Youngsters victorious against Villarreal in UEFA Youth League opener

Our Academy emerged victorious from an eight-goal thriller against Villarreal as we returned to UEFA Youth League action in impressive fashion on Tuesday lunchtime.

Back in the Under-19 competition – where the fixtures mirror those of the senior side in the UEFA Champions League – for the first time since 2022/23, we produced a free-scoring performance at Hotspur Way and in truth could have scored more, particularly in the first half.

Tynan Thompson, Reiss Elliott-Parris and James Rowswell all hit the target but, to their credit, Villarreal kept coming back and equalised three times.

However, when Luca Williams-Barnett’s low drive was turned into his own net by defender Pedro Luque Gimeno and the England youth international swiftly added a fifth for us, there was no way back for the visitors as we opened our new European campaign with a deserved win.

The Spanish side had a couple of near misses early on but it was us who broke the deadlock after a quarter-of-an-hour. Williams-Barnett, whose angled drive had been parried by goalkeeper Carlos Lopez Colon moments earlier, played a cute ball down the left for Thompson to latch onto and he cut inside before firing inside the far post on his right foot. Thompson got in again shortly afterwards following an excellent ball down the left flank by Harry Byrne but this time saw his shot zip wide off a defender.

Pressing high and pinching the ball deep in the opponents’ half was an early feature of our game and that was on show again as Williams-Barnett latched onto a loose pass out from the back by Colon, but the midfielder inexplicably missed the target with the goal at his mercy.

Villarreal equalised with a bolt from the blue mid-way through the first half as Sergio Martin ran onto a pass from deep and sent a delightful shot over the advancing Sam Archer from distance but we remained a threat and after chances for Oli Irow and Williams-Barnett, it was Elliott-Parris who fired us back in front, picking out the top corner with a pinpoint strike after Leo Black had tackled defender Iker Abad Baranano in the visitors’ box with six minutes to go until half-time.

We’d seemed in control at the interval, but the visitors struck back once more four minutes into the second period when we gave away possession cheaply and Seydou Llopis Gandia cut back for Iker Adelantado Mateos to drill home as he arrived at the edge of the area.

Six minutes later, though, we were ahead again as Rowswell powered home a header from Byrne’s free-kick and Williams-Barnett would have added a fourth on the break with a low shot towards the far bottom corner had it not been for a fine low save by Colon. Baranano got his side back on level terms again on 63 minutes, heading home from a corner, but yet again we forged in front, this time with Williams-Barnett seeing his low drive across from the right accidentally turned into his own net by Luque Gimeno.

We finally put the game out of Villarreal’s reach eight minutes from time when Miracle Adewole’s shot was saved but he collected the rebound and set up Williams-Barnett to take a touch inside the box and slide the ball home. The visitors had a couple of attempts from distance in the closing moments, but our 5-3 lead was unassailable at that point as we enjoyed a winning start to our latest European quest.

‘Entertaining for the neutral’

Coach Wayne Burnett felt there were positives to take from the game, but admitted there’s still work to do on aspects of the team’s performance.

“It was certainly an entertaining game for the neutral – we looked a threat going forward but I was a little disappointed with some of our defensive actions as a team,” he said.

“I didn’t think our work ethic was as high as it should be, we made quite a few mistakes, we turned the ball over which is uncharacteristic of us, but we’re a young team that shows moments of really good play, but in some of our actions and moments, we needed to be a little bit smarter. I was disappointed at times in our reactions when we gave the ball away but overall, to score five goals – and some very good goals – with such a young team, there are definitely some positives to take, but we’ve also got lots to work on as individuals and as a collective.”

Match data

Goals: Spurs – T Thompson 15, Elliott-Parris 39, Rowswell 55, Luque Gimeno (OG) 70, Williams-Barnett 82; Villarreal – Martin 22, Adelantado Mateos 49, Abad Baranano 63.

Yellow cards: Spurs – Williams-Barnett 17; Villarreal – Martin 37, Roca Martinez 58, Petterson 76.

Referee: Matteo Marchetti (ITA).

Venue: Hotspur Way, Enfield.

Weather: Sunny intervals, moderate breeze, 17 degrees.

Attendance: 316.