Tottenham Hotspur have extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to 10 matches courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa at White Hart Lane.
It took Spurs less than three minutes to take the lead as Moussa Dembele shrugged off the challenge of Ciaran Clark, before driving into the box and firing a strike through the legs of Brad Guzan.
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Villa almost conjured up a quick response as Scott Sinclair burst past a couple of challenges and unleashed a stinging drive that was palmed away by Hugo Lloris.
Harry Kane then threatened with a deflected strike that forced Guzan to tip the ball over, and from the resulting corner, Danny Rose flashed a strike inches above the bar.
Tottenham did manage to double their advantage on the stroke of half time as Dele Alli controlled a loose clearance inside the box, before firing a low drive into the bottom corner.
Spurs remained a threat after the break and Rose escaped his marker at the back post to meet Erik Lamela's cross, before placing his header over the bar.
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Christian Eriksen was next to try his luck for Spurs with a curling free kick from 25 yards that failed to hit the target.
Villa were struggling to create any chances, but they had a sight of goal when Rudy Gestede was found just inside the box and saw his powerful strike deflect behind for a corner.
The visitors showed further promise when Leandro Bacuna created some room to shoot outside the box, before bending a low effort against the frame of the post.
Moments later the Villans raised their hopes of producing an unlikely comeback, as Jordan Ayew fired in a speculative strike from range that took a huge deflection off Jan Vertonghen and ended up in the bottom corner.
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The goal provided Villa with a huge boost, and they caused more panic in the Spurs defence when Gestede rose above Lloris to power a header narrowly wide.
Having already found the net, Ayew sensed a second when he cut in from the left and fired in a powerful strike that had Lloris beaten as it flashed inches over the bar.
However, it was Spurs who would have the last say, as three minutes into stoppage time Kane fired into the roof of the net after being found inside the box by Lamela, to finally secure the points for his side.
Alex Meyers
