Bayern Munich’s João Palhinha was always going to have a lot of the media’s attention, considering the failed move from Fulham FC to Bayern in 2023 and the year-long transfer saga that was born of this failure. But even his harshest critic would likely expected a little more involvement from him than what he actually got before the Bavarians’ clash with VFB Stuttgart, as Aleksandar Pavlović and Joshua Kimmich kept him frozen out of the first team. But once, Pavlović had to come off the field in the early minutes, Palhinha admitted in a recent interview that he knew it was his chance:
“The opportunity that presented itself to me was going through my mind. At that moment I was lucky that the coach [Vincent Kompany] called me. I was very happy because I knew that this would be a big chance for me,” Palhinha admitted, as captured by @iMiaSanMia.
“It was important for me to always maintain the same focus and workload. The fact that I haven’t played recently doesn’t mean that I’ve done my job wrong. I just don’t think so. I always give it my all – sometimes it works out well and sometimes it doesn’t. But I’m here to fight for my chances and achieve good things like I did [against Stuttgart].”
Now it is time for the Portuguese to take that big chance with his bare hands. Following a difficult run of form, Bayern needs players to step up. Palhinha has signalled his willingness to do so, now he will need to follow through.
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