Joao Palhinha blasted over ‘daft’ incident that begins road to inevitable Tottenham ban
Joao Palhinha will no doubt want to prove himself at Tottenham before the season ends.
Tottenham signed Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich over the summer as the solution to their defensive midfield woes.
The defensive midfielder netted an incredible goal for Tottenham in their win over Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup third round and has formed a strong partnership with Rodrigo Bentancur.
Despite this, there is still cause for concern when it comes to the Bayern loanee’s stay at Tottenham.
Joao Palhinha blasted for goal celebration against Wolves
Spurs were heading towards defeat at home before Palhinha netted an equaliser for Tottenham against Wolves four minutes into stoppage time.
The roar of the crowd and adrenaline churning through his veins seemed to have gotten the best of the Pahlinha, who charged towards the Tottenham fans, ripping his shirt off in the process.
- Palhinha played the full 90 minutes and ended the game with 48 touches and a 69 per cent passing accuracy
- The midfielder netted one goal from one shot on target
- He made two clearances and four tackles in total
While most were unfazed by his behaviour, others have been quick to criticise the incident.
In the print version of The Sun (30 September, page 46), Chief Sports Writer Dave Kidd remarked that Palhinha’s urge to take off his shirt seems “silly,” given that he is one of the “meatiest tacklers” in football.
He wrote: “Pretty daft then for Palhinha to receive his first caution as a Spurs player by ripping off his shirt to celebrate a late equaliser against struggling Wolves.”
The defensive midfielder has received 78 yellow cards throughout his professional career and two straight red cards.
With a yellow card already against his name, he is well on track to accumulate five yellow cards in his first 19 games, which would see him inevitably banned from playing for Spurs for one game.
Tottenham have a Joao Palhinha problem
While the defensive midfield pairing of Palhinha and Bentancur was scrutinised in the days after the game, the former of the two’s contributions outline a bigger issue at Spurs.
Indeed, Palhinha is currently the joint top scorer with Richarlison for Tottenham in all competitions.
According to Sofascore, this is a Tottenham side who have created clear goalscoring opportunities for their attacking players.
- Spurs have created 1.5 per 90 big chances in the Premier League
- The Lilywhites have netted 10 goals
- Tottenham have missed 0.7 big chances per game
But in light of the number of chances needed when coming up against solid defensive teams, the Lilywhites fall short.
This combination of poor finishing and limited opportunities may harm Spurs in more ways than one, with a defensive midfielder as their top scorer proof of how dire the situation has become.
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