New boss Remi Garde watched from the stands as Aston Villa suffered a club record-equalling seventh successive Premier League defeat at Tottenham.
Garde had barely taken his seat when Mousa Dembele went unchallenged before beating Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Dele Alli doubled Spurs' lead from 18 yards as they extended their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
Villa rallied as Jordan Ayew scored from the edge of the box but Harry Kane put the result beyond doubt late on.
Former Lyon boss Garde, who was announced as Villa's new manager hours before kick-off, saw a team which looked bereft of confidence in the first half as they recorded the club's worst start to a top-flight season after 11 games.
But they almost completed an unlikely turnaround as substitutes Ayew, Rudy Gestede and Carles Gil gave them added purpose.
And despite remaining four points from safety, Villa's second-half improvement will offer encouragement for the Frenchman as his team seek to add to their only league win of the season, earned on the opening day.
Garde sees nightmare start
The build-up to the game was hardly ideal for Villa given that Garde's arrival from France was delayed by fog. The club also learned hours earlier that defender Micah Richards would miss the match after pleading guilty to a misconduct charge.Garde arrived at White Hart Lane shortly before kick-off and he barely had time to pull out his notebook before the visitors went behind to a goal which owed to poor defending.
The ball was chipped forward to Dembele on the left wing and as he wrestled with Ciaran Clark he advanced on goal, and with no Villa challenge forthcoming, scored his second of the season.
After Villa's woeful start to the season, which in the words of chairman Randy Lerner has left them "way behind", Garde needs to inject purpose and leadership into a side who are struggling for goals.
That seemed to change 20 minutes before the end when Leandro Bacuna struck the post before Ayew found the net as his effort deflected in off Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen.
But Villa need to work on their first-half performances, which on Monday saw them register only three shots, compared to 10 after the break. They also suffered a blow when midfielder Kieren Westwood was substituted after taking a whack to the face from Dembele.
Spurs gather momentum at right time
As impressive as Tottenham's unbeaten run has been, Mauricio Pochettino's team were rarely tested before Villa's late surge. The hosts appeared guilty of complacency before Kane wrapped up the result with a fine strike following a flowing team move.The result moves Spurs up to fifth in the table going into the north London derby at Arsenal on Sunday. But they will need to ensure they are more consistent across 90 minutes against their neighbours, who have been in fine form this season.
Having been gifted the opener, Spurs took control of midfield and did not let go as Kane and Danny Rose went close to adding a goal before Alli struck his first at White Hart Lane since his move from MK Dons in the summer.
Gestede's rugged approach caused problems in the Spurs defence with Hugo Lloris almost caught out after coming off his line as the Villa forward beat him to a cross.
Substitute Ryan Mason was also guilty of giving the ball away as Ayew struck to give Villa hope in advance of Kane's fifth goal of the season.
By BBC Sport