Tottenham Hotspur 3 Aston Villa 1
Remi Garde's first match as manager of Aston Villa ended in defeat with Tottenham cantering to a 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane. It was a record-equalling seventh straight Premier League defeat for the visitors, and if Garde - who looked on from the stands - was unsure of the challenge he's accepted in replacing Tim Sherwood as manager he now has a clearer idea.
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Dele Alli doubled Spurs advantage at the end of the first half, controlling Joleon Lescott's clearance before thumping the ball into the Villa net from the edge of the area.
Villa improved in the second half and got a goal back on 79 minutes through Jordan Ayew but Harry Kane sealed the win for Spurs in stoppage time, the England striker scoring his fifth goal in five games. The win moves Spurs into fifth, above West Ham on goal difference and just a point behind Manchester United, while Villa have to regroup for Sunday's visit of league leaders Manchester City.
Garde, the former Arsenal defender, had only been confirmed as Villa's new manager on Monday afternoon with the official Villa Twitter feed making an unfortunate faux pas and mispelling his name as it welcomed 'Remy' to the club.
The 49-year-old former Lyon coach has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Villa although the odds that he'll see out his contract must be long. He is Villa's fifth manager in five years and has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of a club experiencing their worst-ever start to a top-flight season.
"It's an unbelievable honour to be the manager of such an illustrious football club," he declared on Monday afternoon. "I've had extremely positive meetings with both the owner, Randy Lerner, and chief executive, Tom Fox. They have ambitious plans for the club and I'm excited they've turned to me to help realise them. Obviously we have a difficult task in front of us but I'm looking forward to the challenge with the support of everyone who loves Aston Villa."
Garde begins work today with his new squad, a relief no doubt for Kevin MacDonald, Villa's caretaker manager, who oversaw the trip to Tottenham. "When you're bottom of the league there's always a lack of belief and confidence, particularly with young players, but they have to toughen up," said MacDonald after the defeat. "The one thing Remi Garde has is a group of players with a tremendous work ethic. He was a cultured player himself and these players need to take a bit more care on the ball. "