Charlie Grace

Tue 16 September 2025 21:53, UK

Tottenham were lucky to avoid a red card in their Champions League win over Villarreal, according to Mark Clattenburg.

Tottenham beat Villarreal thanks to a horror own goal from the visitors’ goalkeeper, Luiz Junior, who palmed the ball into his own net four minutes in.

Thomas Frank’s side returned to action after Tottenham’s convincing 3-0 win away at West Ham United on Saturday evening.

Tottenham’s win over West Ham saw Frank’s side bounce back after a deflating 1-0 loss to Bournemouth before the international break.

Mark Clattenburg feels Xavi Simons should have been sent off

The West Ham match saw Simons make his Tottenham debut, and the Dutchman was lucky not to see red against Villarreal on Tuesday.

Speaking on Amazon Prime’s coverage of the match, Clattenburg said: “For me that’s a second yellow card, unfortunately, the VAR can’t interfere on second yellows, but for me he’s got that wrong.”

The new signing avoided red but Simons was underwhelming on the left-hand side, with fans making their feelings known on social media, despite Tottenham’s win.

It was a difficult outing for the Lilywhites, who couldn’t push on after their early advantage, with Villarreal competing well with Frank’s side.

Chris Sutton says Xavi Simons is lucky to avoid a red card

Simons would have been on edge after the referee gave the free kick for his foul on Nicolas Pepe, and Chris Sutton believes he should have been sent off.

Sutton, covering the game for BBC 5 Live, said: “Simons is a lucky, lucky boy. He’s on a yellow card and that was a yellow card challenge. Villarreal were breaking there. Tottenham get away with one.”

Having avoided being sent off, Simons’ night was soon over anyway, being taken off by Frank and getting replaced by Brennan Johnson.

It was a quiet night for Simons, who will hope for better when Tottenham travel to face Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.