Tottenham fans say £27m player will ‘become a legend’ at N17 after his outing vs Villarreal

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Tottenham Hotspur fans are up and running in the Champions League following their 1-0 win over Villarreal in their group opener on Tuesday night.

Thomas Frank’s charges were gifted the lead when Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior fumbled the ball – under no pressure – in the fourth minute.

However, Tottenham had to work hard to keep the visitors at bay for the rest of the game.

And one player who helped shore up the Spurs defence in the second half earned widespread praise from the Lilywhites faithful.

Tottenham fans impressed by Joao Palhinha cameo vs Villarreal

A fair few players impressed for Tottenham on the night, with Micky van de Ven and Lucas Bergvall both doing really well.

However, Spurs fans were especially eager to praise Joao Palhinha, whose cameo off the bench helped the hosts get over the line.

“I judged Palhinha off pre-season,” one fan wrote on X. “I was wrong, he’s clearly our best player so far. Class baller.”

Another supporter said: “Despite the other attacking options, I think Palhinha is our signing of the summer. Rolls Royce of a player.”

The praise for Palhinha kept coming, with one fan saying: “Perfect game situation to bring on Palhinha today. This is what he’s here for and what we lacked last season.”

Another supporter wrote: “I’ll never accept Palhinha slander. I don’t care if he can’t spin past players with the ball – he makes us harder to break down.”

Another fan said: “Can’t believe there were people who genuinely didn’t want Palhinha at the club.”

He was replaced in the starting lineup by Rodrigo Bentancur and in his absence Spurs were far less stable in midfield, particularly after the break.

READ MORE: Tottenham fans all notice the same ‘problem’ emerging with Xavi Simons after 1-0 win vs Villarreal

Joao Palhinha’s impressive stats in 21-minute cameo

Palhinha came on in the 69th minute of the game and helped Tottenham regain control of the game, something that was slipping from them.

Palhinha weighed in with two clearances and one tackle, along with winning two duels.

The Portuguese midfielder also took 20 touches of the ball, completed 13 of his 15 passes, and delivered one accurate long ball.

Tottenham have a £27million option to buy Palhinha and, the way he is becoming pivotal to the team, it looks like it’ll be a no-brainer – and a bargain too.