Aston Villa held on for a 2-1 win against a resurgent second-half comeback attempt from Tottenham to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round.

Having been 2-0 down at the break, Spurs fought back in the second thanks to a Wilson Odobert goal, but they could not find the equaliser they needed to force extra time.

Spurs made a bright start, with Odobert looping a long-range shot straight at Marco Bizot before Mathys Tel sliced a volley well wide of the far post.

But 22 minutes in, Emiliano Buendia fired Villa in front. Donyell Malen held off two defenders to lay it off to the Argentine, who rifled into the roof of the net.

Spurs thought they had pulled level in the 42nd minute, when Randal Kolo Muani – who replaced the injured Richarlison – turned in following a stunning Xavi Simons run, but the offside flag denied him.

And Villa got their second three minutes into first-half stoppage time, when Buendia picked out Morgan Rogers with a backheel flick, and the Englishman beat Guglielmo Vicario from near the penalty spot.

Spurs improved after the break, and Kolo Muani's driving run opened the space for Odobert to cut inside from the right and drill his low shot into the bottom-left corner.

Pedro Porro then made a brilliant last-ditch block on the line to deny Buendia a second, while Simons had a 79th-minute equaliser disallowed after rounding the goalkeeper as he set off too early, with the defeat amplifying the pressure on Thomas Frank.

THROUGH TO THE FOURTH ROUND pic.twitter.com/sM0Hu8yJAs

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 10, 2026

Data Debrief: Buendia finds his feet

Buendia was decisive for Villa in the first half, when he scored his first-ever FA Cup goal.

He has now scored six goals in all competitions this season, his best return in a single campaign for Villa.

He led the team for shots (four, level with Ollie Watkins) and 'big' chances (two), while only Rogers (three) bettered his two chances created.

He helped Villa become the first team to eliminate Spurs from the FA Cup in back-to-back seasons since Manchester United in 2007-08 and 2008-09 (both in the fourth round).

As for Spurs, they failed to reach the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 2013-14, having done so in each of the previous 11 seasons.