Thomas Frank was victorious in his first Champions League game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, as they beat Villarreal 1-0 in north London.
The only goal of the game came just four minutes in, as Lucas Bergvall made a brilliant run out wide and received the ball from Pedro Porro, putting a delivery into the box.
It was a ball that should have been comfortably dealt with by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Jr, but it somehow found itself squirming and spinning over the goal line and into the net.
Micky van de Ven escaped a scare towards the end of the game, with VAR overturning a penalty after seeing the foul was from outside of the box and did not deem the challenge a red card.
Spurs struggled to kick on from the strong start, and it was far from a blockbuster game, but they importantly managed to see out the victory that stretches Thomas Frank's record at the club to four wins in five games.
With that being said, here are three things we learnt from the game.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero - a formidable partnership
Thomas Frank was victorious in his first Champions League game in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, as they beat Villarreal 1-0 in north London
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The Dutch half of the duo got away with a penalty and red card scare with moments to go, but other than that, it goes down as yet another clean sheet for the pair.
Van de Ven and Cristian Romero have conceded just once this season, and the partnership that always showed promise could well be starting to flourish.
Both defenders have suffered injury problems during their time at north London. If they can stay fit, they are one of the best partnerships in the league.
Micky van de Ven had a shaky moment towards the end, with the referee awarding a penalty but saw it overturned by VAR
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Frank’s less chaotic style of football, particularly his defensive line, than that of his predecessor Ange Postecoglou, will benefit his hopes of keeping his best defenders fit.
Van de Ven suffered from multiple muscle injuries under the Australian after the constant running he was being asked to do. With a more settled back line, he has a chance of consistently staying fit, which would have huge repercussions for Spurs’ season.
Spurs’ only defeat this season came against Bournemouth, where they didn’t score and conceded once. It has been clean sheets, other than that.
Keep it that way, and Frank is undoubtedly onto a winner.
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Lucas Bergvall - mature beyond his years
Lucas Bergvall was responsible for the delivery that led to the own goal
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Bergvall secured the man of the match award after a brilliant performance and a superb headed goal against West Ham at the weekend - it was no fluke.
The 18-year-old is demonstrating maturity beyond his years with his performances and is building on a terrific debut campaign in England very well.
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The Swedish international is a threat from deep positions, making dangerous runs, which can be evidenced by the first goal of the game.
Granted, it was a howler from Luiz Jr in the Villarreal net, but it was Bergvall’s intelligent and dangerous run down the right flank that created the space and allowed him to put a threatening ball in the box.
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Villarreal goalkeeper, Luiz Jr, had a moment to forget for the deciding goal
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It isn’t just the energy in the tank and the penetrating runs from deep that Bergvall offers; his quality and intelligence on the ball are very impressive at such a young age.
He quickly became a favourite under Postecoglou, but when the Australian left, he was faced with the challenge of proving himself again. He appears to be in the good books of Frank already and will undoubtedly feature heavily for Spurs again this campaign.
Spurs are vulnerable still
Villarreal caused Spurs some problems on the night
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While Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr’s runs from deep were dangerous, couple it with attacking full backs in Djed Spence and Pedro Porro - suddenly Spurs can be left short at the back.
Rodrigo Bentancour was tasked with holding his position in front of the back four on the night, and he protected Romero and van de Ven in central defence.
But often Spurs can be left a little short with just those three at the back, particularly with Villarreal playing two strikers. When Joao Palhinha joined the pitch for Sarr, a more sensible and defensive change, it made a difference.
Not only this, but some of the passing was sloppy and they gifted possession away too often during spells of the game, which could be complacency from the early goal.
The Spanish club had two great chances in the first half that should have been converted, but Spurs managed to get away with it.
Frank was known for an exciting but risky style of play with Brentford. It could be exposed more in the Champions League when he comes up against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain.
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