Palhinha delivers ‘dominant’ performance despite Tottenham loss to Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of the FA Cup following a disappointing 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in North London.

Spurs let Villa call the shots in the early proceedings, and the visitors took a 2-0 lead into the half-time break via Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers.

Tottenham pulled one back through Wilson Odobert, but it was not enough to turn the tie around. Spurs have now won only one of their last seven games in all competitions.

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the Europa League champions, a few players stepped up when the team needed them vs Villa.

Midfielder Joao Palhinha was one of the few who could leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with his head held high.

Spurs manager Thomas Frank had benched Palhinha in recent games due to his lack of progressive passing and carrying in the engine room.

However, against Villa, Palhinha showed he is one of the best at tackling, intercepting and winning back possession.

His attributes off the ball more than compensate for his deficiencies with it.

The Portuguese midfielder won 12/21 duels in the engine room, recovered the ball six times and made 14 defensive contributions.

He also made two clearances and two key passes.

Ultimately, Palhinha’s performance underlined why he should remain a key part of Tottenham’s midfield rotation.

He is a specialist defensive midfielder in the truest sense, elite at breaking up play, protecting the back line and injecting bite into a side that can often look too passive.

While his limitations are well known, they are not fatal flaws in the right set-up.

What Palhinha needs is a complementary partner. He needs someone comfortable dictating tempo and advancing play to balance the midfield dynamic.

With the right foil, his strengths become even more valuable.

Crucially, his last two outings have shown he can impose himself at this level. On current form, Palhinha has done enough to justify a regular place in Frank’s first team.