Tottenham defeated Villarreal 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, winning their first Champions League game of the season.
Thomas Frank managed his first game in the Uefa Champions League, coming away with a hard-fought victory and earning all three points.
While it wasn’t Tottenham’s best performance under their new manager, they clearly showed a resilience to get the result even when things weren’t at their best.
Despite issues on the ball, Frank’s side defended well, keeping their fourth clean sheet in five matches and establishing a solid foundation to move forwards with.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Build up and Tempo issues
Let’s start with a few of the issues that were pertinent in the match, with Tottenham’s tempo and build up problems.
Spurs set up with what Frank described as a 4-1-5 on the ball, the back four intact, Rodrigo Bentancur as the lone pivot and the two central midfielders pushed higher to support the attacking unit with runs in behind.
Where the issues begin is the first phase of build up, with large distances between the back four and single pivot, leading to slower ball circulation and fewer gaps appearing to penetrate with passes between the lines.
| Stats | Tottenham | Villarreal |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 58% | 42% |
| xG | 0.58 | 0.53 |
| Shots | 9 | 10 |
| Touches in Opposition Box | 19 | 19 |
These struggles to access central areas via build up led to Tottenham increasing the tempo and launching more direct balls forward, with 53 long balls in the match (29 completed).
With the spacing between players stretched and the two Tottenham midfielders pushed on in the attacking unit, Spurs left themselves open in transition in these moments which caused them some issues.
Xavi Simons’ left-sided dynamics
One of the biggest tactical questions being answered within this game was the usage of Xavi Simons, once again from the left, drifting inside with Djed Spence providing the width on the overlap.
Playing in the left half space is clearly the best way to utilise Simons, who played a similar role for RB Leipzig, with David Raum overlapping to provide the width, giving the Dutchman plenty of freedom in the middle of the pitch.
Frank alluded to this being just the second game for Simons and Spence playing together, and creating a relationship will be key for the pair down that side in order to maximise both players.
Against Villarreal, Simons and Spence often interchanged with quick passes on the outside of the block, struggling to find Simons on the inside of the block.
This often hurt Tottenham’s central progression, with the aforementioned build up issues connected to their lack of central access.
- Simons touches: 53
- Simons dribble attempts: 3 (1 successful)
- Simons chances created: 1
- Simons shots: 2
Mohamed Kudus, Tottenham’s reference point
A key figure in the early days of Frank’s Tottenham tenure is summer signing, Mohammed Kudus, who offers their greatest form of threat as things stand.
Playing more direct as a byproduct of their build up issues, having a focal point as the outlet is key in order to get bodies around them and generate attacks through this method.
While most would assume that entails a target man centre-forward, Kudus is clearly the reference point for this Tottenham side to launch those attacks.
Lucas Bergvall mentioned the runs he was making off the ball in the match, stating he made those runs “especially when Mo got the ball”.
Kudus is extremely press resistant, using his frame to protect the ball, keeping possession with close control under pressure before dumping the ball off to a teammate.
This was seen for the goal with Bergvall attacking the vacated space in the channel that Kudus had previously occupied, allowing the young midfielder to drive into the box and put the ball in which resulted in the own goal.
- Kudus touches: 59
- Kudus dribbles: 5 (2 successful)
- Kudus ground duels won: 4
Game management
Another positive for Tottenham fans to take away from this victory is their game management in order to hold on in the second half.
Villarreal came out strong, as can be seen by the momentum chart, pushing onto Tottenham and looking to force the issue.
This saw Frank react, bringing Joao Palhinha and Destiny Udogie on, which allowed Tottenham to regain some control and weather the first storm.
Another onslaught came towards the back end of the game, but Frank’s men stuck to the task, not allowing Villarreal to have a single shot on target and limiting them to just 0.27 Expected Goals in the second half despite the extra pressure.
Frank will be happy with certain aspects of his sides performance, keeping another clean sheet, managing the game even during poor periods and generating some chances through his midfield runners.
However, their ability to break down opposition pressing schemes with more structured build up routines will be something he is looking to improve, along with building relationships within the attacking unit to maximise his new stars.