Tyrone Mings implored his Aston Villa teammates to ‘be braver’ after Carlos Vinicius’s opener during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
Whether Dean Smith’s players heeded the advice of their stand-in captain is certainly debatable.
While Villa shaded possession against the London giants, mistakes in both boxes cost them dear as they fell short once again in the absence of crocked captain Jack Grealish.
A slack clearance from the usually-exceptional Emi Martinez paved the way for Tottenham’s 29th-minute opener; Vinicius breaking his Premier League duck after a fine one-two from Harry Kane and the dazzling Lucas Moura.
According to the Birmingham Mail, a disappointed Mings implored his claret-and-blue-clad team-mates to up their intensity and ‘be braver’ after falling behind midway through the first-half.
But, in truth, another top-flight fixture passed them by as Jose Mourinho’s side cruised to a victory which puts them within touching distance of the Champions League places.
Kane sealed the win with 20 minutes to go as Cash, who was given a runaround on his first start in six weeks, dived in to give away the most naïve of penalty kicks.
Aston Villa have now won just one of their last seven top-flight games – six of those without the irreplaceable Grealish.
While the Midland giants will point to the absence of their star man after another flat display, this felt like a real missed opportunity with Tottenham looking to pick themselves off rock bottom following that confidence-sapping 3-0 defeat in Zagreb 72 hours earlier.
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