Bayern Munich fans all make the same point as Joao Palhinha shines for Tottenham in Super Cup

Add as preferred source on Google

Tottenham suffered defeat against PSG in the UEFA Super Cup, but Joao Palhinha delivered an outstanding performance on his debut.

The Portugal international was making his first competitive appearance for Spurs since arriving on loan from Bayern Munich earlier in August – a deal which cost Tottenham a £4.3m fee.

Tottenham have actually been awarded £3.4m in prize money by UEFA after the defeat to PSG, which mostly pays for the 30-year-old.

An option to make the deal permanent for £27m next summer was also negotiated.

Bayern Munich fans would now appear to be dreading the day this clause is potentially triggered, as supporters lambast Vincent Kompany for letting Joao Palhinha go.

Bayern Munich fans tell Vincent Kompany he was wrong about Joao Palhinha

The man born in Lisbon hardly played in Bavaria, making just six Bundesliga starts last season.

However, Palhinha has the backing of Bayern Munich supporters, who are all in agreement that he should have been given more opportunities by Kompany after impressing for Tottenham against PSG.

One Bayern Munich fan wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “Palhinha winning a European trophy immediately after leaving Kompany, who held him back, would be so satisfying.

“Also silencing those German Bayern fans and pundits with a MOTM (Man of the Match) performance would be perfection.”

Another wrote: “Freed from the shackles of Kompany, who’s too afraid to bench Germans.”

There is a sense amongst Bayern Munich fans that Leon Goretzka was given more chances to shine than Palhinha – who Harry Kane admires – perhaps due to the fact he is a Germany international.

A third Bayern Munich fan posted: “Palhinha is so damn good, we wasted a year of his career for no reason.”

Not only was the 2024/25 campaign a “wasted” one for the Portuguese stalwart, but Bayern Munich will make a significant loss if Tottenham trigger the £27m option to buy – having spent £47m to sign him from Fulham last summer.

A fourth fan echoed the earlier sentiment about Goretzka, before a fifth even wrote “TAKE THAT KOMPANY” all in capital letters after seeing that Palhinha has assisted Micky van de Ven for the opener.

The numbers behind Joao Palhinha’s excellent performance against PSG

Tottenham believe Palhinha will make a huge difference this season – according to Dean Jones – and his display in Udine suggests he will do exactly that.

The new Tottenham No.6 completed just nine passes in his 72 minutes on the pitch, but it was his contribution from a defensive viewpoint which stood out, and allowed Spurs to attack with more confidence.

Palhinha won four ground duels and four aerial duels up against a talented midfield duo of Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, also recording one block and, as aforesaid, the assist for Van de Ven to open the scoring.

Despite the loss, if this is a sign of things to come, the Bayern Munich loanee could help Thomas Frank do something special at Tottenham this season.