Dominic Solanke at double as Spurs produce brilliant second half to thrash Villa

Dominic Solanke struck a second-half brace to outshine England team-mate Ollie Watkins and fire Tottenham to an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa.

Villa started the day with a five-point cushion over Spurs, having also beaten the north London club to a top-four spot last season, and went ahead in the 32nd minute when Morgan Rogers poked in from a corner.

It halted the momentum Ange Postecoglou’s side had built in midweek with a fine Carabao Cup triumph over Manchester City, but they were transformed in the second half and blew away their midlands rivals.

Captain Son Heung-min set up Brennan Johnson for his seventh goal of the season in the 49th minute before Solanke hit a quick-fire double during the final quarter of an hour after a six-match run without a goal.

James Maddison, a late replacement for substitute Richarlison, capped off a great day for Spurs with a stoppage-time free-kick as the hosts moved up to seventh, only two points off Arsenal.

The two teams had contrasting fortunes in the Carabao Cup as Spurs beat City with a near-full-strength XI, while a heavily-rotated Villa side lost to Crystal Palace, but it did mean the visitors were fresher for this latest battle.

Tottenham tried to build a head of steam midway through a dull first half as Rodrigo Bentancur had a dipping effort clip the roof of the net following a succession of corners.

Spurs were up against the set-piece kings, though, and Villa nearly scored from their first when Amadou Onana headed against the foot of the post from a Lucas Digne cross after Guglielmo Vicario had punched away the initial corner.

The warning was not heeded as Unai Emery watched his team strike first just after the half-hour mark.

Another excellent delivery by Digne