Aston Villa ruined Tottenham’s bid to climb back into the Premier League’s top four as a costly mistake from Hugo Lloris condemned the north Londoners to a damaging 2-0 defeat on Sunday.
Playing for the first time since France’s World Cup final defeat against Argentina, Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris weakly spilt Douglas Luiz’s shot early in the second half and Emiliano Buendia pounced to put Villa ahead.
Lloris was left on the bench for Tottenham’s draw against Brentford on December 26 as he rested after France’s agonising final loss in Qatar.
The 36-year-old, who conceded three times against Argentina before France lost on penalties, might have wished he had been given longer to recover after his blunder against Villa.
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Brazilian midfielder Luiz added Villa’s second goal in the closing stages, leaving Antonio Conte’s side to endure jeers from frustrated fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham had hoped the first Premier League match of 2023 would serve to kick-start their bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish.
Instead, they suffered a New Year’s Day hangover as mid-table Villa punished a lethargic display.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s spluttering Premier League campaign took a turn for the worse as Serge Aurier’s equaliser gave lowly Nottingham Forest a 1-1 draw.
Raheem Sterling put Chelsea ahead at the City Ground in the first half of their opening game in 2023.
But Ivory Coast right-back Aurier levelled after the break and Chelsea were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing defeat after Forest dominated for long spells in the second half.
Chelsea are languishing in eighth place after failing to win for the sixth time in their last seven league games.
The Blues are seven points adrift of fourth placed Manchester United in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.
Just months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea boss Graham Potter is starting to come under fire as the early optimism after his move from Brighton begins to fade.
