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As Champions League returns go this didn't quite have the glitz and glamour expected but ultimately the job was done.
There was something just a little off key about the whole evening. It began with a downbeat rendition of Can't Smile Without You, a song always better after a game than before as it's not exactly an adrenaline-pumping ditty.
The crowd only numbered 54,755 for Tottenham's return to Europe's biggest competition, which said as much about the pricing of the fixture as anything else, leaving the club scrambling to send emails to fans in the weeks ahead of the game telling them that they could bring up to six friends to sit with them.
The first home Champions League game at Spurs in two-and-a-half years should have brought a sell-out crowd in the 62,850-seater stadium rather than rows of empty seats. Even the Villarreal fans couldn't be bothered, with just 220 of them making the trip in their bright yellow shirts out of the 3,000 allocation.
The football on the pitch matched the mood. Between them, the two sides huffed, puffed and toiled and could only muster a single shot on goal, Pape Matar Sarr's low shot from outside the box.
Even the goal that won it came from a moment of farce. Lucas Bergvall's low cross appeared to have been collected by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior only for the Brazilian to inexplicably allow the ball to roll out of his hands, down his body behind him and across the goal line.
Spurs rode their luck in the remaining 86 minutes and could easily have had Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven sent off on another night but ultimately Thomas Frank got to the end of a night lacking in any star quality with a debut Champions League victory.
In any other year Tottenham might have crumbled, they might have generously gifted their visitors a late leveller to share the spoils.
Instead in the toughest competition in the sport, against a tricky side with previous in shocking so-called bigger clubs, Spurs grabbed all three points to kick off their Champions League campaign. It means the north London side are now unbeaten in their past 21 home games in European competitions.
"I thought it was a big win. In any competition it's good to get three points and get a good start. I'm happy with that," Frank told football.london. "I'm happy with the clean sheet. I'm happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game. They were a good team I really admire.
"Obviously offensively we struggled on the day to create something against a good team. They also defended very well, which we knew in the 4-4-2 structure. They were very aggressive. They needed the highest level in terms of touch, passing and decision-making, and they nailed that.
"Then it was a very even game that we edged in the end. What I like is that our foundation is strong. Now we are four games won, three in the Premier League, one in the Champions League, and we have four sheets, which is massive."
He added: "Obviously, we are building the offensive structure more and more. Xavi Simons has just come into the club. It's fair to say he and Djed need a little relationship, of course, to get going.
"No complaints, it's just natural. I think there was a spell in the second half where we decided to give the ball away every single time we had it. We gave the ball away, let's bring it back. Oh give it away, let's bring it back. Of course, it's a little bit easier to sit here with a smile, but of course, at that level, we will raise of course."
They say that all the best teams are built first from the back and Frank certainly seems to be doing that. Four clean sheets in five games with one goal conceded is not normal for Tottenham Hotspur.
"We talked a lot about 'clean sheet mentality' this year because we conceded a lot last year," Lucas Bergvall told Amazon Prime. "They [Villarreal] did not have a shot on target, so we did a really good job."
Micky van de Ven added: "I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Structure-wise we are standing really good and we all know what to do, so we're a difficult team to beat."
The key for Frank is that this needs to be the foundation rather than the whole building. For a certain Nuno Espirito Santo went through his first month at Spurs with four clean sheets from the first five matches as well, including conceding only once.
Of course, Frank's Spurs have scored more, with nine goals in those five matches compared to Tottenham's six back in 2021.
The Dane's system is built on a solid defensive structure with the attacking reliant upon the pressing in different areas of the pitch as well as mostly one playmaker and huge importance placed on free-kicks and restarts.
The key to fewer shot-shy games like this one and against Bournemouth will be unlocking that playmaker and also ensuring the team is rotated enough to handle the pressing demands over a season which will bring matches every three days for hopefully much of it.
"This team, these players, we will score goals. There's no doubt of that. I know we only scored an own goal today, but we will score goals, I'm not in doubt of that," said Frank.
"I think the big thing was that we needed to defend better. So we worked very, very hard on structure, key principles, recovery runs. Doing the tough job, that gives you a top opportunity to win games, and we have proven that so far."
It's early days for Xavi. The 22-year-old has thus far been used out on the left by Frank since arriving, despite the Spurs head coach telling football.london last week that he sees him primarily as a number 10. At Leipzig, the Dutchman would play somewhere in between as the left-sided player of two 10s.
If we're looking back to Tottenham's past, there's a touch of Luka Modric's early time at the club in it, in that the Croatian was used on the left until he finally got his chance in the centre and the rest is history for one of the game's most successful players.
Xavi plays higher up the pitch. He has a little burst of acceleration but not the pace to really make the wing his best role. He also has a tendency to drift inside which does not particularly lend itself to a partnership with the right-footed Djed Spence, who doesn't often stay wide on the left himself.
"How do we get gelling? It's when you get those good relationships," said Frank. "So I think, for example, on the right side, Pedro and Kudus, they definitely have something going. I think Lucas came over to that side, it looks right.
"I think on the left side, Xavi and Djed, good against West Ham, but it's not 100% in sync when maybe it's not going, as an example. We gave the ball away so many times, where we could have played it more second half, which just happens sometimes."
On why Xavi looked far less impactful in the second half compared to the first, the Spurs boss added: "I think there could be many, many reasons. I also think there were three, four, five times where he should have had the ball quicker to create something, but it was just unfortunate."
The young Netherlands international was fortunate to remain on the pitch in that second half after bringing down the dribbling Nicolas Pepe while on a yellow card. The referee Rade Obrenovic decided not to flourish the red card and VAR could not intervene for a second yellow.
Villarreal manager Marcelino had no doubt the Spurs man should have been sent off and Amazon's referee pundit Mark Clattenburg agreed.
Frank was asked whether his heart was in his mouth as Xavi made that challenge.
"Yeah, maybe, I haven't looked into it. I think there was one on that transition you could maybe discuss," he said. "Just because it looks dangerous it can't be a yellow all the time. But of course I understand why you ask the question. So yeah."
Even more scary for Frank was another Dutchman's indiscretion. Van de Ven had been otherwise excellent before bringing down Georges Mikautadze as he ran towards the Spurs box late in the game.
Everyone expected a red card but the official produced only a yellow and VAR merely confirmed that the incident took place just outside the penalty area.
Again Marcelino felt it was a "clear" red card and it ended up being ideal for Spurs because it stopped a very dangerous moment, Van de Ven only got a booking on his Champions League debut and the resulting free-kick from Pepe curled wide.
football.london asked Frank if he was worried in that moment after his centre-back brought the Georgian international down.
"Of course, just at the moment, it didn't look top. Sometimes I can clearly see penalties and yellow cards when it's going our way. This time, there was a little bit of need to hope," he said. "But when I've seen it back, clearly, outside our box, clearly he's a little bit in front. It's a free kick and a zero call."
With his Champions League bow a success in terms of the result, now the focus for Frank will be to build on top of that defensive structure. The Tottenham fans will accept misfiring displays if they bring wins, but as much as you need to keep the other team out to avoid defeat, so you need to score to win.
Using Xavi infield as a central attacking midfielder would require Frank to sacrifice one of the less creative quartet he has plenty of affection for.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha are a solid base but also provide two options in the number six role for him to rotate between in weeks when the gap between matches is small.
Sarr is a Frank favourite with his energy and movement while Bergvall made it back-to-back man of the match awards with a positive Champions League debut, with his head coach praising the way he linked up with Porro and Kudus and it was the young Swede who raced down the right to fire in the cross that embarrassed Luis Junior.
The 19-year-old midfielder does not lack confidence on the pitch or maturity off it. Bergvall has been handed long throw duties by restart coach Andreas Georgson when Kevin Danso is not on the pitch.
In one first half moment, even the teenager sensed the muted nature of the stadium and whipped his arms up and down to the fans in the west stand to rouse them as he went to pick up the ball for one throw.
It's remarkable that Bergvall was playing his 51st game for Tottenham in just over a year at the age of 19. For context, his captain Cristian Romero has played 130 in four years. It shows how the young Swede has already become such a trusted and available part of the club.
Bergvall is starting to catch the eye of the Premier League's legends and pundits. Alan Shearer had called his headed goal against West Ham one of "unbelievable technique" and on Tuesday night Wayne Rooney praised the Sweden international.
"Sometimes you forget how young he is because he played a lot of games last season, and the maturity with which he plays is fantastic," the former England striker told Amazon. "So he shows different sides to his game this season, last season he played a bit deeper, and to play as a number ten is not easy.
"It’s not easy to get on the ball and be in the right positions, but I thought today he showed the different side to his game, which will only improve him in the future."
Tottenham fans got to see a brief debut from Randal Kolo Muani. The 26-year-old came on for his first minutes since July 1 and other than a knockdown for a Palhinha shot over, his main contribution in his 13 minutes was a yellow card for a high boot.
The Frenchman is going to need more minutes to get sharper and when Dominic Solanke eventually returns from his ankle problem it will be interesting to see whether Frank uses Kolo Muani as a second striker or out wide, as well as through the middle.
Frank has a large group of players desperate for football at the moment and many of them took part in a late night training session with goals pulled into the middle of the pitch after the final whistle on Tuesday night.
It was a remarkable day for 16-year-old Jun'ai Byfield who played 90 minutes as Spurs' U19s beat Villarreal 5-3 at Hotspur Way on Tuesday afternoon. Then after a quick shower and change, he raced across to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because Frank had named him on the bench in the Champions League.
Byfield was also on the bench in the UEFA Super Cup and it shows just how highly the coaching staff at Spurs rate him.
Next week's Carabao Cup tie against League One side Doncaster Rovers will give Frank a chance to hand out much-needed minutes to plenty within his squad and Byfield will be hoping he might have a chance to become the club's second youngest ever debutant, just 13 days behind Mikey Moore.
First up though for Frank and his players is a tough game at Brighton, who are yet to lose at home this season but did also fall to Bournemouth last weekend as Spurs did in the previous round of matches.
The three full days in between matches should allow the Tottenham boss to name his strongest line-up to travel to the Amex Stadium ahead of being able to make changes in the Carabao Cup.
Frank will want the defensive solidity to remain but knows the goals must also flow as relationships grow between his players, new and old.
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