Football news - Late Kane double for Tottenham breaks Aston Villa hearts

Harry Kane scored twice in the last five minutes to hand Tottenham Hotspur a 3-1 win over a brave Aston Villa side on Saturday night.

John McGinn’s early strike looked like being enough for the newly-promoted visitors, but Tanguy Ndombele’s first goal for his new club levelled before Spurs’ long-time saviour stepped up again.

The depleted hosts started quickly, with Lucas Moura going close twice in the opening minutes, but McGinn netted against the run of play on nine minutes. Tyrone Mings’ long ball bamboozled the defence, and the Scot kept his composure well to shake off Danny Rose and finish.

It didn’t take long for Spurs to rush their play, which played into Villa’s hands perfectly. Their crosses were dealt with easily, and Dean Smith’s men executed their counter attacks expertly through McGinn, Jack Grealish and Egyptian winger Mahmoud Hassan, known as Trezeguet.

After the break, the dynamic of the game didn’t really change. The hosts huffed and puffed without really worrying the Villa defence, which held its shape well and was marshalled excellently by Mings.

The introduction of Christian Eriksen, who was rather surprisingly left on the bench, made a difference and new boy Ndombele grabbed an equaliser with a cushioned finish before Kane won it with a late double.

It was Kane to the rescue, again. How many times has that been said? He was on the periphery for much of the game, but like all good strikers, came alive when it mattered. Overall, though, the lack of fluidity in Spurs’ play will have troubled Mauricio Pochettino; it was a surprise that he left Eriksen out, but luckily there is bags of quality to come in when the injured Dele Alli and suspended Son Heung-Min return and new signings Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso settle in.

While Kane will undoubtedly take the plaudits, the story of the game was much more complex. Villa defended well throughout and a huge reason for that was Mings, making his second debut for the club after signing from Bournemouth permanently in the summer. He headed everything away for 70 minutes and came very close to helping his side gain three huge points, while probably silencing some critics of his £26million transfer fee.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris 5, Rose 5, Alderweireld 6, Sanchez 6, Walker-Peters 6, Ndombele 7, Winks 6, Sissoko 5, Lamela 6, Lucas 6, Kane 7 Substitutes: Eriksen 6, N’Koudou n/a, Skipp n/a,

Aston Villa: Heaton 7, Taylor 6, Mings 8, Engels 7, Elmohamady 6, Hourihane 6, Grealish 6, McGinn 7, Trezeguet 7, El Ghazi 6, Wesley 6 Substitutes: Jota 5, Kodja 5, Luiz n/a

9’ – GOAL! Completely against the run of play, John McGinn gives Villa the lead! Mings' long ball bamboozles Rose, the Scot keeps his composure with a great finish. 0-1.

73’ – GOAL! NDOMBELE! Debut goal for the Frenchman. Lovely cushioned finish from distance seconds after Heaton made a superb save to deny Sanchez. 1-1.

86’ – GOAL! Kane completes the turnaround after the ball falls to him in the area. 2-1.

90’ – GOAL! It's a second for Kane. Game over. 3-1.

Jack Grealish has now lost 19 Premier League games in a row, which is the longest run in history