Micky van de Ven was one of several Tottenham players who made their Champions League debuts on Tuesday night, as Thomas Frank's side started the league phase with a 1-0 win over Villarreal.
Spurs' kind draw has many believing in a top-eight finish, and this was the perfect start from a result perspective. However, the hosts struggled their way through the contest after taking an early lead thanks to Luiz Júnior's comical own-goal.
There are plenty of issues for Frank to iron out, particularly in possession, but the Dane has quickly and impressively evolved this team into one that's tough to beat. The latest shutout was their fourth of the new season, and key to Tuesday's success was Van de Ven, who provided an honest assessment of Spurs' performance against the Yellow Submarine.
Van de Ven admits Tottenham 'didn't play very well' in Villarreal victory
#thfc centre-back Micky van de Ven: "It was a tough one tonight. We didn't play very well to be honest. We had a really good start and of course you want to build on that, but Villarreal are a really difficult team to play against. It is tough, but we got the three points and…
— Hotspur Related (@HotspurRelated) September 16, 2025
While the Dutch defender still has a demanding role within Frank's framework, his hamstrings are being preserved by the reduced necessity to sprint. Van de Ven has previously been asked to contribute to Spurs' man-to-man press as far as the opposition's box, but there were no such requests on Tuesday against Villarreal's rigid 4-4-2.
The former Wolfsburg star discussed the issues that Marcelino's Yellow Submarine gave us, telling Amazon that the La Liga side were a "really difficult team to play against."
“It was a tough one tonight. We didn't play very well, to be honest," he said (via Hotspur Related on X). "But we got the three points, and that is most important."
Van de Ven was excellent alongside the similarly impressive Cristian Romero, who had few issues keeping the visitors at arm's length outside of a couple transition sequences that ended with Nicolas Pépé and Tajon Buchanan firing wide.
The Dutchman finished Tuesday's bout with a game-high four clearances, as well as three tackles and a 92.6% pass completion—the highest among Tottenham's starting XI. However, it was Lucas Bergvall, another Champions League debutant, who claimed UEFA's Player of the Match honours.
Frank's emphasis upon a stout defensive structure has facilitated great improvement out of possession, and are nailing of the extra details (set-pieces, most notably) has helped the Dane get off to a productive start. Evolving this team into one that can efficiently utilise possession, progress upfield and reliably create chance from open-play is the next step for the manager, but it's a process that requires patience and a bit of bravery.