Harry Kane struck two late goals as Tottenham Hotspur recovered from an early setback to beat promoted Aston Villa 3-1 on Saturday.
The win was in their opening match of the 2019/2020 English Premier League (EPL) season.
Aston Villa, back in the top flight after three seasons away, stunned the home faithful in the ninth minute when John McGinn scored with their first attack.
It seemed Dean Smith’s side would mark their return with a notable victory as they hung on tenaciously until the 73rd minute.
Tottenham were laboured in a disappointing first half but were relentless after the break and record signing Tanguy Ndombele finally broke Villa’s resistance.
That was when he fired home from the edge of the area.
Kane struck in the 86th minute after a mistake by Jack Grealish, and the England captain rubbed salt into Aston Villa’s wounds by stroking home his second in the 90th minute.
It was cruel on a disciplined Aston Villa side as Tottenham celebrated their first home opening fixture for eight seasons with three hard-earned points.
In the other EPL matches played earlier in the day, Bournemouth drew 1-1 with visiting Sheffield United while hosts Burnley were 3-0 winners against Southampton.
Crystal Palace and visiting Everton drew goalless, while hosts Watford could not contain visiting Brighton and Hove Albion who won 3-0.(Reuters/NAN)