LONDON :Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank's predecessor famously said he was not in the business of grinding out 1-0 victories, but times have changed at the north London club.

That is exactly what Tottenham did on Tuesday as Frank's first game in the Champions League ended with a narrow defeat of wily Spanish side Villarreal.

It was not pretty, and Tottenham were almost non-existent as an attacking force after being gifted a fourth-minute own goal by Villarreal's Brazilian keeper Luiz Junior.

But Frank did not care, as his side kept a fourth clean sheet in five games to underline the sense of discipline he has quickly instilled at a club that conceded 65 league goals last season when coming 17th under Ange Postecoglou.

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