Tottenham player ratings vs Villarreal: Xavi Simons has a lucky escape, Joao Palhinha already pivotal | OneFootball

Forward narrowly avoided a nightmare home debut

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Tottenham marked their return to the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Villarreal in north London.

Xavi Simons and Micky van de Ven both survived Villarreal appeals for a red card as Spurs found themselves under increasing pressure in the second-half, but they held firm to pick up all three points.

Here’s how Standard Sport rated the Spurs players...

Guglielmo Vicario 6

Grateful to see a Nicolas Pepe shot slide wide, but no saves to make on an uneventful night for him. One poor pass out nearly caused Spurs real problems.

Pedro Porro 7

Classy on the ball with some lovely crossfield switches early in the match. Some dangerous crosses into the box too and Villarreal did not threaten too much down his side.

Cristian Romero 6

Unusually shaky on the ball, gifting Villarreal the chance to counter on more than one occasion. More confident when defending his own box.

Micky van de Ven 7

Perhaps fortunate to avoid a red late on when shoving Georges Mikautadze just outside the area. Otherwise impressive again, his pace provides so much security in defence. Essential Spurs keep him fit.

Djed Spence 5

Had an uncomfortable night against Pepe, who got the better of him in a way very few have. Did not offer much in attack beyond a couple of moments when overlapping Simons.

Rodrigo Bentancur 6

Tidy enough on the ball in the anchor role but does not provide the same security as Joao Palhinha.

Pape Sarr 5

Looked a little leggy compared to his usual relentlessly energetic standards. Replaced midway through the second half with Spurs losing the midfield battle.

Lucas Bergvall 7

Dangerous burst down the right and his cross in forced the early own goal. Provides much-needed drive to the midfield, making it hard for Frank to drop him.

Mohammed Kudus 7

Brightest player in attack for Spurs and had the beating of his man. Can do too much on the ball at times, rather than releasing team-mates, but offers a constant threat..

Richarlison 6

Ineffective on his return to the side. Worked hard but didn’t hold the ball up well enough and barely had a sniff of goal. A drop-off from the standards earlier in the season.

Xavi Simons 5

Lucky not to have been sent off, having brought down Pepe on the counter when already booked. Couple of dangerous efforts when cutting in but largely unconvincing on the left wing.

Substitutes

Joao Palhinha (Sarr 69’) 8

Immediately had an impact in providing some snap to the Spurs midfield, allowing them to sustain attacks. Already pivotal to this team.

Destiny Udogie (Spence 69’) 6

Looked more comfortable than Spence up against Pepe, will hope to get first start of the season in upcoming matches.

Randal Kolo Muani (Richarlison 77’) 5

Brought on for his Spurs debut and booked within a few seconds for a swinging arm. Had no real opportunity to get involved.

Brennan Johnson (Simons 77’) 6

Tracked back well to help out Udogie as visitors continued to attack down their right.

Kevin Danso (Bergvall 90+2) N/A