Joao Palhinha made Jamie Carragher look silly after what he did in Tottenham draw vs Man United
Joao Palhinha has made Jamie Carragher’s recent comments look silly after his performance for Tottenham in their 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
The Lilywhites made it five games without a win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the league, as they haven’t tasted league victory at their N17 home since the opening day of the season.
Tottenham thought they had turned the game around on Saturday as late goals from Mathys Tel and Richarlison had seemingly given them all three points.
However, Matthijs de Ligt stepped up with a header in the dying embers of stoppage time to ensure that the points were shared.
Palhinha came under scrutiny during the week, but he quickly disproved Carragher’s suggestion with his display at the weekend.
Joao Palhinha rubbishes Jamie Carragher lack of quality claim
Palhinha has been largely excellent for Tottenham since his arrival on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer, and there has been hardly any criticism come his way so far this term.
However, that was until Monday night, when Carragher took a swipe at the Portuguese during his analysis of Spurs’ defeat to Chelsea on Monday Night Football.
The Sky Sports pundit was hugely critical of the North Londoners’ display against their bitter rivals, and even Palhinha didn’t escape the accusations made by the former Liverpool defender.
The 47-year-old suggested that the Spurs midfielder doesn’t possess the required level of quality on the ball to play defence-splitting passes and drive his team forward by playing direct balls through the lines.
It is fair to say that Palhinha made Carragher look silly with those statements through his performance on Saturday, as he completed nine passes into the final third during the game, a tally which was only bettered by Pedro Porro among the Spurs ranks.
| Touches | 65 |
| Accurate Passes | 43/50 (86%) |
| Passes into Final Third | 9 |
| Tackles Won | 5 |
| Ground Duels Won | 7/10 (70%) |
The former Fulham man also showcased his typical energy in the draw with United, as he won four tackles and was also successful in 70 per cent of his ground duels in a typically battling display in the middle of the park.
Thomas Frank was right to back Joao Palhinha at Tottenham
Thomas Frank opted to start Palhinha for Tottenham in Saturday’s game, and he was rewarded for that decision by another excellent display from his loan star.
The Dane was asked about Carragher’s comments in his pre-match press conference, and as expected, he stood by his midfield star and chose to highlight the other elements of Palhinha’s game that have made a huge difference to his team.
It was an unsurprisingly sensible response from Frank, who is clearly aware that his team’s creative issues of late should not fall onto the shoulders of a combative, box-to-box midfielder.
Palhinha does invaluable work in the midfield for his team, and his importance to the team is highlighted by the fact that Spurs already want to turn his move into a permanent one.
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