Tottenham beat Villarreal 1-0 at residence as Thomas Frank’s aspect secured a slim victory in his first Champions League sport as head coach.
A spine-tingling ambiance on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier than kick-off had barely simmered down earlier than Luiz Junior spilled the ball into his personal internet from a Lucas Bergvall cross to provide the hosts the lead in simply the fourth minute.
That purpose marked Spurs’ quickest within the historical past of the event and whereas the exhibiting within the first half hinted that they’d add to their tally, the efficiency shortly tapered off following the restart.
A rejuvenated Villarreal got here out after the break, coupled with a level of sloppiness from Frank’s males, resulting in a shift in momentum.
Clear-cut probabilities had been few and much between however Micky van de Ven did present a late scare for his workforce after discovering himself on the unsuitable aspect of Georges Mikautadze earlier than bundling the ahead to the bottom simply outdoors the realm.
A swift VAR examine confirmed the choice of a free-kick and a yellow card for the defender.
“It didn’t look top. I needed a bit of hope,” a relieved Frank mentioned after the sport. “I’ve seen it back, he is clearly outside the box and he was a little bit ahead.”
Spurs finally limped to the ultimate whistle to make sure all three factors had been secured of their first Champions League sport since March 2023.
Thomas Partey got here on as a late substitute, forward of a scheduled court docket look within the UK. Partey will seem at Southwark Crown Courtroom on Wednesday to face prices of 5 counts of rape and one depend of sexual assault, all of which he denies.
Villarreal’s Luiz Junior scores an personal purpose in opposition to Tottenham
Frank: Massive win however we struggled going ahead
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank:
“I thought it was a big win. Any competition it’s good to get three points and get a good start.
“Pleased with the clear sheet. Extraordinarily good and restricted Villarreal to little.
“Offensively, we struggled to create something against a good team that also defended very well with their 4-4-2 structure.
“It was a really even sport that we edged ultimately. I like that our basis is powerful. Clearly, we’re constructing the offensive construction extra.
“There was a spell in the second half where we had the ball away every time we had it. We will raise that level.”
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank and Lucas Bergvall after the 1-0 win in opposition to Villarreal
Bergvall: Frank a breath of contemporary air
Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall chatting with Amazon Prime:
“New, fresh air. We talked a lot about ‘clean sheet mentality’ this year because we conceded a lot last year.
“My relationship with him is absolutely good. I simply need to get again to the shape I had on the finish of final yr, and I really feel like I’m. I’ve assist from him and the video analysts to get higher daily.”
On the game itself, Bergvall added: “It was actually robust. Villarreal did an incredible efficiency however a 1-0 win at house is superb.
“We managed to get three points today and they did not have a shot on target, so we did a really good job.”
