Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal result: Spurs make winning UEFA Champions League start under Thomas Frank thanks to own-goal howler

Tottenham Hotspur made a winning start to their UEFA Champions League campaign, scraping past Villarreal 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a goal that came from a calamitous goalkeeping error in just the fourth minute.

The moment that settled the game was one that visiting goalkeeper Luiz Junior will want to forget, as he got down low to prevent Lucas Bergvall’s cross from reaching the run of Richarlison in the box, only for the ball to spin out of his grasp and dribble over the line.

Tottenham, boosted by the gift of their early lead, played some really nice football in flashes in the first half, with summer signing Xavi Simons showing flashes of quality on the left flank. But the game drifted for the home team after the break, and Villarreal carved out some half-chances, with former Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe the stand-out threat.

The visitors will feel that they got unlucky when Micky van de Ven was shown a yellow card for a foul on the edge of the box that could easily have yielded a red and was half-a-yard away from being a penalty.

But Spurs held on to the win and will look to build on their three points when they travel to face Bodo/Glimt next time out.

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This is the goal that got Spurs off to a winning start in their Champions League campaign.

Tottenham have a win in the UEFA Champions League, but it wasn’t the prettiest, particularly in a second half where they looked pretty sloppy on the ball and disjointed in attack. Three points on the board in the league phase is the key thing though, getting Spurs off to a winning start and ensuring that Thomas Frank’s first game as a manager is a positive one. And there were encouraging points as well, particularly some nice touches from new signing Xavi Simons on his home debut and a first appearance for Randal Kolo Muani off the bench. Frank and his coaching team have plenty to work on, but the result means that Spurs have a platform to build on in this competition.

TNT Sports had Ben Snowball in the press box tonight, and here’s his thoughts on that full-time whistle:

Hard to argue with that. It’s the history of the Tottenham, etc, etc.

The final whistle goes and Spurs celebrate a 1-0 win to open their Champions League campaign with three points. It was hard work at times, particularly in a second half where the threat seen in the first largely dissipated, but the result is the important thing at this stage for Spurs as they continue to try and work out what the Thomas Frank era will look like.

Bergvall’s influence on this game has waned significantly and he is replaced for the final few moments by Danso, as Frank adds an extra defensive presence to try and hold on to the three points.

The board goes up to signal three minutes of added time. Can Spurs cling on to a win that would get their Champions League campaign off to a terrific start?

Summer-signing Kudus has been a great outlet all night, holding the ball up well, and he does so again, winning a foul for Spurs to eat up a bit of time and relieve some pressure.

Pepe steps up to take the free-kick and he catches it well, whipping a great effort wide of the far top corner. Villarreal have grown into this match through the second half and will be eyeing a late equaliser that they arguably deserve.

A long ball over the top catches Spurs out and Van de Ven shoulders his man over. It’s a foul, but its just outside the box and the referee gives a free-kick. VAR is looking at this to check whether it should be a penalty, but no is the decision. And the presence of Romero on the other side is also the justification for no straight red.

Kudus does well to get a cross in and Kolo Muani knocks it down. It drops nicely for Palhinha, who hits a rising effort over the bar.

The visitors make two more changes, with Parejo coming on as well as Partey. The introduction of the latter is met by a wall of noise, most of which is in relation to the well-publicised court case involving the former Arsenal midfielder.

Simons is given a warm round of applause after an impressive showing on his home debut, with Richarlison also withdrawn. Johnson comes on, and so does loan signing Kolo Muani for his home debut.

Cardona and Perez make way and Pedraza and Akhomach come on for the visitors, and it looks like more changes are in the offing.

Palhinha has already won two challenges moments after coming on and the second of those helps find space for Kudus on the right, who whips in a brilliant cross that very nearly finds Richarlison at the back post. It’s well defended in the end, with just enough pressure to stop the Brazilian from getting onto it.

Thomas Frank looks to breathe some new life into this game and turns to his bench. Palhinha replaces Sarr to add a bit of solidity to a midfield that was starting to look quite open, while Udogie comes on for Spence at left-back in a straight swap as the Italian continues to ease back towards full match fitness.

Simons comes across and makes a late challenge on Pepe and is perhaps fortuitous to escape a second booking. He’s walking a tightrope now. There is frustration from Villarreal that the ref didn’t reach for his pocket, so much so that a yellow is indeed brandished but in the direction of the away dugout.

A corner is whipped right into the mixer and the keeper flails it clear rather unconfidently. Moments later a deep cross from Porro is well claimed by the stopper, whose own-goal remains the difference between the two sides.

The sloppiness of this second half has led to a bit of unease in the stands, as TNT Sports’ Ben Snowball reports from the press box: