Aston Villa were left cursing Rafael van der Vaart once again on Sunday as he secured a 2-1 win for Tottenham at Villa Park.
Van der Vaart double sinks Houllier's men on Boxing Day
Aston Villa were left cursing Rafael van der Vaart once again on Sunday as he secured a 2-1 win for Tottenham at Villa Park.
The Dutchman proved to the difference between the two sides in their reverse fixture back in October and he was at the centre of proceedings on Boxing Day as he helped Spurs stretch their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven games.
A lively first half saw both sides fall out with the match officials, with Emile Heskey seeing an early penalty shout waved away after he was bundled over by Heurelho Gomes and Younes Kaboul having a goal ruled out after the ball was adjudged to have drifted out of play.
Spurs, though, did force a breakthrough on 23 minutes when Alan Hutton broke down the right and drilled over a low cross for Van der Vaart to turn home.
Tottenham's hopes of building on that advantage received a crushing blow four minutes later when Jermaine Defoe was shown a straight red card for leading with an arm as he challenged for a high ball with James Collins.
Villa looked to make the most of their numerical advantage after the break, but struggled to break down stubborn Spurs resistance.
They were then made to pay for throwing too many bodies forward on 67 minutes as Gareth Bale led a counter attack, fed Aaron Lennon and he put Van der Vaart's second on a plate - with the Holland international steering the ball home from the edge of the box.
Marc Albrighton did give Villa hope eight minutes from time when he cut inside and saw a cross-shot nestle neatly in the bottom corner, but it was not to be for the hosts.
Entertaining
From the opening minute the suggestion was this was going to be an entertaining affair, as has often been the case between these two teams of late, and so it proved.
After just 50 seconds Gomes produced the first of a number of fine saves to deny Villa, initially from Albrighton who was then quick to pounce on the rebound, only for Bale to bravely block.
After Gabriel Agbonlahor nodded a free header wide a minute later there was perhaps the sense it was not going to be Villa's night.
That view was strengthened when Villa appealed for a penalty in the ninth minute when Heskey was felled by Gomes, but it was such a tight call it was no wonder referee Martin Atkinson was unmoved.
It was a challenge which left Heskey needing treatment and ultimately led to his withdrawal six minutes from the break.
It was a key departure as Heskey had also played his part in two incisive Villa moves that sandwiched another moment of controversy in the 18th minute.
A minute earlier Heskey and Agbonlahor had spread play from one wing to the other where Stewart Downing strode forward, cut inside and unleashed a low drive that was picked up by Gomes.
Delightful
Three minutes later it was Heskey who played a delightful one-two with Agbonlahor, the latter eventually unleashing a stinging drive that bounced off a diving Gomes' knee.
The ball looped up for Agbonlahor to nod goalwards, but again Gomes was on hand to push the ball around the post.
In between a strike from Kaboul was ruled out by an assistant referee as he deemed a pull back from Hutton had crossed the dead-ball line, although replays suggested otherwise.
In the 23rd minute, however, Tottenham's frustration was forgotten as a sweeping move cut Villa apart, sparked by a raking cross-field ball into the path of Hutton down the right wing.
Collins, serving as Villa's fifth skipper of the season with Ashley Young out with a knee injury, failed to cut out the right-back's low centre and Van der Vaart was in behind the centre-back to stab home from 10 yards.
The visitors' joy was short-lived because just four minutes later they were contentiously down to 10 men for an elbow from Defoe in the face of Collins.
It appeared to be harsh because although Defoe led with his arm in jumping for a high delivery, his eyes were focused on the ball at all times.
Devastating
It left Spurs facing the final 63 minutes a man short, and for the first 18 of those through to half-time they were rarely troubled.
And they could have doubled their lead prior to the interval as Van der Vaart teed up Wilson Palacios for a 20-yard effort which Brad Friedel tipped into the side-netting.
Apart from an early second-half strike from Heskey's replacement Nathan Delfouneso, which stung the fingers of Gomes, Spurs easily held until breaking with devastating effect in the 67th minute.
It was sparked by an 80-yard run down the right from Bale, who found Lennon in space on the left.
The winger played a simple pass into Van der Vaart's path for a first-time left-foot shot beyond Friedel.
After Gomes had produced his save of the game from Agbonlahor nine minutes later, an 82nd-minute cross from Albrighton floated past the Spurs goalkeeper, who was arguably distracted by a diving Collins in front of him.
There was no late reprieve for Villa and manager Gerard Houllier, though, who departed the field to a chorus of boos from the home fans.
