Tottenham inflicted a chastening 4-0 home defeat on 10-man Aston Villa as Ange Postecoglou’s men emphatically won this key battle in the race for Champions League qualification.

Sunday’s crunch clash between fourth and fifth was described in the build-up by Villa skipper John McGinn as “the most important game in the club’s recent history”.

Unai Emery’s men had the chance to move eight points clear of Spurs in the final guaranteed Champions League spot, but instead the hosts’ captain saw red in an embarrassing second-half collapse.

Tottenham moved within two points of Villa with a win that started with James Maddison turning home a brilliant Pape Matar Sarr cross in the 50th minute.

Brennan Johnson scored a fantastic second three minutes later and McGinn’s rash, frustrated challenge on Destiny Udogie led to a straight red card that ended Villa hopes of a comeback.

Son Heung-min and substitute Timo Werner struck in stoppage time as Spurs secured a statement win in the Midlands, ending Villa’s run of three straight Premier League wins in this fixture.

The players emerged to smoke and pyrotechnics at Villa Park but there were no first-half fireworks to write about.

Ollie Watkins threatened to punish Spurs’ high line early on, with Micky van de Ven’s recovery pace bailing out Cristian Romero after the in-form striker burst past beyond him.

Another example of that approach saw Watkins slipped through before the offside flag saved the Villa striker’s blushes after his undercooked pass to Leon Bailey was cut out by Pedro Porro.

Guglielmo Vicario punched away a testing McGinn free-kick and Matty Cash prodded wide after a cutback was blocked, while at the other end Villa’s five-man defence was keeping Spurs’ attack quiet.

Villa went close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time from a short corner. The ball was laid back for McGinn to hit a well-struck cross and Lucas Digne’s flicked header looped narrowly wide.

Postecoglou’s men escaped that threat and came back from the break with a pep in their step, and not even Van de Ven’s early withdrawal could throw them off kilter.

The injured Tottenham defender had to be replaced by Radu Dragusin and headed down the tunnel just as his team-mates and the away end burst into celebration behind him.

Sarr hit an outstanding cross from the right that Maddison met ahead of a pair of Villa defenders to turn home in the 50th minute.

The Spurs man wheeled off to celebrate with the away end, then turned to the home fans when bringing out his darts celebration.

The visiting hordes were on their feet again three minutes later as Ezri Konsa’s poor pass to Tielemans was cut out brilliantly by Dejan Kulusevski, with Son collecting the ball and playing on to Johnson to brilliantly bend beyond Emiliano Martinez.

Emery responded by changing personnel and shape, only to be derailed by McGinn’s dismissal in the 65th minute.

The frustrated Villa skipper wiped out Udogie with a stupid tackle, leading to a clash involving both teams as referee Chris Kavanagh brandished a straight red card.

“2-0 in your cup final” bellowed the gleeful travelling fans, who saw Kulusevski try to add a third as they cruised against the 10-man hosts.

Vicario spread himself to stop substitute Nicolo Zaniolo but Tottenham were in control and struck twice more late on.

Son lashed home from Kulusevski’s pass in the 91st minute and substitute Werner completed the rout four minutes into the additional 10 as the home fans cleared out.

Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham: Player ratings as Spurs run riot in top-four thrashing

James Maddison and Brennan Johnson scored early in the second half
John McGinn was sent off for wild hack before Son Heung-min and Timo Werner made it 4-0
Just two points between the two sides in race for top-four finish
Four second-half goals helped Tottenham land an important win at ten-player Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon to cut the gap between the teams to two points in the race for fourth place in the Premier League.

An intriguing but chance-less match burst into life as Spurs scored twice in four minutes in the second half before their job was made easier by a senseless challenge from John McGinn that saw the Scottish midfielder sent off.
Tottenham scored two more in second-half stoppage time and remain fifth but rise within two points of Unai Emery's Villans with a game in hand.

How the game unfolded
Much anticipation was in the air at Villa Park as two enterprising sides strode out for a crucial meeting in the hunt for Champions League qualification. Villa brought in McGinn, Leon Bailey and Matty Cash in three changes from Thursday night's Conference League draw with Ajax, while Tottenham welcomed back Pedro Porro from injury as Pape Matar Sarr and Brennan Johnson also started.However, for all the pre-match expectation, no shots on target arrived in the first 45 minutes.

Villa looked weary and without a spark in the opening exchanges, though Spurs couldn't create any openings despite their dominance in possession.

Micky van de Ven, Porro, and Cristian Romero all made important recovery tackles when Villa sprung on the counter, but it wasn't until a dizzying opening 15 minutes of the second half when some proper action would finally arrive.
Barely moments after Van de Ven was forced off by injury, the visitors went ahead. Porro and Dejan Kulusevski combined before Sarr was sent scampering down the right hand side. The midfielder's cross reached James Maddison, who was on hand to bundle in just his fourth Premier League goal of the season.

The Villa Park crowd was far from its most vociferous and then deathly hush became that much more pronounced when Postecoglou's side capitalised on careless passing at the back from the hosts to extend their lead.

Kulusevski stole in ahead of Youri Tielemans and found Son, who waited for Brennan Johnson to arrive before feeding the Welshman who lifted his shot over Emiliano Martinez for 2-0.
Villa's home form was the stuff of legend during the first half of the season but Tottenham's clinical finishing suddenly saw Emery starting down a third league defeat in four outings at Villa Park, having won nine of their first ten.

That frustration boiled over rather explicity when McGinn saw red. The Scotland international caught Destiny Udogie with a wild challenge nowhere near the ball, prompting outrage from Spurs, and was dismissed to leave his side with little hope for the final half hour.

Tottenham began asserting themselves even more in possession, getting decent opportunities to score through Son and Kulusevski that went begging.Villa still threw punches here and there and Guglielmo Vicario into a brave save in the 84th minute, the Italian sprawling at the feet of substitute Nicolo Zaniolo and getting a boot to the head from his compatriot in return.

However, they were hit on the break twice in stoppage time as Son Heung-min converted before Timo Werner got in on the act to make it 4-0.

Aston Villa player ratings (3-5-2)