Alasdair Gold believes Tottenham Hotspur did what was needed to beat Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League
Thomas Frank has enjoyed a fine start to life at Tottenham Hotspur. The north Londoners have performed very well in the Premier League, bar the blemish against Bournemouth, and sit third in the table with nine points from 12.
Spurs began their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night with a victory over Villarreal. Thomas Frank admitted that the club’s ambition is to win the Champions League, but his team will be taking it one game at a time. This is the first time that Tottenham are experiencing the new format of the Champions League, having last participated in the competition during the 2022/23 campaign.
The Lilywhites, who have a relatively favourable draw for the Champions League first phase, will be hopeful of reaching the knockout stages, and they got off to a fine start by overcoming Villarreal earlier this week. The Danish tactician’s side delivered a less-than-convincing display in a narrow 1-0, thanks to Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior’s blunder in the fourth minute for gifting them the points.
Alasdair Gold believes Tottenham Hotspur did what was needed to beat Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League.
Tottenham managed to beat Villarreal in their first Champions League game
Journalist hails Tottenham’s grit in narrow win over Villarreal
Tottenham had to fight until the final moments to secure the points against Villarreal. Spurs midfielder Lucas Bergvall credited the La Liga side for providing a tough challenge, while Frank has urged his team to improve going forward.
Now, Alasdair Gold has given his verdict on the north Londoners’ win on their opening Champions League night. The reputable journalist claims while it was not a pretty display by any means, the Tottenham players stuck to their guns and grinded out a win. He hailed the team’s defensive solidity and resilience to keep the Spanish opposition away and get a clean sheet, having witnessed Spurs crumble under pressure in the years gone by. Here is what Alasdair Gold said on his YouTube channel:
“They (Tottenham) ground out a win. They were lacking in star quality. They were lacking in fluidity in the way they played going forward. But they come away with a 1-0 nil victory in a competition that you cannot sniff at victories in because however they come, that is the biggest thing.”
“And also, I think it’s worth saying that in other years Spurs might have crumbled on they might have conceded a late goal and thrown away the points or thrown away at least two of them.
Instead, against a team in Villarreal who have you know shocked quite a few teams over the years, Spurs grabbed all three points.”
Important to get ugly wins
Frank is laying the foundations of a strong team that can compete in major tournaments. The Champions League is the elite European competition, where every point matters no matter how they come, as long they come. The 32 teams are among the best in Europe, and each of them bring different challenges.
Villarreal came up with a plan and may have been successful to stop Tottenham, had their goalkeeper not committed a blunder. They challenged Frank’s side in certain ways, and despite not being at their best, Spurs prevailed on the night and that was the most important thing. Winning ugly is something the Lilywhites have to learn if they are to progress to the competition’s knockout rounds, and under Frank, we think there will be more such wins.