David Hytner was in N17 tonight, and his report has landed. Here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Thomas Frank gives his verdict to Amazon Prime. “I am very happy with that … there were many good things … defended exceptionally well … against a very good Villarreal side … offensively we didn’t get to the highest level … gave the ball away … it was a very even game that we just edged … [João Palhinha] is a very good player and stabilised the game … real-time [watching the Van de Ven challenge] I was thinking, ooh, that’s close! … I think it is a yellow card and not a penalty … I learned my team are working very hard … defensive organisation is good … we gave very little away … offensively is definitely the area in which we need to get better … find relationships … maybe on the day we didn’t hit the high level but it happens … let’s be happy today because it is so difficult to win these games … we can analyse tomorrow.”
The charming Lucas Bergvall talks to Amazon. “It was really tough … Villarreal did a great performance … 1-0 is an amazing feeling … to get three points and a clean sheet … they didn’t have a shot on target so we did a really good job … I want to come back to the form I had in the beginning of the year … I feel I am getting it back … [my relationship with Thomas Frank] is top … nothing bad to say, only good things … this year I play mostly at 10 … [playing in the Champions League] has been a dream since I was a young kid … thank you so much!”
Micky van de Ven speaks to Amazon Prime. “It was a tough one … not an easy one … we didn’t play well to be honest … but it’s an important one … we had a really good start … Villarreal are a really difficult team to play against … we didn’t build on it but we got the three points … I haven’t seen [the possible red-card challenge] back … of course I was concerned because you never know what the referee is going to do but yellow was fair … we are a difficult team to play against … our structure is really good … difficult to beat … the result is the most important … hopefully we can build on this.”
Tottenham make a victorious start to their Champions League campaign. They were the better team in the first half, even if they required Luiz Júnior to drop an all-time clanger for their goal. They didn’t play well in the second, though, and will be thankful for a laissez-faire performance from referee Rade Obrenovič, who let Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven off with fouls that probably should have sent both players packing. Then again, Villarreal didn’t force Guglielmo Vicario into any sort of meaningful action all evening, so their hard-luck story won’t resonate too loudly. Spurs will file this one under Ugly, sub-section Bit Lucky, and move on. A return to Bodø/Glimt up next!
FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal
It wasn’t pretty in the end – and the goal certainly wasn’t – but Spurs have marked their return to the Champions League with a win.
90 min +3: Palhinha bursts down the middle but can’t release Kolo Muani. A poor pass, but that should be that.
90 min +2: Bergvall makes way for Danso as Spurs look to stumble over the line.
90 min +1: Akhomach advances down the right but can’t find anyone in the middle with his low cross. Spurs hack clear, then Pepe clumsily clips Bentancur to relieve the pressure on the hosts.
90 min: Moleiro has a shot from distance. It’s blocked. Spurs are hanging on here. They’ve got another three minutes to survive.
88 min: No idea how Van de Ven escaped with just a yellow back there. Another referee would have surely sent him off. See also: Xavi Simon. You can make a coherent argument that Spurs should be down to nine men. But here we all are.
86 min: Pepe whips the free kick around the wall and inches wide of the top-left corner. So close to an equaliser.
84 min: Pedraza loops a pass down the middle for Mikautadze, who is about to enter the box, clear on goal, when Van de Ven bundles into him from behind. Penalty and red card? Nope! It’s just outside the penalty area, to the right of the D, and it’s not deemed a clear goalscoring opportunity, so it’s just a yellow. Spurs breathe again, though there’s a free kick in a dangerous position to defend.
82 min: Turns out it was Comesaña who was replaced by Parejo, and not Buchanan. But now Buchanan does make way, replaced by Moieireo.
81 min: Kudus probes down the right. His cross falls to Palhinha, who larrups a shot from the edge of the box over the bar.
79 min: Kolo Muani’s first act in a Spurs shirt is to pick up a booking for catching Mourino in the face with a flailing arm.
78 min: … and there’s another double change, as Villarreal replace Buchanan and Gueye with Parejo and Partey. The latter’s arrival is met with loud boos, for a couple of obvious reasons.
77 min: Another double change, this time by Spurs, as Johnson and Kolo Muani replace Simons and Richarlison.
76 min: Akhomach’s first act is to skitter into the Spurs box from the right and go over, having been brushed by Simons. Neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in awarding a penalty.
75 min: Villarreal respond to Tottenham’s substitutions with a double change of their own. Perez and Cardona are replaced by Akhomach and Pedraza.
74 min: Bergvall launches a long throw in from the left. It sails all the way through to the unimpressive Junior, who makes a meal of claiming it at the near post.
72 min: It should be 2-0. Kudus, out on the right touchline, curls a glorious cross towards Richarlison at the far post. Stooping, Richarlison should head home from close range, but Mourino’s presence is enough to put him off. A weak effort squirts wide left.
71 min: Villarreal are seeing a lot of the ball right now … but they’ve yet to get a shot on target this evening. Time running out to address that sorry stat.
69 min: Spurs haven’t impressed in this second half, and so Thomas Frank makes a double change. Palhinha and Udogie come on in place of Sarr and Spence.
Updated
67 min: Villarreal coach Marcelino is booked for critiquing Simons’ lucky escape in trenchant terms.
65 min: Bergvall flings a long throw into the Villarreal mixer. The visitors clear and counter. Comesaña advances down the right and is upended by Simons, who is on a yellow. He should be awarded a second one, and dismissed, but the referee lets him off. Simons wears the sheepish look of a man who knows he’s just got away with one.
64 min: Spurs probe this way and that, but to little effect. Villarreal seem happy enough to sit back and let them faff around, even if the clock isn’t exactly on their side.
63 min: Porro loops a cross in from the right. Richarlison competes, but can’t out-jump Junior, who catches confidently this time.
61 min: … Luiz Júnior flaps with great uncertainty at his near post. The keeper’s fortunate his weak downwards punch doesn’t ping off Bergvall and into the net. One of his defenders tidies up for him. It’s not been a banner evening for the Villarreal goalie.
60 min: … but this is nice from Bergvall, who spins away from two yellow shirts out on the right and bursts into the box. He wins a corner, from which …
59 min: Spurs keep misplacing passes under no pressure whatsoever, gifting Villarreal possession and allowing them to attack. They’re fortunate that Villarreal’s final passes have been equally poor. Neither team making a huge case for glory in Budapest next year.
57 min: Simon dribbles in from the left and rolls across for Bergvall, who leans backwards and hoicks a long-range shot over the bar, and wide right to boot.
55 min: … and now Gueye steals the ball in the centre circle before sending Pepe into space down the inside right. Pepe reaches the edge of the box before guiding a shot across Vicario and inches wide of the left-hand post. The visitors getting on top.
54 min: Villarreal find another gear at last. First up, Foyth has a speculative dig from distance. The shot pinballs around. Then Perez wins a corner with a determined run down the right. The set piece is sent into the mixer, and Mikautadze heads wide left.
Updated
53 min: Buchanan romps into space down the left but his low cross is blocked by the sliding Romero. Then Viega is booked for an unnecessary clank into the back of Bergvall.
51 min: Finally something for the crowd to cheer about as Van de Ven makes a fine block tackle to stop Perez advancing down the inside-right channel.
50 min: Play pauses so Spence can re-lace his boots. This second half hasn’t got going at all.
49 min: A fairly subdued atmosphere in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now, with a game to match. The loudest cheer of the second half so far has been the result of a Villarreal foul throw. So that’s where we are at the moment.
Updated
47 min: Vicario slaps a dreadful clearance straight to the nearest yellow shirt. He’s very fortunate that neither Perez nor Gueye is able to get a shot away, and the ball eventually ends up back in his possession. The keepers not exactly covering themselves in glory so far.
Villarreal get the second half started. No changes.
Half-time postbag. “Xavi’s quality is so obvious, he feels slightly wasted on the left. But then who of the middle three do you drop? This is a dilemma I could get used to” – Evan Crocker
“I was gonna say that I’m a neutral for this one, but that’s not exactly true. I’m Juan Foyth for Villarreal and three fourths for Spurs” – Peter Oh
“The ref is ruining this game” – Mark Goodchild
Half-time reading. Whet the palate ahead of tomorrow’s big games.
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal
Spurs have been the better team, though it’s Luiz Júnior’s ludicrous error that’s made the difference.
45 min: There will be one additional first-half minute.
44 min: Porro crosses from the right. Junior is forced to palm clear. Simons picks up the rebound and tees up Richarlison, who attempts to beat the keeper from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The ball’s deflected into the side netting, and nothing comes from the resulting set piece.
42 min: Simons spins into space down the left and lays off to Bergvall, who flicks the ball up onto the hand of Gueye. Again, you’ve seen penalties given for less, but the players were right on top of each other and that proximity saves Villarreal.
40 min: Before the free kick can be taken, Richarlison and Mouriño are read the riot act by the overly-fussy referee. Eventually the ball’s sent into the mixer, and Bentancur shoulders it wide right. A better connection, preferably with his head, and that could, perhaps should, have been a goal.
39 min: Bergvall crosses from the right. The ball’s elbowed away by Cardona. Free kick, just outside the box. It’s a corner to all intents and purposes.
37 min: Once that foul is awarded, and the player booked, play pauses as VAR takes a look at the Gueye-Richarlison coming-together. VAR decides Richarlison was looking for it, and agrees with the on-field decision. No pen. You’ve seen ‘em given.
36 min: Romero chests down in the Villarreal box. Richarlison nips in ahead of Gueye, and is clipped. Spurs want a penalty, but the referee’s not interested. Play continues, and Mouriño is booked for a crude check on the in-flight Simons.
Updated
35 min: Bergvall spins Comesaña elegantly, and is dragged back by the neck for his trouble. A card to match the Villarreal midfielder’s shirt.
33 min: Now it’s Richarlison who goes into the referee’s notebook, for a late nibble at Veiga, who was busy playing the ball out from the back.
31 min: Sarr aims a forensic drive towards the bottom left. Junior palms it away with a strong hand. That’s a fine save given what’s gone before.
30 min: Simons is booked for standing on Mouriño’s foot. That didn’t seem intentional and Simons is stunned as the card is waved in his face.
28 min: Kudus snaffles possession in the middle of the park and races down the inside-right channel. He advances towards the box. He’s got options either side, but opts to take the shot on himself. He’s entitled to, but his effort is blocked and cleared.
27 min: That miss has seriously displeased Villarreal coach Marcelino, who rants and raves on the touchline in the expressive style.
25 min: It should be 1-1. Romero fails to deal with a long ball down the middle. His scuffed clearance falls to Pepe, who considers shooting from the edge of the D but instead rolls left to Buchanan, racing in from the flank. He’s in acres of space, but upon meeting the ball 12 yards out, sidefoots harmlessly wide right. A huge chance wasted.
23 min: Mikautadze plays a cute reverse pass down the inside-left channel, nearly releasing Buchanan into the box. But Romero spots the run and nips in to intercept, at which point the flag goes up for offside anyway. But Thomas Frank will be pleased with his captain’s anticipation and calm intervention.
21 min: Simons advances down the left and crosses low. Junior gets down and handles competently this time, much to the crowd’s amusement. “Luiz Junior has surely put his name on the list of potential future Manchester United goalkeepers within four minutes of play on English soil,” suggests Justin Kavanagh. “Sterling work!”
Updated
19 min: Spurs have become long-throw experts in short order under their new boss. Bergvall launches one into the mixer. But Villarreal clear, Buchanan briefly threatening on the counter. Bergvall tracks back and ushers his man down a cul-de-sac. It feels like this game has goals in it.
17 min: Kudus dribbles elegantly down the right, sitting down a couple of defenders before cutting back for Bentancur, whose shot is deflected behind for a corner. Simons takes the set piece but it’s easily cleared.
15 min: There’s a lovely shot of Junior’s calamity from behind the goal. You can see the keeper’s face crumble in impotent distress as the ball spins backwards off his palms, beginning its inexorable journey towards the net. Nothing can be done, his fate sealed. One of the great goalkeeping howlers. Ah well, at least it’s not the final. Oh Loris.
13 min: … a game of head tennis briefly breaks out before Richarlison clears.
12 min: Pepe advances down the inside-right channel and sidefoots a shot towards the bottom left. It takes a nick off Van de Ven and flies out for a corner. From which …
10 min: In other pantomime news, Pepe, formerly of fellow north-London concern Arsenal, is roundly booed as he probes gingerly down the right. It’s shaping up to be a long evening for a couple of Villarreal players.
Updated
8 min: Junior is going to cop for a lot of flak this evening after that dismal mistake. Now he races out of his box to head a long pass clear. Successfully so, but the crowd ooh sarcastically anyway.
6 min: That was an absurd error. Up the other end, Vicario makes a more positive intervention, punching Buchanan’s left-wing cross clear with some conviction, under pressure from Mikautadze. Pérez returns the ball, his speculative shot deflected out for a corner from which nothing comes. Lively start.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal (Luiz Júnior og 4)
Bergvall is sent scampering down the right flank. He looks for Richarlison in the middle with a low cross. Junior dives to claim, but in diving forward to collect, allows the ball to squirt out of his hands, backwards, and into the bottom right. What a huge blunder! What a gift! What a start for Spurs!
Updated
2 min: Foyth’s first act on his return to north London is to clatter into Richarlison, knocking him upside the head in an aerial duel. The resulting free kick is launched long, and Van de Ven tees up Simons, who screeches a first-time shot over the bar from distance. A statement of intent from Simons on his home debut.
Spurs get the ball rolling. More accurately, Vicario launches it. Simons nearly brings it down on the edge of the Villarreal box. Nearly, but not quite.
Here come the teams! Spurs in their famous lilywhite, Villarreal in submarine yellow. Sky of dark blue, pitch of green. “Champions of Europe, we know what we are,” trill the N17 faithful, not entirely in keeping with Uefa-approved definitions, but you get the gist of their argument. We’ll be off in a minute or two.
Thomas Frank speaks to Amazon Prime. “We are just waiting … let’s get the show started … I’m very humble about it … very privileged to stand here today … hopefully a good performance and a win … happy for this opportunity … we have had a good start … must be consistent … level-headed in good times and bad times … I will suck in [the atmosphere] but when the whistle goes it’s boom … I am looking forward to seeing the team … we try to use the squad … Lucas Bergvall was really good against West Ham … give a young player momentum … it’s nice to have good options … we teach players to be considered and calm.”
Spurs captain Cristian Romero has been doing what he does, telling it like he sees it. “I did a lot of interviews which seemed like I was talking badly about people inside the club but in the end I’m a person who sometimes makes mistakes and that’s it. I always want the best for the club.”
Tottenham make two changes to the side that started the 3-0 Premier League win at West Ham. Rodrigo Bentancur replaces João Palhinha in midfield, the latter dropping to the bench. Meanwhile Mathys Tel isn’t in Tottenham’s Champions League squad, so his place up front is taken by Richarlison. Xavi Simons makes his home debut.
Villarreal are captained by defender Juan Foyth, who made 16 Premier League appearances for Spurs between 2017 and 2020. The Yellow Submarine have won five of their last seven European fixtures, and their last two away games in the Champions League group/league phase. Manor Solomon, on loan from Spurs, is eligible to face his parent club and is on the bench.
Updated
The teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall, Kudus, Richarlison, Simons.
Subs: Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Joao Palhinha, Udogie, Gray, Johnson, Odobert, Davies, Muani, Scarlett, Byfield.
Villarreal: Junior, Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona, Buchanan, Comesana, Gueye, Pepe, Mikautadze, Perez.
Subs: Navarro, Pedraza, Oluwaseyi, Moleiro, Partey, Akhomach, Parejo, Solomon, Marin, Conde, Tenas, Altimira.
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia).
Updated
Villarreal have made it to the semi-finals twice in their short European history. (They only made their continental debut in 2002.) On both occasions English opposition did for them: Arsenal beat them in 2006, while Liverpool survived a second-leg scare in 2022.
Spurs have been at it a whole lot longer, and reached the semi-finals on debut in 1962, losing out to Eusébio’s Benfica. They’ve made it as far as the final on one occasion, in 2019, but let’s not dwell on their no-show against Liverpool; instead let’s reminisce about the performance that got them there, that comeback against Ajax. Erik ten Hag was never quite the same once Lucas Moura was finished with him.
Preamble
Tottenham Hotspur’s bonus prize for winning last season’s Europa League begins here. They open their Champions League campaign against the 2021 Europa League winners Villarreal. The two clubs can share their war stories of seeing off Manchester United later, but for now there’s a match to be played. The first meeting of the pair kicks off at 8pm UK time. It’s on!
