Pragmatism

Outscoring the opposition was the mentality at Tottenham last season but now the focus is on keeping out goals at the other end of the pitch.

Tuesday’s 1-0 win against Villarreal in Spurs’ Champions League opener was the fourth clean sheet they had kept in five games so far this season under Thomas Frank.

In contrast, they had kept just one at the same stage of last season, when the more attack-minded Ange Postecoglou was in charge.

“We talked a lot about ‘clean sheet mentality’ this year because we conceded a lot last year,” Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall told Amazon Prime.

“They [Villarreal] did not have a shot on target, so we did a really good job.”

Defender Micky van de Ven added: “I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Structure-wise we are standing really good and we all know what to do, so we’re a difficult team to beat.”

The style of Frank’s Tottenham side against Villarreal was in stark contrast to the swashbuckling football played under Postecoglou.

They were much more cautious, even after being gifted a fourth-minute opener thanks to a calamitous mistake by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior.

But their defence was excellent, with Van de Ven in particularly halting most of Villarreal’s attacks.

Even though the visitors had 10 shots, Guglielmo Vicario didn’t have a save to make throughout.

The price for that level of pragmatism was that Tottenham themselves only had one shot on target – very little for the home fans to get excited about.

“We defended really well and gave little away throughout the game against a really good Villarreal side,” Frank said.

“I think offensively we didn’t hit the highest level. There was definitely a spell second half where we decided let’s give it to the Villarreal guys and then we’ll sprint back, that’s a very good fun thing.

“It was a very even game that we just edged.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and top EU officials mark 50 years of diplomatic ties in Beijing at a rocky time in relations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said Europe and China must make the “correct strategic choices” in the face of recent global challenges during a summit with top European Union officials, which comes at a particularly rocky time in their relationship.

“Faced with the rapidly evolving global changes of a century and the international situation of intertwined turmoil, Chinese and European leaders must … make correct strategic choices that meet the expectations of the people and stand the test of history,” Xi said, according to state news outlet CCTV.

Xi’s remarks on Thursday followed a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, who are in Beijing for the 25th EU-China summit.

The EU and China are marking 50 years of diplomatic relations amid thorny disagreements ranging from the EU-China trade deficit to Beijing’s ongoing support for Russia’s war machine.

The event is the first in-person summit for Chinese and EU leaders since 2023, and more modest than initial plans for a two-day meeting in Europe.

While expectations were low heading into the meeting, the EU and China are expected to sign an agreement on climate change and carbon emissions, Reuters news agency reported, citing European diplomats.

Chinese state media and officials have also billed the summit as a chance for Beijing and the EU to normalise relations at a time of global uncertainty, stirred by United States President Donald Trump and others.

Von der Leyen cast the EU-China meeting in a similarly positive light in a post on X on Thursday.

“This Summit is the opportunity to both advance and rebalance our relationship. I’m convinced there can be a mutually beneficial cooperation,” she wrote. “One that can define the next 50 years of our relations.”

📍Touchdown in Beijing, as we mark 50 years of ties between Europe and China.

This Summit is the opportunity to both advance and rebalance our relationship.

I’m convinced there can be a mutually beneficial cooperation.

One that can define the next 50 years of our relations. pic.twitter.com/0SA3YS4k6V

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 24, 2025