Premier League,
Round 9
Tottenham
TOT
Crystal Palace
CRY
-
Venue
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
-
Referee
- Michael Oliver
Archie Gray 25′
Jan Paul van Hecke 73′
Tottenham moved into the top half of the Premier League as they claimed a third straight win by beating 10-man Crystal Palace 2-0.
Spurs cause was aided in the 13th minute when Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge on Micky van de Ven.
Archie Gray headed Tottenham into the lead 12 minutes later, but it was not until the 73rd minute that Spurs' advantage became comfortable, Jan Paul van Hecke scoring in slightly fortuitous fashion to end the game as a contest.
Palace's third straight league defeat leaves Palace third bottom in the table and will only increase the scrutiny on boss Pierre Sage, with some reports having suggested he would be sacked if the Eagles suffered defeat in North London.
A European tie with Hoffenheim awaits Palace before Liverpool visit Selhurst Park, but the chances of a different manager being in the dugout against for those games look to be increasing.
Mateta's ill-judged challenge set a difficult evening for Sage in motion. VAR sent Michael Oliver to the pitchside monitor after the Frenchman caught Van de Ven on the Achilles with a sliding challenge.
Oliver promptly brandished a straight red card after consulting the replays, and Gray punished Mateta's ill-discipline further when he met Mohammed Kudus' deep corner with a header back across goal and beyond Dean Henderson.
Tottenham struggled to create chances to put the game to bed quickly, and it took until the sixth minute of the second half for Henderson to be properly tested as he palmed away a Dominic Solanke strike.
Van Hecke then fired over from an Andy Robertson free-kick and, after a block from Solanke prevented Dwight McNeil from taking Palace's best chance of the game, Henderson had to be alert to keep the deficit at one, showing quick reactions to prevent Sandro Tonali's charge down of Tyrick Mitchell's attempted clearance from finding the net.
Mathys Tel flashed a drive wide of the post and Robertson went close as Spurs continued to push for a second, which finally arrived despite more heroics from Henderson.
Van Hecke was rewarded for his ambition as he attacked Mateus Fernandes' cross and saw his header tipped onto the crossbar, only for the rebound to fall to the Dutchman, who headed the ball onto his shin and over the line.
Henderson then denied Conor Gallagher before Kudus had a goal chalked off for offside, with the Ghanaian then guilty of an awful miss as he somehow failed to turn home after brilliant play down the left from Luca Williams-Barnett, the 18-year-old having come off the bench to make his Premier League debut.
Dejan Kulusevski forced Henderson to tip over the bar in stoppage time with what proved Tottenham's final chance to make the scoreline more reflective of their dominance. The fact they failed to do so may be an irritant to Roberto De Zerbi, but it will be cold comfort for Sage with his future at Selhurst Park very much in doubt.
Tottenham
Crystal Palace
The Premier League Table
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Manchester City |
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 21 |
L |
| 2 |
 Arsenal |
8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 21 |
W |
| 3 |
 Brighton |
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 16 |
W |
| 4 |
 Chelsea |
9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 16 |
W |
| 5 |
 Liverpool |
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 15 |
W |
| 6 |
 Brentford |
8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 11 |
W |
| 7 |
 Leeds |
8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
L |
| 8 |
 Newcastle |
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 11 |
W |
| 9 |
 Aston Villa |
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 11 |
W |
| 10 |
 Hull City |
8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 10 |
D |
| 11 |
 Everton |
8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 10 |
L |
| 12 |
 Ipswich |
8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 10 |
D |
| 13 |
 Bournemouth |
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 9 |
W |
| 14 |
 Tottenham |
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 9 |
W |
| 15 |
 Fulham |
8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 8 |
W |
| 16 |
 Manchester United |
9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 7 |
L |
| 17 |
 Crystal Palace |
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 19 | -10 | 7 |
L |
| 18 |
 Nottingham Forest |
8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 6 |
L |
| 19 |
 Coventry |
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 6 |
W |
| 20 |
 Sunderland |
8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 5 |
L |
- Position 1, 2, 3, 4 : Promotion – Champions League (League phase)
- Position 5 : Promotion – Europa League (League phase)
- Position 18, 19, 20 : Relegation – Championship
