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The story
Aston Villa, who had managed just one draw and three losses to open the season, rode a string of brilliant saves from Japan international goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to beat Tottenham 3-2 away from home and pick up their first win of the campaign. Tottenham themselves came into the match winless in five, and although Villa’s defense nearly caved in the first half, Suzuki bailed them out with several superb stops. Villa conceded twice late on due to defensive mistakes but held on for the win, and on 5ch, praise for Suzuki’s performance mixed with pointed criticism of both sides’ shaky defending.
Spurs winless in five to open the season
In Matchday 5 of the Premier League, played locally on September 19, 19th-placed Aston Villa — home to Japan international goalkeeper Zion Suzuki — traveled to face 17th-placed Tottenham.
Villa, without a win so far this season (one draw, three losses), fell into trouble just 11 minutes in with Suzuki starting in goal. Tonali broke through on the right and squared the ball back for Savio to shoot, but Suzuki blocked it. Savinho pounced on the rebound and fired again, only for the Japanese keeper to parry it away with one hand.
Source: soccerdigestweb.com / Original article here
What people said
Looking forward to tomorrow's (Sun 9/20) 22:00 kickoff (stream starts 21:30) — Ao Tanaka vs. Daichi Kamada and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the Premier League 🥰
Leeds vs. Crystal Palace
Japanese commentary available on U-NEXT!
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2101297523952357376/vid/avc1/1280×720/lNyHNw9mkCEdW8FO.mp4?tag=14
Dude's a neo-Pirlo.
If Zion hadn't come up with two super saves in the first half to keep it scoreless, they probably would've lost.
Both goals came off teammates' mistakes — no chance for the keeper on either.
https://imgur.com/W9Ha5l9.jpeg
A perfect 10 out of 10 lol
I get it with Villa — they lost a ton of key players — but Spurs spent big in the transfer window and still play like this. Didn't even need to bench Romero either. Makes you question De Zerbi's own judgment too.
They're getting relegated at this rate.
Villa were getting pinned back for most of the first half.
Zion bailed them out big time.
Maybe think of it as holding an in-form, improving Spurs side to just two goals.
Villa's defense was falling apart from early in the first half.
Zion's heroics kept it scoreless in the first half, they went 3-0 up, then conceded twice late on from teammates' mistakes.
How'd they end up like this?
Way too much squad turnover.
It's a bad fit with De Zerbi, a manager who wants to install a tactically complex system with a lot to learn.
They should've kept last season's core unit intact while also building in ways to play outside De Zerbi's preferred system,
just to get through this season.
If they swap in 3-4 new players each year from here, I think they'll be strong again in a few years.
So it's 'just get through this season' again this year too, huh lol
Constantly chopping and changing managers and players is the worst move you can make.
That said, given Spurs' current squad, bringing in a manager with a simple, easy-to-understand style and no complex tactics would probably boost their standing.
Though that approach would just hit a ceiling somewhere down the line too.
https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2101304499285725184/vid/avc1/1280×720/WnGzd5L2P3-nxCvt.mp4?tag=14
The way he pings those long passes right on target is nuts lol, pure art.
And he reacted to a nutmeg shot too lol
The way he looked so gutted after the match today gives you real hope for his future.
Honestly, that's exactly the vibe lol
Background and Talking Points
Aston Villa had struggled to just one draw and three losses to open the season, making this their first win of the campaign. Tottenham, for their part, had also gone five matches without a win, with both clubs struggling to get their new setups — including De Zerbi’s new regime — off the ground. On the thread, opinions split between those pointing out the fragility of both defenses over “a scoreless first half thanks to Suzuki’s saves” and “two late goals from teammates’ mistakes,” and those crediting Suzuki with single-handedly holding together a match that was threatening to fall apart. The nickname “Neo-Pirlo” refers to Suzuki’s passing sense — building attacks with pinpoint long balls despite being a goalkeeper — and the buzz around his attacking presence, not just his defensive contributions, is something the scoreline alone doesn’t convey.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Soccer] Zion Suzuki fires off great saves and sets up an extra goal! Aston Villa claim their long-awaited first Premier League win of the season, beating Tottenham 3-2.”
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