Overpowering the rivals was the strategy at Spurs last season but now the emphasis is on keeping out goals at the other end of the pitch.
Midweek's narrow win against the Spanish side in the team's Champions League first match was the fourth consecutive clean sheet they had kept in their opening five games this season.
By comparison, they had kept just one at the comparable stage of last campaign, when the more attack-minded the former boss was in control.
“We talked a lot about 'shutout mentality' this year because we allowed a lot last year,” the club midfielder Lucas Bergvall stated.
Center-back Micky van de Ven noted: “I think we are a difficult team to play against, for sure. Tactically we are standing really good and we all know what to do, so we're a tough team to beat.”
The style of Tottenham against their opponents was in sharp contrast to the swashbuckling football played under their ex-coach.
They were much more reserved, even after being handed a early opener thanks to a calamitous mistake by the opposition goalkeeper their number one.
Improved Backline but at an Goal-Scoring Cost?
Tottenham have let in a single goal to date - in the 1-0 loss to the Cherries.
That is a significant improvement on how they kicked off the last campaign, when they allowed five goals in their first five games.
In the domestic league they have kept three clean sheets already - meaning they are just a couple short from matching their total for the complete of last season.
The more stable platform is potentially coming at a cost, however, with their single effort on target against Villarreal the another instance in their last three games they had recorded such a low number efforts on goal.
The boss acknowledges this is an area that has to improve.
“We have a very good base to stand on in terms of our backline setup and I think it's good and we gave little away,” he said.
“We are in the Champions League against a strong team. Additionally, I knew we took a stride against their London rivals, offensively is the area we need to improve.”
