides seemed devoid of any real ideas throughout much of the first half.

It wasn't until the corner which came from Ramsey's strike that there was any kind of real opening. After Spurs initially cleared the danger, the ball found itself at the feet of Lucas Digne in the perfect position to whip in a deep cross. In it went, Amadou Onana the target. His resulting header was low and hard - and crashed off the post. This was by far the closest either side had come to taking the lead, and it came on the half-hour mark.

This, however, was a case of foreshadowing for Spurs. They failed to deal with one cross, and two minutes later they'd do the same, this time with dire consequences.

It was a defensive nightmare. Digne once more swept in a corner towards the near post, where Pedro Porro was waiting to meet it. Instead of clearing the danger, though, all he could do was flick it towards his own goalkeeper. Guglielmo Vicario could do little more than parry the ball back into the danger zone, and Rogers couldn't believe his luck, smashing the ball into an all-but empty net.

They could well have gone two down ten minutes later, too. Rogers was involved once again, this time slipping Ollie Watkins in behind. This was his first real opening of the game, but on his weaker left foot he could only slide his effort well wide of the far post.

By this point, Spurs were desperate for the half-time whistle. They needed to reevaluate; they needed to formulate a new plan. Luckily for them, whatever Ange Postecoglu came up with at the break clearly had an effect.

Only four minutes into the second half, they created by far their best chance of the game. Heung-Min Son, who had been quiet thus far, showed up in style, taking on Matty Cash down the byline and swinging in a fantastically inviting cross. No one in claret and blue picked it up, allowing Brennan Johnson to drift in at the back post and tap the ball home for his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

Thanks to constant stoppages through injury and substitution, there was no real ebb and flow throughout much of the second half. Openings after that missed chance were few and far between, with John McGinn smashing a hopeful first-time strike over the bar on 55 minutes and Sarr trying his luck from distance in the 67th. There were still no clear-cut chances. That was until the 75th minute.

Spurs forayed forwards and Dejan Kulusevski carried the ball. Once he reached the edge of the box, he looked up and saw Solanke darting in behind. One pass later, the striker was through on goal, with Martinez rushing out to meet him. He couldn't go round him. He couldn't go through him. He had to go over him. It was a glorious dink into the back of the net. A minute-long VAR check followed, and the goal was given. Spurs, after going behind once more, were in front at home.

With the floodgates now opened and Solanke's shooting boots laced, Spurs were hungry for more. When Pau Torres gave the ball away in midfield - a loose pass picked up by Sarr - the hosts knew they were in again. The Senegalese international played through Richarlison, who squared the ball into the area. Again, the Villa defence didn't pick anyone up, allowing Solanke to drift in at the back post and make it three, a goal not entirely different to their first of the night.

With ten minutes of time added on, there was still plenty of time for more drama. When Solanke went down on the edge of the Villa penalty area and Maddison standing over the resulting free kick, the visitors knew they were in trouble. Taking a very short run up, he curled his strike into the top corner with utter panache. Martinez was rooted; Spurs were flying. Three goals to the good meant three points in the bag - a very valuable three points at that.

History repeated itself. Just as Arsenal and Manchester City did on Saturday, Aston Villa failed to cement their status at the top of the table. A win would've taken them up to third; the eventual defeat left them in fifth, still behind Arsenal and even Nottingham Forest. With a trip to Anfield looming next weekend, things may well be getting harder before they get easier.

Spurs needed this win, though, especially after losing to Crystal Palace in their previous game. With Ipswich Town on the horizon, their push for the top six and beyond has finally been kickstarted.

The lineups TOT: Vicario; Udogie, Dragusin, Romero, Porro; Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Son, Solanke, Johnson

AVI: Martinez; Digne, Torres, Konsa, Cash; Tielemans, Onana; Ramsey, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins

Harvey Hodgson

Premier League & International Football Editor