This win over Tottenham was the most impressive of the season so far for Unai Emery’s team, who have now claimed five straight victories on the spin.
Trailing to Rodrigo Bentancur’s fifth-minute opener, Villa hit back to win thanks to two excellent goals from Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia.
All the talk prior to kick-off was how their hosts could go second in the Premier League with a victory.
Instead, it is Villa who are back into the top half, their struggles of the opening month of the season an increasingly distant memory.
This was the perfect start to a run of fixtures which was always going to be the true test of their improvement. Manchester City, Liverpool and Bournemouth quickly follow.
Just a few weeks ago such matches would have struck dread into supporters who did not see their team score a goal for the first four matches of the campaign.
Now they should approach them brimming with confidence. Finally, Villa look back to their old selves.
So too, increasingly, does Morgan Rogers. At last, the Halesowen-born attacker is beginning to replicate his excellent international form at club level again.
His goal here, his first of the season, was completely out of keeping with almost everything else in a scrappy opening half.
Until that point, Villa had struggled to get going after Tottenham’s lightning quick start.
After it, they were a team transformed and in the end more than deserved winners, Buendia’s third goal in four matches rewarding Emery’s bold second half substitutions.
Among those was Ollie Watkins, the striker only fit enough for a place on the bench following his injury on England duty but delivering a cameo performance full of running.
Emery handed Amadou Onana his first start in nearly two months following his return from injury but the Belgium international’s first contribution was not positive.
A loose pass inside his own box, intended for Ezri Konsa, allowed Mathys Tel to nip in. Conceding the corner was the defender’s best-case scenario but for the third Premier League game running Villa failed to properly deal with a set-piece.
Though Evann Guessand headed the first delivery clear, Mohammed Kudus had time to send a high ball to the back post which was then nodded back across goal by Joao Palhinha, Bentancur sweeping into the net from 10 yards out.
Kudus thought he had doubled the lead within seconds of the restart when he raced clear and fired underneath Emi Martinez, only for a raised assistant’s flag to cut short the celebration.
Villa’s first effort on goal came from Matty Cash, who hit a shot which slithered wide of Vicario’s post with the keeper just momentarily concerned.
Otherwise, with play scrappy in the steady rain, it was tough going for Villa in attack, Donyell Malen peripheral.
Konsa almost brought the forward into the game with a clever through pass but Kevin Danso, a late replacement in the line-up for Cristian Romero, won the foot race. Immediately there was danger at the other end, Wilson Odobert cutting inside and hitting a shot which Martinez could only hold at the second attempt.
Rogers’ goal, when it arrived in the 37th minute, was completely out of keeping with everything before it in the game, or indeed the 23-year-old’s club season to date.
Picking the ball up 30 yards from goal, the Villa man showed neat footwork to evade Xavi Simons before hitting a vicious, dipping strike which gave Vicario no chance.
Villa might have been quickly behind again, albeit in what would have been hugely controversial circumstances.
A Tottenham free-kick hit referee Simon Hooper but the official allowed play to continue and when Kudus whipped in a cross, Tel somehow missed the ball at the far post. The Villa defence were probably not the only relieved party.
There was further controversy early in the second half. Lucas Digne raced into the box and was caught late and above the ankle by Danso after the defender cleared the ball. Referee Hooper ruled no penalty and video assistant Paul Tierney agreed.
It was the same outcome moments later when Simons struck toward the Villa goal and the ball hit the hands of Konsa, held in front of the defender’s chest.
Both attacks were coming alive. Martinez tipped wide from Palhinha, before Malen then sent a rising shot into the side-netting after a clever pass from McGinn.
Villa were playing their best football of the afternoon but unable to find the final pass.
Yet with 13 minutes remaining they took the lead with another goal of real quality. Cash hammered the ball forward after Spurs had cleared a corner, Digne showed great deftness to first bring the ball under control and then find Buendia. The latter took two touches before curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Vicario, perhaps unsighted by the onside Rogers, didn’t move.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Vicario, Spence (Johnson 86), Danso, Van de Ven, Porro, Bentancur (Sarr 86), Palhinha, Odobert (Kolo Muani 79), Simons (Bergvall 79), Kudus, Tel (Richarlison 60) Subs not used: Gray, Byfield, Kinsky (gk).
Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne (Maatsen 82), Kamara, Onana (Barkley 82), McGinn, Guessand (Buendia 61), Rogers, Malen (Watkins 61) Subs not used: Lindelof, Sancho, Elliott, Bogarde, Bizot (gk).