Joao Palhinha and ‘game changer’ – How Tottenham debutants performed vs PSG
Tottenham fell to penalty shootout defeat against PSG in their first competitive clash of the season on Wednesday.
The Lilywhites travelled to Udine to face off against the Champions League winners on 13 August, as Thomas Frank took charge of the N17 outfit for the first time.
Having gone 2-0 up in the clash, it was disappointing to lose in the end, although there were a number of positives to take from the Super Cup match-up.
This saw multiple fresh faces take to the field for the first time outside of pre-season friendlies, but how did Spurs’ new men perform on debut?
Palhinha in mixed bag showing vs PSG
It is fair to say that the loan addition of the Portugal international was exactly what many supporters felt their side needed this summer.
Especially with the seemingly pending exit of Yves Bissouma, making a move to add the 30-year-old to their squad looks to be wise.
The ex-Fulham man made his debut against the Parisians and looked established at times, having a telling impact on the opening goal from Micky van de Ven.
- van de Ven gave Spurs the lead on 39 minutes
- Cristian Romero made it 2-0 after 48 minutes
- Kang-In Lee made it 2-1 with five minutes to go
- Goncalo Ramos levelled the score four minutes into added time
With that being said, his statistical output doesn’t showcase the greatest performance, winning just 50 per cent of tackles while being dribbled past twice [FotMob].
For a player who is typically famed for his tough tackling and duel-winning, losing out on five of the latter did come as a surprise to many.
Add to all this a zero per cent dribble success rate and a pass completion of just 69 per cent left a lot to be desired at times in the Super Cup.
With that being said, this was Palhinha’s second outing in a Spurs shirt, so he has plenty of time to grow and showcase exactly why Frank brought him in.
Mohammed Kudus shines for Tottenham
Many West Ham fans were left smug when the Ghana international was sold for upwards of £50million to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.
Now, any smiles coming from the Hammers are likely to have gone away with what was a standout performance against PSG.
| Stats | Mohammed Kudus |
| Appearances | 80 |
| Goals | 19 |
| Assists | 13 |
The 25-year-old was described as a “real game changer” by Goal.com (13 August), something which could prove to be true as the Premier League campaign moves forward.
This was certainly true against Luis Enrique’s side as the former Ajax star created three chances despite having just 35 touches of the ball in Udine.
As a versatile forward, he also managed to complete 100 per cent of his attempted crosses before adding to his performance with an excellent defensive output.
The Ghanian won one tackle on top of another five defensive actions, winning a further six duels in an impressive debut outing from Kudus.
Mathys Tel unfortunate on Spurs return
There is no hiding from the fact that the young Frenchman missed what turned out to be a decisive penalty in the shootout defeat.
On what was his first competitive showing since making his loan from Bayern Munich permanent, it was a disappointing night for the 20-year-old.
Tel only registered eight touches but still attempted three dribbles, failing to even complete one of those in a zero per cent success rate.
This isn’t helped by the fact that the forward lost five duels and failed to complete a tackle to help make up for that fact.
The penalty summed up his evening’s work, something which may prove to be the making of Tel in a Tottenham shirt.
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