Thomas Frank was pleased to see Tottenham grind out a “big win” on their Champions League return, but Villarreal counterpart Marcelino bemoaned the fact Xavi Simons stayed on the pitch.
An embarrassing fourth-minute own goal by Luiz Junior helped Spurs end their 923-day wait to resume participation in Europe’s elite competition with three points.
The Villarreal goalkeeper claimed Lucas Bergvall’s cross ahead of Richarlison before it spilled through his grasp and over the line. It settled a contest low on chances with only one shot on target by either team.
“Doing the tough job, that gives you a top opportunity to win games and we have proven that so far,” Frank insisted.
“I thought it was a big win. In any competition it’s good to get three points and get a good start. I’m happy with that.
“I’m happy with the clean sheet, happy with the defensive side of the game. I think we were extremely good and limited Villarreal to very little throughout the game.
“Obviously offensively we struggled on the day to create something against a good team. It was a very even game that we edged in the end.
“What I like is that our foundation is strong. Now we are four games won, three in the Premier League, one in the Champions League, and we have four clean sheets which is massive.”
Villarreal had chances to level after the mishap by Junior Luiz with a Nicolas Pepe shot deflected wide in a first half which included a squandered opportunity for Tajon Buchanan.
Marcelino watched his team push on further after the break and was frustrated home debutant Xavi avoided a second yellow card for a cynical tackle on Pepe after 66 minutes before Pepe sent an 85th-minute free-kick inches wide – after Micky van de Ven hauled down Georges Mikautadze and received only a caution from referee Rade Obrenovic.
Villarreal head coach Marcelino said: “There were two really clear actions on the field I thought that when you see the replays, it looked really clear.
“There was an accidental kick but it didn’t look like he wanted to play the ball, the first action of Xavi Simons.
“I think the player didn’t have his best day today and he was a bit of a homer, the ref.”
On the result, Marcelino added: “It was an unjust result.
“One team scored and another didn’t manage to score. I am a little bit annoyed and frustrated by the result but I am proud and happy with the performance and the image we gave to the rest of Europe.
“It’s a real shame to not get a draw. That would have been the fairest result, a draw, but the people that deserved to win were us and not Tottenham. You could see that out on the pitch.”
Xavi endured a mixed night as he combined smartly on occasions with Djed Spence, but snatched at an effort and dragged wide in the 42nd minute and could have earned a red card after half-time.
“I think there was one on that transition you could maybe discuss? Just because it looks dangerous, it can’t be a yellow all the time, but of course I understand why you ask the question,” Frank acknowledged.
