Tottenham 1-0 Villarreal (Junior og 4′)
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM — As Thomas Frank acknowledged in his programme notes, Champions League nights are where long-held ambitions are realised.
His first match in the competition was the culmination of a coaching journey that began 30 years ago with the Under-8 side of his local team in a small Danish town, and ended in a win to continue Tottenham Hotspur’s promising start to his tenure.
CALAMITY at the back for Villarreal!
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) September 16, 2025
Spurs were gifted a early goal as Luiz Júnior turned into his own netpic.twitter.com/2Fs7EWYEbV
One man’s dream is another man’s nightmare. It took Tottenham just four minutes to score, although Villarreal’s keeper did the hard work for them.
Luiz Junior turned a simple claim from Lucas Bergvall’s cross into an all-time classic howler, spilling it horribly into his bottom corner. The moment was more befitting of Sunday League than the Champions League.
It was a mess of Junior’s making, but the goal wouldn’t have happened without Bergvall’s determined burst from midfield. At 19, the Swede is already integral to this team and well on course to become a world-class midfielder if he maintains this rapid rate of progress.
Bergvall’s influence wasn’t evident in the post-match numbers. He completed 80 per cent of his passes, only one dribble and won no tackles. Only Richarlison had fewer touches than him in Spurs’ starting line-up. Technically, he didn’t create a chance either, even if it was his ball into the middle that led to the winner.
His impact was imperceptible to the data, defined by energy, drive and ambition rather than cold hard statistics. He is technically accomplished enough to play out of tight spaces, but also makes off-the-ball runs to enable Spurs to go long and escape the high press.
Frank has leaned heavily on the teenager so far. This was his third start of the campaign and, perhaps tellingly, his second consecutive one since the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in Spurs’ worst display under Frank by a distance.
In the 3-0 thrashing of West Ham last Saturday, he scored his maiden Premier League goal and matched his assist tally from last term. The beauty of Bergvall is that while he’s a dynamic box-to-box runner, he can be shaped and moulded into a creative, goalscoring midfielder in time.
Player of the match: Lucas Bergvall
- No stunning headed goal this time, but an all-action performance that oozed class.
Pape Matar Sarr, another bright spark in the opening weeks, stung Junior’s palms with a well-struck effort from the edge of the box as Spurs sought to build upon the advantage gifted to them. Frank evidently has taken a liking to both. Given their youthfulness, they can hold down the Spurs midfield for years to come.
Tottenham began their first Champions League match in 923 days brightly, even before Junior’s mishap. Xavi Simons, making a richly anticipated home debut, lashed a ferocious half-volley over after 85 seconds from an imaginative set-piece routine, a staple of the early Frank reign.
The visitors, backed by a few dozen yellow-shirted fans, though, were dangerous, with one-time Gunner Nicolas Pepe their chief threat. Villarreal’s bench was incensed when Simons escaped a second booking for deliberately fouling the ex-Arsenal winger to halt a dangerous counter.
The Dutchman was unlucky to receive his first at a period in the game when referee Rade Obrenovic was handing them out like party bags at a kid’s birthday, but hugely fortunate to avoid the second.
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Frank will have been more pleased with the first-half performance than the second, which was littered with loose passes and malfunctioning attacks. Joao Palhinha, perhaps surprisingly relegated to the bench after Saturday’s win over West Ham, was brought on to bolster a midfield that was too easily played through.
Tottenham’s slender lead was laced with jeopardy. Micky van de Ven bundled Georges Mikautadze over as he raced through on goal in the final 10 minutes. He survived a VAR check over a possible penalty, with contact initiated outside the box. Pepe struck the resulting free-kick sweetly but just missed the target. Spurs were hanging on towards the end.
A surge of relief escaped the stands as the final whistle blew, confirming Spurs’ fourth victory in six under Frank.
Spurs are undoubtedly a work in progress under their new boss, particularly in regard to developing passing patterns and controlling games.
He has stated that the first priority was to tighten up the defence and four clean sheets in six suggests that approach is working. It was an unconvincing win, but there is plenty for Spurs fans to feel positive about. Not least Bergvall’s rapid, unrelenting rise.
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