Christian Benteke has given Aston Villa a 1-0 lead over Tottenham Hotspur at half time at White Hart Lane in the Premier League this afternoon.
Tottenham had more of the ball in the opening 10 minutes as they looked to open the scoring against their old manager's new team, but Ron Vlaar blocked Harry Kane's path as the striker tried to find a gap.
Villa targeted in-form striker Benteke with a series of long balls forward while trying to catch the home side out on the counter-attack, but the Belgian was closely marked to make sure he did not get an early chance.
Andros Townsend tried to create something for Tottenham with a well-placed cross, but there was no-one there to meet it, allowing the visitors to clear the danger.
Spurs started to dominate the match as the half-hour mark approached, with Federico Fazio trying to head the ball in before Christian Eriksen set up Danny Rose for a shot, but neither could beat Brad Guzan.
However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock shortly before the break when Benteke added his eighth goal in six matches, beating Vlad Chiriches in the air to head past Michel Vorm.
Kane and Eriksen linked up to try to get Tottenham back on level terms, but the latter's finish was rushed, resulting in him firing well high.
Sian Cowper
