Dean Smith hailed Tottenham Hotspur after watching last season’s Champions League finalists come from behind to beat his Aston Villa side 3-1.
Harry Kane finally broke his duck at Tottenham’s new stadium as his late double secured all three points for the hosts in a game where they looked frustrated for large parts.
Kane had gone three games without troubling the scorers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but he put that right with two goals in four minutes to seal the three points in what was a curious early evening in north London.
Spurs looked like starting the new Premier League campaign with a defeat after John McGinn’s early opener gave Villa a dream start to life back in the big time.
Tanguy Ndombele showed just why Tottenham broke their transfer record to bring him to the club with a fine leveller 17 minutes from time before Kane stole the headlines with two clinical finishes that masked a match which provided more questions than answers.
But for Smith, the level of performance cannot be questioned against a side he feels are almost indomitable.
He told talkSPORT: “There’s obviously a lot of disappointment having taken the lead and holding out for so long, but the better team – the far superior team won.
“But there is also a little bit of fortune on the goals. I think the first one deflected off Tyrone Mings, the second one was a bit of a ricochet from Tyrone and Bjorn Engels and then we got caught on the counter.
“We were trying to chase the game at the end, but we took it to the last six minutes which we can take something from.
“And certainly I don’t think we will be playing the quality of Tottenham all season.”
Much was made of Villa’s dealings in the transfer market, bringing in 12 players following their victory in the Championship Play-Off final over Derby County.
Given Fulham tried this business strategy last season and it ended in their relegation from the Premier League, sceptics have been quick to warn Smith.
But the former Brentford boss is adamant he is happy with the new arrivals at his squad.
“A lot has been made of the 12 signings that we have made,” Smith added. “But a number of them I have worked with before.
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“Three of the back four today played of the last 15 games of the season where we only conceded 11 goals.
“The three midfielders played at Wembley as well, so we have made an awful lot of signings but a lot have been with us already.
“The integration has been pretty seamless to be honest.”