Alan Shearer scolds 'hopeless' Tottenham player vs Aston Villa - and he's telling no lies

Alan Shearer did not hold back in his assessment of Tottenham Hotspur's second-half performance against Aston Villa.

Spurs failed to make their dominance count in the first half of Saturday's Premier League clash against Villa, not helped by opposition goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

The Japan international made a total of five saves across the game, three of which were from attempts inside the box.

Tottenham had more of the ball (64 per cent), created more big chances (four versus two) and registered a higher xG (1.56 to Villa's 1.16).

And yet it was Unai Emery's side who raced into a three-goal lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before Spurs pulled it back to a more respectable 3-2.

Tottenham finally got off the mark with their first goals of the campaign, but the defence badly let the team down.

Alan Shearer rips into Micky van de Ven and Spurs teammate

No Tottenham players can really take any credit from the Villa defeat.

Some came out of it worse than others, though, with plenty of focus on the defence after shipping three goals in a little over 30 minutes of playing time.

Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke particularly struggled up against Villa forward Nicolas Jackson.

As per Sofascore, Jackson won seven duels and completed all 12 of his passes, while also scoring from one of his three attempts.

Speaking on Monday's edition of The Rest is Football, Shearer singled out those two Tottenham players for criticism.

"Van de Ven and Van Hecke were hopeless," Shearer said. "[Jackson] beat them up and was too good for both of them."

Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker did each talk up Spurs' positive first-half showing, but it ultimately counted for nothing.

How did Micky van de Ven perform vs Villa?

Van de Ven registered six defensive actions - two clearances, two blocks, one interception and one tackle.

For comparison, central-defensive partner Van Hecke registered nine defensive actions.

Taking the season as a whole into account, Van de Ven is one of Tottenham's highest-rated players.

But the manner in which Jackson got the better of him at the weekend is a concern.

Tottenham cannot go three down in any game, let alone to a Villa side who had themselves badly struggled to find the net up to this point.

Far more is required all over the pitch, and it is down to Roberto De Zerbi to sort it.