Key events
90 min: Moleiro has a shot from distance. It’s blocked. Spurs are hanging on here. They’ve got another three minutes to survive.
88 min: No idea how Van de Ven escaped with just a yellow back there. Another referee would have surely sent him off. See also: Xavi Simon. You can make a coherent argument that Spurs should be down to nine men. But here we all are.
86 min: Pepe whips the free kick around the wall and inches wide of the top-left corner. So close to an equaliser.
84 min: Pedraza loops a pass down the middle for Mikautadze, who is about to enter the box, clear on goal, when Van de Ven bundles into him from behind. Penalty and red card? Nope! It’s just outside the penalty area, to the right of the D, and it’s not deemed a clear goalscoring opportunity, so it’s just a yellow. Spurs breathe again, though there’s a free kick in a dangerous position to defend.
82 min: Turns out it was Comesaña who was replaced by Parejo, and not Buchanan. But now Buchanan does make way, replaced by Moieireo.
81 min: Kudus probes down the right. His cross falls to Palhinha, who larrups a shot from the edge of the box over the bar.
79 min: Kolo Muani’s first act in a Spurs shirt is to pick up a booking for catching Mourino in the face with a flailing arm.
78 min: … and there’s another double change, as Villarreal replace Buchanan and Gueye with Parejo and Partey. The latter’s arrival is met with loud boos, for a couple of obvious reasons.
77 min: Another double change, this time by Spurs, as Johnson and Kolo Muani replace Simons and Richarlison.
76 min: Akhomach’s first act is to skitter into the Spurs box from the right and go over, having been brushed by Simons. Neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in awarding a penalty.
75 min: Villarreal respond to Tottenham’s substitutions with a double change of their own. Perez and Cardona are replaced by Akhomach and Pedraza.
74 min: Bergvall launches a long throw in from the left. It sails all the way through to the unimpressive Junior, who makes a meal of claiming it at the near post.
72 min: It should be 2-0. Kudus, out on the right touchline, curls a glorious cross towards Richarlison at the far post. Stooping, Richarlison should head home from close range, but Mourino’s presence is enough to put him off. A weak effort squirts wide left.
71 min: Villarreal are seeing a lot of the ball right now … but they’ve yet to get a shot on target this evening. Time running out to address that sorry stat.
69 min: Spurs haven’t impressed in this second half, and so Thomas Frank makes a double change. Palhinha and Udogie come on in place of Sarr and Spence.
67 min: Villarreal coach Marcelino is booked for critiquing Simons’ lucky escape in trenchant terms.
65 min: Bergvall flings a long throw into the Villarreal mixer. The visitors clear and counter. Comesaña advances down the right and is upended by Simons, who is on a yellow. He should be awarded a second one, and dismissed, but the referee lets him off. Simons wears the sheepish look of a man who knows he’s just got away with one.
64 min: Spurs probe this way and that, but to little effect. Villarreal seem happy enough to sit back and let them faff around, even if the clock isn’t exactly on their side.
63 min: Porro loops a cross in from the right. Richarlison competes, but can’t out-jump Junior, who catches confidently this time.
61 min: … Luiz Júnior flaps with great uncertainty at his near post. The keeper’s fortunate his weak downwards punch doesn’t ping off Bergvall and into the net. One of his defenders tidies up for him. It’s not been a banner evening for the Villarreal goalie.
60 min: … but this is nice from Bergvall, who spins away from two yellow shirts out on the right and bursts into the box. He wins a corner, from which …
59 min: Spurs keep misplacing passes under no pressure whatsoever, gifting Villarreal possession and allowing them to attack. They’re fortunate that Villarreal’s final passes have been equally poor. Neither team making a huge case for glory in Budapest next year.
57 min: Simon dribbles in from the left and rolls across for Bergvall, who leans backwards and hoicks a long-range shot over the bar, and wide right to boot.
55 min: … and now Gueye steals the ball in the centre circle before sending Pepe into space down the inside right. Pepe reaches the edge of the box before guiding a shot across Vicario and inches wide of the left-hand post. The visitors getting on top.
54 min: Villarreal find another gear at last. First up, Foyth has a speculative dig from distance. The shot pinballs around. Then Perez wins a corner with a determined run down the right. The set piece is sent into the mixer, and Mikautadze heads wide left.
53 min: Buchanan romps into space down the left but his low cross is blocked by the sliding Romero. Then Viega is booked for an unnecessary clank into the back of Bergvall.
51 min: Finally something for the crowd to cheer about as Van de Ven makes a fine block tackle to stop Perez advancing down the inside-right channel.
50 min: Play pauses so Spence can re-lace his boots. This second half hasn’t got going at all.
49 min: A fairly subdued atmosphere in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium right now, with a game to match. The loudest cheer of the second half so far has been the result of a Villarreal foul throw. So that’s where we are at the moment.
47 min: Vicario slaps a dreadful clearance straight to the nearest yellow shirt. He’s very fortunate that neither Perez nor Gueye is able to get a shot away, and the ball eventually ends up back in his possession. The keepers not exactly covering themselves in glory so far.
Villarreal get the second half started. No changes.
Half-time postbag. “Xavi’s quality is so obvious, he feels slightly wasted on the left. But then who of the middle three do you drop? This is a dilemma I could get used to” – Evan Crocker
“I was gonna say that I’m a neutral for this one, but that’s not exactly true. I’m Juan Foyth for Villarreal and three fourths for Spurs” – Peter Oh
“The ref is ruining this game” – Mark Goodchild
Half-time reading. Whet the palate ahead of tomorrow’s big games.
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Villarreal
Spurs have been the better team, though it’s Luiz Júnior’s ludicrous error that’s made the difference.
45 min: There will be one additional first-half minute.
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.
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.
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.
