Tottenham 3-1 Aston Villa: Ndombele's debut stunner sets up Kane late show

Tanguy Ndombele's equaliser and late second half goals by Harry Kane ensured Tottenham Hotspur got over the line in its Premier League opener against Aston Villa.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with teammate Danny Rose after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tanguy Ndombele scored a sensational debut goal as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to beat Premier League new boys Aston Villa 3-1, thanks to Harry Kane's late double.

John McGinn's ninth-minute goal seemed set to mark Villa's return to the top flight in style, with Champions League finalists Spurs – playing without the benched Christian Eriksen for over an hour – struggling to break down Dean Smith's side.

Eriksen's introduction sparked urgency into Tottenham's attack and, after Tom Heaton had made a fantastic stop to deny Davinson Sanchez, Ndombele slammed home a brilliant equaliser at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Another terrific Heaton stop kept Eriksen at bay, but Villa's resistance was ended when Kane capitalised on a mistake from Jack Grealish before excellently tucking in his second to add gloss to a hard-fought win.

Villa's defence struggled to cope with Lucas Moura's movement in the early stages and the former Paris Saint-Germain forward should have done better with a free header he directed straight at Heaton.

Lucas' miss swiftly proved costly - McGinn keeping his composure to slot beyond Hugo Lloris after Danny Rose failed to track the midfielder's run.

After Kane headed over before half-time, Moussa Sissoko was the next to let Villa off the hook, lashing wildly at a close-range strike.

But Spurs' equaliser finally came with 17 minutes remaining - Ndombele curling in a wicked first-time strike, which looked as though it brushed off Tyrone Mings en route to the back of the net, after Heaton had pulled off a fine save from Sanchez's header.

Heaton prevented Eriksen capping a superb cameo with a goal soon after, but Villa's defence could not hold on, and Spurs hit the front with four minutes remaining as Kane slotted in following sloppy play from Grealish.

Spurs was not finished there, however, and Kane helped himself to a well-taken second to make for a scoreline more comfortable than Tottenham's wasteful display warranted.

What does it mean? Spurs must cling onto Eriksen

Eriksen may well leave Tottenham before the end of August, if rumours linking the former Ajax star with a move to Real Madrid are to be believed.

Based on this display, however, Mauricio Pochettino must do all he can to keep hold of Eriksen, who changed the game once he entered the fray.

Ndombele lives up to the billing

Tottenham edged out some of Europe's top clubs to secure Ndombele's signature and the France international stepped up when it mattered.

The 22-year-old only scored three times for Lyon last season, but showed real composure to curl in Spurs' equaliser.

Rose fails to cover himself in glory     

England full-back Rose looked set to be leaving Tottenham after he was left out of the club's Asian tour in pre-season but, despite a reported late bid from Watford, the 29-year-old stayed put.

He had a moment to forget, though, when he failed to keep track of McGinn before his slip allowed Villa's goalscorer to get a shot off.

What's next?

Manchester City began its title defence in style in Saturday's early kick-off with a 5-0 win over West Ham and Pep Guardiola's side is next up for Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium. Villa, meanwhile, hosts Bournemouth.