On the "Taxi for Maicon" to the Antonio Conte-led stalemate with Milan scale, Tottenham's 1-0 victory over Villarreal ranks somewhere in the middle in regards to 'special' Champions League nights in N17.
UEFA's penchant for expansion and ditching of the group stage in favour of a league phase has somewhat reduced the significance of early-season continental outings, with so many games available to make up for initial setbacks.
Spurs, however, got the job done against a plucky opponent who I expect will surprise a few in this competition. Villarreal may be two-time Champions League semi-finalists, but they're not the big draw capable of elevating a Gameweek 1 league phase encounter.
Still, Thomas Frank's continued to roll after Saturday's 3-0 triumph at the London Stadium, and here are three key takeaways from Tuesday's slender win.
1. Frank's functionality
Luiz Júnior's horror own-goal in the opening stages may have set the stage for a trouncing on another night, but Frank's Spurs have not yet evolved into a team that can dish out drubbings against 'good' opposition.
The Dane has done so much right at the start of his tenure, but Frank knows that there's still room for improvement. The two teams combined for 1.1 expected goals in a rather uninspiring affair, 0.6 of which was created by the home side.
The current iteration of Frank's Spurs are much, much improved out of possession and are reliant upon set-pieces for chance-creation. Tuesday's shutout was our fourth clean sheet of the season in all competitions, and the new manager's emphasis upon defensive improvement has facilitated a productive start to 2025/26 without dazzling the masses.
For now, Spurs are functional and difficult to play against. Stumbling upon the ideal midfield configuration to aid the build-up, as well as balancing out the left-hand side (more on that later) should help this team evolve in possession, allowing us to more efficiently assert ourselves onto the opposition.
2. Palhinha's cameo outines role
Frank opted for Rodrigo Bentancur at the base of his midfield on Tuesday night, and the Uruguayan was pretty good in the role. He completed 42 of his 48 attempted passes, but only five were progressive.
Spurs do have a ball-progression issue in the centre of the pitch, and the midweek victory outlined that João Palhinha's absence doesn't solve the problem. Sure, he might not be the Adam Wharton passer many wanted in the summer, but he was signed to perform a specific role for Frank, and the experienced Portuguese midfielder was excellent in shutting the game down off the bench.
There was a sense that Villarreal were growing into the game late amid a sloppy second-half showing from the hosts, with Nicolas Pépé going close on a couple of occasions and Marcelino changing his midfield personnel that better served the visitors (as well as the home support).
Palhinha functioned as the wise old head who calmed everybody down in the dying embers, and his cameo deservedly drew praise from the boss, who told the Standard: “He's [Palhinha] a very good player. He stabilised us more in the middle of the pitch. So that helped, definitely."
There will be games when the 30-year-old's presence isn't necessary, but Palhinha doubtless has a huge role to play for Frank's side this term. Why he's become such a divisive figure among the fanbase baffles me.
3. Left-hand side issues remain
This wasn't a particularly great performance from the home side, especially with the ball. Such issues have been evident in the last three outings.
However, Frank could go a long way to fixing these problems by changing the personnel down the left-hand side. As was the case on Saturday, the Djed Spence x Xavi Simons combination proved limited.
Simons looks ready to make an impact every time he gets the ball, but the 22-year-old has so far been inhibited by the lack of a reliable overlapper from left-back. It doesn't come naturally to the right-footed Spence, so the Dutchman has been forced to spend more time than he'd like performing a touchline role.
I think Simons can certainly be effective off the left, but only if Destiny Udogie is supplying dynamic runs in support. Pape Matar Sarr also hasn't been able to combine as effectively as Lucas Bergvall has down the right over the past 180 minutes of action. Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus have a good rapport already, but the pair had the entire pre-season to figure each other out.
Spence and Simons didn't have that luxury, and things should improve on the connectivity front in time, but I still think Udogie has to be the first choice if Frank wants to retain his chief playmaker out wide. However, by playing Simons inside, the boss could potentially kill two birds with one stone. That may well fix the central progression/build-up issue, as well as the balance of the left-hand side.