• Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-0 to Aston Villa in their first Premier League match.
• Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a crucial error.
• Unai Emery, a former manager of Tottenham’s rival Arsenal.

Hugo Lloris made a crucial error that led to Aston Villa defeating Tottenham by a score of 2-0 on Sunday, which prevented the north London club from regaining its place among the Premier League’s top four teams.

Spurs goalkeeper Lloris, in his first game since France’s loss to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final, made a sloppy mistake when he fumbled a shot from Douglas Luiz early in the second half, allowing Villa’s Emiliano Buendia to score.

After France’s heartbreaking loss in the finals in Qatar, Lloris was rested for Tottenham’s draw with Brentford on December 26.

He may have wished he had been given more time to recuperate from his mistake against Villa after he let up three goals to Argentina and France lost in the shootout.

The game ended with boos from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd after Brazilian midfielder Luiz scored Villa’s second goal in stoppage time. Antonio Conte’s team was the target of criticism for their performance.

Spurs anticipated that their first Premier League match of 2023 would help them get off to a strong start in their pursuit of a top-four finish and a berth in the Champions League the following season.

They woke up with a hangover on New Year’s Day as mid-table Villa punished a lacklustre performance.

Positioned fifth Since the World Cup break, Spurs have lost both of their games, allowing fourth-place Manchester United to go up two points on them.

Unai Emery, a former manager of Tottenham’s rival Arsenal, returned to north London and oversaw Villa’s victory.

Emery, who was fired from Arsenal in 2019, has already won three of his four Premier League matches as Villa’s coach since replacing Steven Gerrard in November.

Son Heung-min began the game while again shielding his shattered eye socket with the mask he wore during the World Cup.

But early in the first half, Spurs’ South Korean star ripped the mask off for good, throwing it away angrily after he mishandled a pass.

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