Tottenham’s performance was anything but perfect in their Champions League opener, however manager Thomas Frank was keen to praise the performance of one of his substitutes in the narrow win.
Spurs kicked off their European campaign with all three points, after a comical own goal gifted them a 1-0 victory.
The atmosphere was flat in the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, and the players responded in kind with a largely underwhelming performance.
Very few individuals stood out, however Chris Sutton did praise Lucas Bergvall for his performance in his second start in four days for Spurs.
Thomas Frank praises Tottenham substitute after Champions League win
As the game got nervy in the second half, Frank decided to sub on Joao Palhinha, a player who had started the last three games in a row since his summer move on loan from Bayern Munich.
His defensive security was missed greatly when he wasn’t on the pitch, and the boss believes his impact was key to them getting over the line against the La Liga side.
He said to Amazon Prime: “I think offensively we didn’t hit the highest level. There was definitely a spell in the second half where we decided ‘ah let’s give it to the Villarreal guys and sprint back’. But on the flip side, I think they are a very good team and they defended well.
“Joao is a very good player, and i think he stabilised it more in the middle of the pitch, so that helped, definitely.”
Palhinha off to excellent start for Spurs
Spurs capturing the services of Palhinha could end up being one of the best pieces of business done in the Premier League over the summer.
Palhinha starred against West Ham, and it was clear Spurs were missing his presence in the middle of the park when he wasn’t named in the starting side.
They will likely be looking to bring the Portuguese star back into the side for the next two Champions League games, which take place away from home at Bodo/Glimt and Monaco.
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