Aston Villa took another huge step towards Premier League survival on Saturday afternoon by seeing off Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at White Hart Lane.

Christian Benteke's goal after 35 minutes proved the difference between the sides, with chances in North London few and far between throughout.

Villa came closest to finding the game's second goal shortly before the half-time interval when Gabriel Agbonlahor struck the post, but in the end it mattered little as Tim Sherwood came back to haunt his former suitors.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how both sets of players performed across the 90 minutes of action.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Goal

Michel Vorm: Produced a fine stop to deny Delph when the midfielder was clean through, but had little chance with Benteke's superbly taken header. (6/10)

Defence

Danny Rose: Probably Tottenham's best player on an afternoon where individuals failed to shine. Forced a big save out of Guzan in the first half and also cut inside to curl one narrowly wide shortly after. Suspect defensively at times, but at least he seems committed to the cause. (7/10)

Eric Dier: Another poor afternoon which saw him struggle to truly settle into the game. Failed to really help when it came to putting together attacking moves, too. (5/10)

Federico Fazio: Brought back into the lineup for his first Premier League start since January, but he failed to really help out at the back. Caught out by Benteke for the game's decisive moment, while he also struggled to keep hold of possession. (5/10)

Vlad Chiriches: Shoved out on the right-hand flank, which cannot have been easy for him, but he made little impact on the game which resulted in him being hauled off in the second half. Often found himself in attacking positions, yet the final ball was lacking in quality far too often. (6/10)

Midfield

Ryan Mason: Did not make near enough impact in midfield to drive his side forward. In fact, it is difficult to remember him doing anything across the 90 minutes, with his performance levels falling some way short of those which led to his England call-up. (5/10)

Nabil Bentaleb: Again, this was a quiet display on the whole from the central midfielder, although he was involved a little more than his teammate alongside him. Gave away possession a little too often, however. (6/10)

Christian Eriksen: Drifted into the hole where he so often thrives, although he was fielded prominently in a more left-sided role. The goals and assists have massively dried up, which could be down to fatigue, but his shooting was so often well off target this afternoon which is more down to quality than anything else. (6/10)

Andros Townsend: Produced a couple of testing crosses for the Villa backline to deal with, yet you always expect more when watching the England international. His manager clearly agreed, having taken Townsend off in the second half to change things around slightly. (5/10)

Nacer Chadli: Likewise, Chadli was looking to make something in that space behind centre-forward Kane, but nothing worked before he was withdrawn. A frustrating day at the office for the attacker, and one that he will need to quickly bounce back from. (6/10)

Attack

Harry Kane: Cut a frustrated figure up top, living off next to nothing in terms of decent passes into his path. Named as captain for a second week running, the Englishman worked hard and showed plenty of passion late on, yet his goalscoring touch evaded him for a second game in succession. (6/10)

Substitutes

Roberto Soldado: The Spaniard had one promising moment when coming off the bench, taking down a pass over the top and testing Guzan. It is just a shame he had strayed offside before controlling the ball. (6/10)

Erik Lamela: Brought on with time running out, making no real impression on things during his short spell on the pitch. (5/10)

DeAndre Yedlin: If you are clutching at straws, the one positive to take away from this Tottenham performance is the fact that the American full-back was introduced for his debut late in the second half. One for the future. (5/10)

ASTON VILLA

Goal

Brad Guzan: Had three saves to make all afternoon, just one of which truly tested him. That came in the first half when Rose almost picked out the corner, but Guzan, who was commanding from crosses throughout, did well to deny his opponent. (7/10)

Defence

Leandro Bacuna: He seems to invite pressure a little too often, but credit to him for getting forward to provide the cross which Benteke tucked away. (6/10)

Ciaran Clark: A huge blow to Villa when he went off injured inside the opening 20 minutes, and he is unlikely to return again this side of the FA Cup semi-final meeting against Liverpool. (5/10)

Ron Vlaar: A real solid performance at the back from the Dutchman, who had to contend with losing his defensive partner so early on. Cleared almost every ball which came into the box, although he may have done better with a couple of chances that fell his way at the opposite end. (7/10)

Kieran Richardson: A mixed showing overall from the former Manchester United man. Dealt well with Townsend in defence and pushed forward a few times, but still did not look wholly comfortable down the flank. (6/10)

Midfield

Carlos Sanchez: He enjoyed an impressive afternoon until picking up a needless caution at the death which will rule him out next weekend. It is something that Sherwood could have done without, but he still has options among his squad to come into the starting lineup. (6/10)

Tom Cleverley: Controlled the game from his deep midfield position, spraying numerous passes for Benteke to latch onto. He will become a key component under Villa next season should they keep hold of him, and on this basis that would be a good move for all parties concerned. (7/10)

Fabian Delph: Seemed to cover every blade of grass, which perhaps explains why he lacked the composure when gifted the chance to wrap things up in the final 10 minutes. Also showed real drive in midfield to push his side on. (8/10)

Jack Grealish: Sherwood has shown real faith in the youngster, who impressed with a pass-completion rate of 92.9%. Tired as the game wore on, perhaps understandably, but he has shown that with age he could become a real star at Villa Park. (7/10)

Attack

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Looked to take advantage of Tottenham's notoriously high defensive line, running in behind on a couple of occasions, most notably of which late in the second half when he sent a shot back off the post. Went off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, which may now see him ruled out for a couple of weeks. (8/10)

Christian Benteke: Won eight aerial duels in the first half alone, which goes some way to highlighting just how important he is to this system played under Sherwood. Proved to be the match winner, too, with a well-taken header which left Vorm with next to no chance of keeping out. (8/10)

Substitutes

Nathan Baker: Looked rather shaky when first introduced for the injured Clark, but soon settled alongside Vlaar and enjoyed a decent afternoon for the remainder. (6/10)

Andreas Weimann: Saw his shot well saved by Vorm at the end, while perhaps going some way to showing that he may be best suited to cameo roles from the bench. (7/10)

Joe Cole: Added plenty of experience when coming on for the final 20 minutes, although he could not replicate the performance of the man he replaced in Agbonlahor. (5/10)