Thomas Frank is wasting ‘exceptional’ Tottenham star who lost possession 16 times vs Villarreal
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Charlie Grace
Tue 16 September 2025 22:45, UK
Tottenham started their Champions League campaign off with a victory against Villarreal, but one star didn’t have his best night.
Tottenham’s victory over Villarreal came thanks to a horrifying own goal from the visitors’ goalkeeper, Luiz Junior.
Thomas Frank’s side came into the game off the back of a dominant 3-0 win against West Ham United on Saturday.
Xavi Simons made his Tottenham debut against West Ham, grabbing an assist in his first Premier League start.
Credit: Imago
It wasn’t Simons’ finest night, though, losing possession 16 times while playing on the left wing for Tottenham against Villarreal.
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Rade Obrenovic saw otherwise and kept his cards in his pocket, but Simons was swiftly hooked off by Frank after a poor performance overall.
Simons, who was dubbed ‘exceptional’ in Germany, has operated best as a central attacking midfielder throughout his career, with his best work at RB Leipzig coming from central number 10 areas.
The former Barcelona man creates chances with his great technical ability and mesmerising dribbling skills, and is best placed to do that when operating centrally.
Simons looked isolated on the left wing and wasn’t able to directly impact the game, being limited with the areas he can move into on the left-hand side.
Xavi Simons vs VillarrealStatShots3xG0.12Passes into final third3Touches in opposition box2Xavi Simons vs Villarreal (Fotmob)
None of Simons’ shots were on target and only one of the former PSG star’s three dribbles were successful against Villarreal.
Simons will hope for a better showing against Brighton when Frank’s side takes the trip to the south coast to face Fabian Hurzeler’s side.