As Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League season trudges ever closer to an ignominious end, fans are still forced to sit through some decidedly lackluster performances with a glimmer of European trophy hope on the horizon. This match was no different, as Spurs slumped to a two-goal defeat against Crystal Palace. It was Palace’s first win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and it was well deserved, as the Eagles dominated proceedings throughout.
Spurs’ fluidity would not have been helped by heavy rotation in the starting XI, with Ange Postecoglou clearly opting to rest players following the second leg of the Lilywhites’ Europa League semifinal. Matters were made worse early in the match when Dejan Kulusevski limped off the pitch with an apparent knee injury, with Mikey Moore the Swede’s replacement.
The first half was a dominant one for Palace, with the away side having the ball in the net three times yet only taking a one-goal lead into the half. There were ominous signs for Spurs, as Palace played through Spurs easily and looked to open the scoring with an early chance. Some incisive passing cut the Tottenham defense to pieces and Jean-Philippe Mateta found himself on the end of the move for a tap-in. VAR soon intervened though, with the goal disallowed due to an offside player in the build-up.
There was another goal disallowed soon after, with a set piece kerfuffle resulting in a shot deflecting off Marc Guehi’s arm before hitting the back of Spurs’ net, with the onfield referee immediately whistling for handball. The referee’s whistle was unable to save Spurs late in the half, however, as Palace sliced through Spurs once more, breaking from their own area. Wingback Daniel Munoz exploited the acres of space on Spurs left, breaking into the penalty area before squaring to Eberchi Eze for a simple tap-in.
It only took minutes in the second half for Crystal Palace to double their lead. Eze was heavily involved once more, both starting and finishing the move as again the Eagles ran the length of the pitch to score. A cool, side-footed finish from Eze as he received Ismaila Sarr’s pass gave the attacking midfielder a brace and Palace an insurmountable lead.
From there, Palace were largely in cruise control. There were some bright moments from Spurs, including a gorgeous ball from Pedro Porro played in for Pape Matar Sarr that couldn’t be headed goalward; but it never really felt like Spurs were in the match as the match meandered to a close, Crystal Palace more than deserving of the 0-2 scoreline and their first win at Spurs’ new home ground.
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