Simons rounds off win as Spurs cruise in front of Son

The difficulties in trying to find meaning in much the new version of the Champions League has to offer before the knockout stages arrive makes it premature to assume that Tottenham are on their way to becoming a winning machine at home.

- Jacob Steinberg

They did not have to extend themselves to defeat moderate opposition on a sentimental evening and although a second triumph in front of their supporters in the space of four days was welcome Thomas Frank would be wise not to read too much into victory over a Slavia Prague side who looked as if they would be better off in the Europa League.

Frank, of course, is entitled to cling on to signs of progress after a tough few weeks. This was only the sixth home win in all competitions for the Dane this season and he will not mind that it arrived with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium close to 15,000 below capacity. It was still an enjoyable performance from Spurs to see off the Czech champions, who remain winless after six games of the league phase, and it mattered that they stepped up on the night they welcomed their former captain, Son Heung-min, back for an emotional homecoming.

It is perhaps indicative of the bloated nature of this competition’s new format that even the return of Son to N17 for the first time since his move to LAFC last summer was not enough to fill the ground.