Crystal Palace 1-2 Tottenham
Tottenham would finish this round of games in first place thanks to their victory at the beginning of the weekend.
Spurs led 2-0 thanks to goals from Son Heung-min after the interval and an own goal from Joel Ward.
Late on, Jordan Ayew saw off a protracted VAR check to cut Tottenham’s lead in half.
After winning at Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur extended their lead over the opposition in the Premier League standings to five points. After a slow first half, Tottenham, the league leaders, fought to win 2-1 against Crystal Palace and increase their lead at the top to five points.
Following Newcastle United’s 4-0 hammering of him last Saturday, Roy Hodgson acknowledged that a lot of “soul-searching” had taken on in south London. A lot of defensive shape drills had also been conducted, based on Palace’s obdurate block.
Trying to force the visitors wide, Palace clustered in a close 4-4-2 off the ball against Tottenham’s revolving carousel of white shirts.
As is often the case, Palace gave up the initiative but didn’t let up, barging Guglielmo Vicario’s goal with a barrage of early shots. Even though the Eagles posed a threat from set pieces and in transition, Micky van de Ven’s blistering pace—which is no longer unexpected but still startling—snuffed out any ball over the top.
On the other hand, Spurs experienced their first half under Ange Postecoglou without registering a single shot on goal. Against the flow of play, Tottenham took the lead and were still waiting for a precise shot.
Profiting from the width that Palace provided Spurs with their wings, Pedro Porro, who was destined to go centrally beneath Postecoglou, teamed up with Pape Matar Sarr on the right side. Taking advantage of Sarr’s cutback, Maddison sent a misdirected shot past Ward’s unfortunate shin and into the goal across the box.
Having established themselves as a reactive rearguard, Palace was visibly unsettled by Tottenham’s opening goal; their uncertainty was compounded by the raucous boos from an impatient spectator base.
Son’s conversion of Tottenham’s first on-target in the 66th minute intensified the unrest around Selhurst Park. Brennan Johnson ducked with Maddison down the left wing just two minutes after coming in, then slipped it back for Son to give Tottenham a 2-0 lead.
With a thunderous volley in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Ayew set off a tense finish. However, a protracted VAR review that examined whether the ball touched Ayew’s fingertips effectively killed momentum. After Ayew outjumped him, Porro made up for it at the last second by lunging in front of Matheus Franca to keep Spurs’ three-point lead intact.
On the other hand, Spurs experienced their first half under Ange Postecoglou without registering a single shot on goal. Against the flow of play, Tottenham took the lead and still awaited a precise shot.
Profiting from the width that Palace provided Spurs with their wings, Pedro Porro, destined to go centrally beneath Postecoglou, teamed up with Pape Matar Sarr on the right side. With Sarr’s cutback, Maddison sent a misdirected shot past Ward’s unfortunate shin and into the goal across the box.
Having established themselves as a reactive rearguard, Palace was visibly unsettled by Tottenham’s opening goal; their uncertainty was compounded by the raucous boos from an impatient spectator base.
Son’s conversion of Tottenham’s first on-target in the 66th minute intensified the unrest around Selhurst Park. Brennan Johnson ducked with Maddison down the left wing just two minutes after coming in, then slipped it back for Son to give Tottenham a 2-0 lead.
With a thunderous volley in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Ayew set off a tense finish. However, a protracted VAR review that examined whether the ball touched Ayew’s fingertips effectively killed the momentum. After Ayew outjumped him, Porro made up for it at the last second by lunging in front of Matheus Franca to keep Spurs’ three-point lead intact.
Next, what?
11 November 2023, Crystal Palace will play Everton, also at 3 p.m., after traveling to Burnley on November 4.
On Monday Night, November 6, Tottenham will play Chelsea at home starting at 8 p.m. on Sky Sports. On November 11, Tottenham will play Wolves in a lunchtime match beginning at 12.30 p.m.
