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45 min: There will be one additional first-half minute.
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44 min: Porro crosses from the right. Junior is forced to palm clear. Simons picks up the rebound and tees up Richarlison, who attempts to beat the keeper from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The ball’s deflected into the side netting, and nothing comes from the resulting set piece.
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42 min: Simons spins into space down the left and lays off to Bergvall, who flicks the ball up onto the hand of Gueye. Again, you’ve seen penalties given for less, but the players were right on top of each other and that proximity saves Villarreal.
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40 min: Before the free kick can be taken, Richarlison and Mouriño are read the riot act by the overly-fussy referee. Eventually the ball’s sent into the mixer, and Bentancur shoulders it wide right. A better connection, preferably with his head, and that could, perhaps should, have been a goal.
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39 min: Bergvall crosses from the right. The ball’s elbowed away by Cardona. Free kick, just outside the box. It’s a corner to all intents and purposes.
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37 min: Once that foul is awarded, and the player booked, play pauses as VAR takes a look at the Gueye-Richarlison coming-together. VAR decides Richarlison was looking for it, and agrees with the on-field decision. No pen. You’ve seen ‘em given.
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36 min: Romero chests down in the Villarreal box. Richarlison nips in ahead of Gueye, and is clipped. Spurs want a penalty, but the referee’s not interested. Play continues, and Mouriño is booked for a crude check on the in-flight Simons.
Xavi Simons has impressed so far for Tottenham. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 15.43 EDT
35 min: Bergvall spins Comesaña elegantly, and is dragged back by the neck for his trouble. A card to match the Villarreal midfielder’s shirt.
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33 min: Now it’s Richarlison who goes into the referee’s notebook, for a late nibble at Veiga, who was busy playing the ball out from the back.
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31 min: Sarr aims a forensic drive towards the bottom left. Junior palms it away with a strong hand. That’s a fine save given what’s gone before.
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30 min: Simons is booked for standing on Mouriño’s foot. That didn’t seem intentional and Simons is stunned as the card is waved in his face.
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28 min: Kudus snaffles possession in the middle of the park and races down the inside-right channel. He advances towards the box. He’s got options either side, but opts to take the shot on himself. He’s entitled to, but his effort is blocked and cleared.
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27 min: That miss has seriously displeased Villarreal coach Marcelino, who rants and raves on the touchline in the expressive style.
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25 min: It should be 1-1. Romero fails to deal with a long ball down the middle. His scuffed clearance falls to Pepe, who considers shooting from the edge of the D but instead rolls left to Buchanan, racing in from the flank. He’s in acres of space, but upon meeting the ball 12 yards out, sidefoots harmlessly wide right. A huge chance wasted.
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23 min: Mikautadze plays a cute reverse pass down the inside-left channel, nearly releasing Buchanan into the box. But Romero spots the run and nips in to intercept, at which point the flag goes up for offside anyway. But Thomas Frank will be pleased with his captain’s anticipation and calm intervention.
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21 min: Simons advances down the left and crosses low. Junior gets down and handles competently this time, much to the crowd’s amusement. “Luiz Junior has surely put his name on the list of potential future Manchester United goalkeepers within four minutes of play on English soil,” suggests Justin Kavanagh. “Sterling work!”
Manchester United goalkeeping legend Massimo Taibi in happier times. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/EPAShare
Updated at 15.41 EDT
19 min: Spurs have become long-throw experts in short order under their new boss. Bergvall launches one into the mixer. But Villarreal clear, Buchanan briefly threatening on the counter. Bergvall tracks back and ushers his man down a cul-de-sac. It feels like this game has goals in it.
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17 min: Kudus dribbles elegantly down the right, sitting down a couple of defenders before cutting back for Bentancur, whose shot is deflected behind for a corner. Simons takes the set piece but it’s easily cleared.
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15 min: There’s a lovely shot of Junior’s calamity from behind the goal. You can see the keeper’s face crumble in impotent distress as the ball spins backwards off his palms, beginning its inexorable journey towards the net. Nothing can be done, his fate sealed. One of the great goalkeeping howlers. Ah well, at least it’s not the final. Oh Loris.
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13 min: … a game of head tennis briefly breaks out before Richarlison clears.
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12 min: Pepe advances down the inside-right channel and sidefoots a shot towards the bottom left. It takes a nick off Van de Ven and flies out for a corner. From which …
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10 min: In other pantomime news, Pepe, formerly of fellow north-London concern Arsenal, is roundly booed as he probes gingerly down the right. It’s shaping up to be a long evening for a couple of Villarreal players.
Arsenal legend Nicolas Pepe evades the challenge of Richarlison. Photograph: John Walton/PAShare
Updated at 15.35 EDT
8 min: Junior is going to cop for a lot of flak this evening after that dismal mistake. Now he races out of his box to head a long pass clear. Successfully so, but the crowd ooh sarcastically anyway.
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6 min: That was an absurd error. Up the other end, Vicario makes a more positive intervention, punching Buchanan’s left-wing cross clear with some conviction, under pressure from Mikautadze. Pérez returns the ball, his speculative shot deflected out for a corner from which nothing comes. Lively start.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal (Luiz Júnior og 4)
Bergvall is sent scampering down the right flank. He looks for Richarlison in the middle with a low cross. Junior dives to claim, but in diving forward to collect, allows the ball to squirt out of his hands, backwards, and into the bottom right. What a huge blunder! What a gift! What a start for Spurs!
Oh, Luiz Junior. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 15.18 EDT
2 min: Foyth’s first act on his return to north London is to clatter into Richarlison, knocking him upside the head in an aerial duel. The resulting free kick is launched long, and Van de Ven tees up Simons, who screeches a first-time shot over the bar from distance. A statement of intent from Simons on his home debut.
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Spurs get the ball rolling. More accurately, Vicario launches it. Simons nearly brings it down on the edge of the Villarreal box. Nearly, but not quite.
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Here come the teams! Spurs in their famous lilywhite, Villarreal in submarine yellow. Sky of dark blue, pitch of green. “Champions of Europe, we know what we are,” trill the N17 faithful, not entirely in keeping with Uefa-approved definitions, but you get the gist of their argument. We’ll be off in a minute or two.
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Thomas Frank speaks to Amazon Prime. “We are just waiting … let’s get the show started … I’m very humble about it … very privileged to stand here today … hopefully a good performance and a win … happy for this opportunity … we have had a good start … must be consistent … level-headed in good times and bad times … I will suck in [the atmosphere] but when the whistle goes it’s boom … I am looking forward to seeing the team … we try to use the squad … Lucas Bergvall was really good against West Ham … give a young player momentum … it’s nice to have good options … we teach players to be considered and calm.”
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Spurs captain Cristian Romero has been doing what he does, telling it like he sees it.“I did a lot of interviews which seemed like I was talking badly about people inside the club but in the end I’m a person who sometimes makes mistakes and that’s it. I always want the best for the club.”
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Tottenham make two changes to the side that started the 3-0 Premier League win at West Ham. Rodrigo Bentancur replaces João Palhinha in midfield, the latter dropping to the bench. Meanwhile Mathys Tel isn’t in Tottenham’s Champions League squad, so his place up front is taken by Richarlison. Xavi Simons makes his home debut.
Villarreal are captained by defender Juan Foyth, who made 16 Premier League appearances for Spurs between 2017 and 2020. The Yellow Submarine have won five of their last seven European fixtures, and their last two away games in the Champions League group/league phase. Manor Solomon, on loan from Spurs, is eligible to face his parent club and is on the bench.
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Updated at 14.03 EDT
The teams
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall, Kudus, Richarlison, Simons.
Subs: Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Joao Palhinha, Udogie, Gray, Johnson, Odobert, Davies, Muani, Scarlett, Byfield.
Villarreal: Junior, Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona, Buchanan, Comesana, Gueye, Pepe, Mikautadze, Perez.
Subs: Navarro, Pedraza, Oluwaseyi, Moleiro, Partey, Akhomach, Parejo, Solomon, Marin, Conde, Tenas, Altimira.
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia).
Come on you Spuds etc etc. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 14.46 EDT
Villarreal have made it to the semi-finals twice in their short European history. (They only made their continental debut in 2002.) On both occasions English opposition did for them: Arsenal beat them in 2006, while Liverpool survived a second-leg scare in 2022.
Spurs have been at it a whole lot longer, and reached the semi-finals on debut in 1962, losing out to Eusébio’s Benfica. They’ve made it as far as the final on one occasion, in 2019, but let’s not dwell on their no-show against Liverpool; instead let’s reminisce about the performance that got them there, that comeback against Ajax. Erik ten Hag was never quite the same once Lucas Moura was finished with him.
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Preamble
Tottenham Hotspur’s bonus prize for winning last season’s Europa League begins here. They open their Champions League campaign against the 2021 Europa League winners Villarreal. The two clubs can share their war stories of seeing off Manchester United later, but for now there’s a match to be played. The first meeting of the pair kicks off at 8pm UK time. It’s on!
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