--- title: "Aston Villa Player Ratings vs Tottenham: Manzambi & Buendía Star in 3-2 Thriller" canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/aston-villa-player-ratings-tottenham-manzambi/" type: "post" language: "en-GB" author: "James Chettle" section: "Aston Villa News" published: "2026-09-19T14:06:10Z" modified: "2026-10-10T21:46:11Z" --- # Aston Villa Player Ratings vs Tottenham: Manzambi & Buendía Star in 3-2 Thriller Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory of the season with a dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Johan Manzambi rewarded Unai Emery’s faith by opening the scoring before combining with Nicolas Jackson for Villa’s second. Emiliano Buendía then produced a superb third goal which appeared to have completely settled the contest. Tottenham struck twice late on through Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke, but Villa survived the frantic finish to secure three desperately needed points. The full story of the afternoon can be found in our [Tottenham 2-3 Aston Villa match report](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/tottenham-2-3-aston-villa-match-report/). Here are our Aston Villa player ratings. ## Zion Suzuki – 8.5 Absolutely crucial. Tottenham dominated much of the opening half and could easily have established a sizeable lead without Suzuki. The Villa goalkeeper repeatedly denied the hosts and remained composed when playing from the back. He was also involved in the build-up to Jackson’s goal. The two late concessions prevent a nine, but Villa might never have been in position to win without him. ## Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6.5 Had a demanding first half as Tottenham applied sustained pressure. Defended his area reasonably well and made an important block during one dangerous Spurs attack. Replaced by Matty Cash at half-time. ## Victor Lindelöf – 7 A strong display for most of the afternoon. Tottenham spent long periods around Villa’s penalty area, leaving Lindelöf with plenty of defensive work. Made several important interventions and remained composed during difficult spells. ## Tyrone Mings – 7.5 One of Villa’s most important defensive performers. His physical presence was vital when Tottenham dominated territory before the break. Won important headers and helped Villa withstand a period in which the hosts could easily have scored several times. The late collapse takes some shine off an otherwise excellent display. ## Matteo Ruggeri – 7 Disciplined. Had to spend considerable time defending rather than attacking but generally handled his assignment well. Also offered an outlet when Villa escaped Tottenham’s press. ## Boubacar Kamara – 7.5 Villa needed enormous discipline in midfield because Tottenham dominated possession. Kamara protected the defensive line, competed for second balls and helped slow the game whenever Emery’s side needed some control. A quietly important performance. ## João Gomes – 6.5 Returned to the side and provided the aggression Emery wanted. There were occasions when Tottenham played through Villa too easily, particularly early on, but Gomes never stopped competing. An important return after suspension. ## John McGinn – 7.5 Exactly the kind of performance Villa needed from their captain. Worked relentlessly, helped progress counter-attacks and played his part in the move which eventually produced Manzambi’s opener. His off-ball contribution was particularly important during Tottenham’s strongest periods. ## Emiliano Buendía – 8.5 Excellent. Always looked capable of producing something when Villa escaped pressure. Tested the goalkeeper during the first half before scoring a magnificent third after the interval. The finish effectively looked to have ended the game before Tottenham’s remarkable late rally. National coverage also highlighted Buendía as one of the game’s standout performers. ## Johan Manzambi – 9 The selection decision of the day. We questioned whether Emery would trust Manzambi in our [predicted Villa XI against Tottenham](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/18/aston-villa-predicted-xi-tottenham-september-2026/), and the youngster responded superbly. He opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time after Villa had spent most of the half under pressure. Manzambi then helped create the second, combining superbly with Jackson before the striker finished. Goal, assist and enormous influence on the result. Villa had identified opportunities to exploit Tottenham’s structure in our [pre-match tactical analysis](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/tottenham-rebuild-aston-villa-pressing-opportunity/), and Manzambi was central to taking advantage of those spaces. ## Nicolas Jackson – 8.5 A major performance after Emery preferred him to Tammy Abraham. Jackson worked tirelessly even during periods when Villa barely had the ball. His second-half goal was excellent, exchanging passes with Manzambi before creating the shooting angle and finishing beyond Antonín Kinský. [The Guardian’s match coverage](https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/19/tottenham-v-aston-villa-premier-league-live?utm_source=chatgpt.com) praised his running and centre-forward work when he was eventually withdrawn. ## Substitutes ### Matty Cash – 6.5 Replaced Wan-Bissaka at half-time and initially settled into the game well. Made useful defensive interventions but was involved in the deflection for Tottenham’s first goal before receiving a late yellow card. ### George Hemmings – 6 Replaced Manzambi after 74 minutes. Had the unenviable task of following Villa’s best attacking performer and worked hard as Tottenham increased the pressure. ### Ross Barkley – 6 Introduced alongside Ibrahim Mbaye for the closing stages. Helped add experience as Villa attempted to manage the game, although the final minutes became far more frantic than Emery wanted. ### Ibrahim Mbaye – 6 Added fresh legs as Villa tried to protect their advantage. Spent most of his minutes working without the ball. ### Tammy Abraham – N/A Replaced Jackson in the 88th minute and did not have enough time for a full rating. **ReadAstonVilla Man of the Match: Johan Manzambi – 9/10**