Tottenham have failed to win any of their last 36 Premier League matches when conceding first so the writing was on the wall at half-time.
They dominated the opening 20 minutes and Villa keeper Zion Suzuki denied Savio and Archie Gray but, without a goal, they were always going to be vulnerable at the other end.
And so, in first-half injury time, a Villa goal was almost inevitable.
Andy Robertson tried to stop a corner but only gifted the ball to John McGinn and, after Boubacar Kamara’s effort, Manzambi prodded in from close range. It added the insult to Van de Ven’s injury, a blow to the face that kept him off the pitch.
Some Tottenham fans missed the goal as they headed for their half-time refreshments but several thousand did not bother to stay until the end.
They streamed out of the stands after Buendia’s brilliant 25-yard bullet found the top corner in the 79th minute, missing Gallagher and Van Hecke’s late efforts.
De Zerbi said: “My focus is why we concede the first goal with 10 players, we can stay stronger, communicate more and more, defend in a compact way.
“I put [Rodrigo] Bentancur as a centre-back in that minute and Mateus Fernandes as a midfielder. If we have a red card we can play 70 minutes with 10 players.
“In the second half we scored the goal with [Mohammed] Kudus, offside, I don’t know if some players lost energy but we conceded an unacceptable goal. We knew this season Aston Villa are playing 86% more long balls than last season.
“We had many meetings [about it] and we have to explain another game like Newcastle where we played the first half well and then we lose. It’s my responsibility.
“I take my responsibility but in that moment of the game we have to defend, we have to defend compact, the leaders have to be leaders.
“I am very sad and frustrated with the performance. We cannot lose this game in this way. The second goal we conceded was incredible.”
“Sacked in the morning” chanted the Villa fans to De Zerbi who, at times, looked out of ideas once his side fell 2-0 behind.
It was Tottenham‘s worst start to a top-flight season since 2008-09, when they also had two points after five games.
Juande Ramos was dismissed as manager after three more defeats before Harry Redknapp lifted them up to eighth. Spurs have also now gone five league games without a win at the start of a season for the first time since 1986.
Former Brighton striker Glenn Murray, however, says De Zerbi needs time.
“He is trying to build something, it will take time,” he told BBC’s Final Score. “Taking the emotion out of it, looking at the stats, they have had more shots in three of the past four games, more possession and more touches in the opposition box.
“They are positives, be patient, the metrics are there to say he will turn it around. They need to be patient with Roberto De Zerbi, with all the signings, it takes time to gel and get to know each other.”
