Archie Gray headed Tottenham in front in the 25th minute and Jan Paul van Hecke doubled the lead in the 73rd as Spurs beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off in the 13th minute after a VAR review, so Palace spent almost the whole match with ten men. Spurs took 34 shots and had 79.4 per cent of the possession, according to Sky Sports. It was their third straight league win, and it moves them up to eighth.
Spurs lined up 4-2-3-1 and Palace 3-4-2-1, according to Tottenham’s match report. The ratings are opinion, sorted from highest to lowest. The only Spurs substitutes included are the two who played at least 15 minutes.
Player Rating (out of 10) Reason Gray 8 Top Headed the opener from Kudus’s corner, booked early on and replaced at half-time van Hecke 8 Top Scored the goal in the 73rd minute that made it 2-0 Kinsky 7 Kept a clean sheet Kudus 7 Delivered the corner that led to Gray’s header van de Ven 7 Played the full 90 and was the defender Mateta’s challenge landed on Fernandes 7 Played the full 90 in a midfield that had close to 80 per cent of the ball Gallagher 6 Came on for Solanke in the 66th minute Porro 6 Came on at half-time and played the second half Tonali 6 Played the full 90 alongside Fernandes Tel 6 Taken off in the 88th minute, when Luca Williams-Barnett made his Premier League debut Marmoush 6 Part of the front line that took 34 shots Robertson 6 Replaced by Udogie in the 77th minute Solanke 5 Bottom Replaced by Gallagher in the 66th minute, with Spurs a goal up
Henderson started in goal, as the predicted Palace line-up had it. Five Palace players are rated below.
Player Rating (out of 10) Reason Henderson 7 Top Palace’s best on the day, and the reason the score wasn’t worse Kamada 5 Played until the 88th minute, in a match where Palace had 20.6 per cent of the ball Wharton 5 Replaced by Lerma in the 88th minute Mingueza 4 Booked in the 53rd minute and taken off at 60 Mateta 2 Bottom Sent off early after a VAR review for a late, studs-up challenge on van de Ven
Gray and van Hecke
Both get an 8. Gray’s header from Kudus’s corner opened the scoring, and he came off at half-time after an early booking. Van Hecke’s goal in the 73rd minute made the result safe. Kudus earns a 7 for the corner that started the opener. Van Hecke was also one of the Gameweek 9 FPL differentials we flagged, and his goal will please anyone who backed him.
The problem in front of goal
Spurs had 34 shots and scored twice. That’s a poor return for a side this dominant, and it’s the number that should bother the coaching staff. Palace have the bigger problem, though. Chris Reidy of Sky Sports News said: “The pressure is continuing to grow on Pierre Sage.” Palace also dropped into the relegation zone after the defeat.
Next up at Leeds
Spurs go to Elland Road on Saturday 7 November, with the kick-off brought forward to 12.30pm UK. TNT Sports has live coverage.
Featured photo: Jim Easton, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped).