Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert: 'Plenty of positives to take from Spurs defeat'

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has insisted that there were "so many positives" to take from this evening's crushing Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Villa were on course to end a run of five straight defeats thanks to Andreas Weimann's first-half goal, which ended a drought of 547 minutes, but they unravelled in the second half.

Striker Christian Benteke was sent off for raising a hand to Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason before the visitors struck twice in the final 10 minutes to steal the three points.

"I thought we were excellent throughout the game," Lambert told BBC Sport. "Ok, we lost, but the red card changed the game. There were so many positives today but one disappointment.

"We were up against a good side but I thought we looked like the team likely to score, but the way things are going sometimes, things go against you. Performance-wise I could not have asked for more.

"Christian Benteke was showing great form, Tottenham could not handle him and it is disappointing with the red card. You cannot condone what he did but it is not like he threw a Mike Tyson punch. My daughter can punch harder than that."

It is the first time since 1967 that Villa have lost six league games in a row and they sit just two points above the relegation zone in 15th.