LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur welcome Brentford this weekend with the hosts aiming to end a winless run in the Premier League and improve their home form, in what will be a special game for manager Thomas Frank against his former club.
Frank arrived at Brentford in 2016, became head coach two years later and took them to promotion from the Championship in 2021. The Dane left the club in June to replace Ange Postecoglou at Spurs.
“Of course, it’s a little more special for me because I face Brentford, where I was for nine years,” Frank told reporters on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game.
“Almost a quarter of my life there. I had a fantastic time there, I enjoyed every second of it.
“A lot of people I’ll see on Saturday who I haven’t seen for a long time, I used to see them every day more or less so that will be special.”
Given his obvious affection for Brentford and his history at the club, Frank was asked if he would celebrate if Spurs scored on Saturday.
“Yeah, I will. Everyone knows the respect I have for Brentford, the fans, everyone before kick-off, after the final whistle,” he replied.
“In the 90 minutes it’s all about one thing, do what we can to win the game.”
After a promising start to the season, Spurs are without a win in their last five league games, losing three, and of their five wins this campaign their only home victory came back in August on the opening day.
Brentford, meanwhile, are having difficulties on the road, losing six of their seven away games.
“It will be nice timing for us to get the three points on Saturday,” Frank said.
“There’s only one way to do that, put a good performance in there. Work on the things we are constantly working on.
“Constantly make it sharper, quicker. Not direct, but more penetration when we need to have that. Play with intensity, come out brave. I’m looking forward to the game.”
Many expected Brentford to struggle this season after they replaced Frank with an inexperienced manager in Keith Andrews, along with the departure of several key players, but they are level on 19 points with Spurs in the standings.
“I think it’s a big credit to Brentford to be brave enough to promote from within, but also to have built something over time,” Frank said.
“It’s definitely not about me, it’s about what we together built there, that consistency, stability and high performance level at this level.
“So that culture, knowing who we are, what we want to be, that was easier to continue with appointing Keith and I think he’s done a remarkable job. It is never easy to step up to your first head coach role.”
Brentford game a special one for Spurs boss Frank
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Brentford game a special one for Spurs boss Frank
- “Of course, it’s a little more special for me because I face Brentford, where I was for nine years,” Frank told reporters
- “Almost a quarter of my life there. I had a fantastic time there, I enjoyed every second of it”
Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga
VILA-REAL, Spain Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
Mbappe and Vinicius Junior “are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who... I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half.
- ‘Nightmare for defenses’ -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank and his low cross was blocked but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
“They are a nightmare for defenses,” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “I hope they can keep bringing joy.”
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“For you,” Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support.
“For me, the most important thing is that are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius’s goal and we saw it again today, with Brahim,” Arbeloa told reporters.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
