Joao Palhinha predicts ‘something special’ from Spurs despite Super Cup defeat

Joao Palhinha believes Tottenham have the hunger to achieve “something special” this season after their painful Super Cup defeat on penalties by Paris St Germain.

Spurs were minutes away from winning a second trophy in the space of three months after goals by Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero either side of half-time put them in control in Udine.

PSG upped the ante in the second period and, after Lee Kang-in reduced the deficit with five minutes left, fellow substitute Goncalo Ramos forced spot-kicks with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a 2-2 draw.

Vitinha’s miss coupled with successful kicks by Dominic Solanke and Rodrigo Bentancur put Thomas Frank’s team two up in the shootout, but Van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed to score from the spot and the French side claimed further silverware with a 4-3 victory.

Palhinha was eager to draw on the positives ahead of Tottenham being set to return to Champions League action next month for the first time in three seasons.

“It is football. At the end we are really sad. Not just the players but all the staff, all the crowd that came to support us during the game,” Palhinha said.

“I think we also need to feel proud for what we did until the 80 minutes. You know because we fought all the games with a top team and I think we showed what we are here to get in the future.

“We have all the conditions to achieve good things this season and I think the future will bring us something special.

“I think we have the hunger from all the players to achieve this title. Everyone gave all the maximum in this game and I think we showed what we are capable of.

“We played against a top team and I think we have everything, a top coach, top players in this squad, a top crowd with a