Football London

Tottenham Hotspur made it a record 20 defeats in the Premier League as they went down 2-0 to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon and here are our Spurs player ratings.

Spurs came into the game having taken their place in the Europa League final on May 21 in Bilbao where they will face Manchester United in an all-English final. First up though they took on Palace, ahead of their own FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.

Postecoglou made eight changes to his team with only Dejan Kulusevski, Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur remaining from the team that started against Bodo/Glimt, with the latter captaining the side for the first time in the Premier League. Among the incoming players was Antonin Kinsky in goal and skipper Son Heung-min was back on the bench looking to get sharp again in time for that final against United.

Spurs lost Kulusevski to a concerning looking injury just 15 minutes in and Palace had an early effort by Ismaila Sarr ruled out for Jean-Philippe Mateta being fractionally offside that was spotted by VAR.

They had another effort ruled out for handball before finally taking the lead just before the break when Daniel Munoz beat the offside trap and raced towards the box and squared for Eberechi Eze to tap home.

The England international doubled his tally early in the second half when Sarr got into acres of space behind Spence and eventually picked out Eze to fire home in the box.

Both sides huffed and puffed for the remainder of the game with the best chance falling to Pape Matar Sarr, who headed wide unmarked, before Kinksy denied Eddie Nketiah late on.

Here are our Spurs player ratings from the defeat that leaves Spurs 17th in the table:

Antonin Kinsky

Came out to deny Sarr early on but had an iffy moment when he spilled a shot and it hit his foot on the line and he had to quickly regather the ball. Did save well from Mateta's close range shot 25 minutes in. Couldn't do much about Eze's strike late in the half and couldn't really see his second. Made a couple of saves from Mateta and Danso soon after. A mixed bag from the keeper who made a good late save from Nketiah during a one-vs-one. 6

Pedro Porro

Played Munoz onside for the goal before the break and sent a free-kick just over late on in the first half. Picked out Sarr with a great cross before the hour mark that should have brought a goal. 6

Kevin Danso

Got caught out of position a couple of times early on. Looked shaky in the backline at times and hasn't found that early form when he arrived again yet. 4

Ben Davies

Made some good covering challenges in the first half as he had to come across for the wandering Spence and Danso. Took a big hit in the build-up to the Eze goal. Made a few important interceptions in the second half and was one of the few to come out with some credit from the game. 6

Djed Spence

All over the place in the first half, either caught in possession or out of position and Palace repeatedly took full advantage. Just seems to have fallen out of his groove since Udogie returned. 3

Archie Gray

Off the pace in the opening 45 minutes. Switched to right-back before the hour mark. Never really found his rhythm though. 4

Rodrigo Bentancur

Captain for the first time in a Premier League game. Probably one of Spurs' better players in the first half which isn't saying much. Came off at the break in what looked to be a pre-planned move. 6

Pape Matar Sarr

Won possession back for an early Kulusevski chance and had a big opportunity to head home in the second from Porro's cross but managed to send it wide. Needs to be stronger sometimes. 4

Wilson Odobert

Barely touched the ball in the first half. Had a couple of openings to create in the second period when he switched to the number 10 role but he was mostly far too quiet. 4

Dejan Kulusevski

Up front as the central forward. Had a shot blocked early on but then took a worrying hit from a Guehi tackle which forced him off within 15 minutes. 5

Mathys Tel

Battled away, first on the left and then up top when Kulusevski went off. One of the few really trying to make things happen and set up Son for a chance late on. 6

Subs

Mikey Moore

Played on the left in the first half and then switched to the right. Had more openings on the latter side and tried to create openings but it was a tough day. 5

Yves Bissouma

Shared the midfield duties with Bentancur and always seemed to be chasing the game. 5

Son Heung-min

Tottenham do not have much to play for in the Premier League and it showed on Sunday.

In their penultimate home game of a dreadful season domestically, Ange Postecoglou made eight changes from the team that beat Bodo/Glimt on Thursday to reach the final of the Europa League - laying out his intentions clearly.

And the second string, as they have done in recent weeks, could not find anything resembling a good performance as they lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was Spurs' 20th defeat of the season and shockingly their ninth at home in the Premier League. All eyes are on the Europa League final and it looks increasingly likely that Tottenham will end the Premier League campaign just one place above the relegation zone.

They are 17th currently, with just two games to play.

While the focus is on that Wednesday night in Bilbao against Manchester United, attention will soon also turn to the summer transfer window and the work that needs to be done to improve the squad.

Whether it will be Ange Postecoglou's squad to deal with or not is another question, with plenty of speculation around the Australian's future at the club, even were they to win in Bilbao.

They got an opportunity to see one player they have been linked with on more than one occasion up close and personal on Sunday and they will have both liked and disliked what they saw.

Ebere Eze ran the show for Crystal Palace, sending Spurs to that 20th defeat almost single-handedly. And while Spurs will have disliked the fact that he gave them a footballing lesson, it also showed the hierarchy in N17 what he can do, should they plan on making a move this summer.

Eze scored just before half-time to give the Eagles the lead, slotting home past Antonin Kinsky after good work down the right by Daniel Munoz.

Then, after the break, Ismaila Sarr rolled the ball back for him just inside the area and he smashed in. They were his 11th and 12th goals of the campaign in all competitions, while he also has 11 assists to his name.

It was not just the goals either. Eze, alongside partner in crime Sarr, dictated the play in the middle of the park. He did not give the Tottenham defence a moment's piece and everything came through him.

At 26 he is the perfect profile of a player in his prime, with ample time on his side. And it could be the perfect window to sign him, with him having two years left on his current Eagles contract - it will be the last occasion you would think that Palace could get big money for him.

Tottenham need more guile in their midfield and Eze would give them that. There was a chance to buy him last summer, but Palace did not want to lose both him and Michael Olise, who would make a big-money move to Bayern Munich. Now may well be the perfect time.

Manchester United have been handed a huge injury blow ahead of their Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur on May 21.

The blow came early at the start of the second half for United against West Ham with key centre-back Leny Yoro going down injured and holding his left foot. The Frenchman was unable to continue, heading straight down the tunnel at old Trafford with Ruben Amorim's men 1-0 down.

Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham will face Amorim's United in the Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21 (8pm kick-off) in Bilbao. Victory in Spain will seal a lucrative place in next season's Champions League for the winner.

Spurs won 2-0 at Bodo/Glimt in their semi-final second leg tie after a 3-1 victory in the first leg to put them on the cusp of a first major trophy win since the 2008 League Cup. At the same time, United saw off Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at Old Trafford in their second leg fixture, 7-1 on aggregate, and will be seeking their second Europa League trophy win after emerging victorious in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.

But when it was pointed out to Postecoglou that United have acknowledged winning the Europa League would not save a disappointing season overall, the former Celtic boss could not hide his anger. "Why do I care what Man Utd think?!" he said in his post-match press conference on Thursday.

"Why is that relevant to me? OK, so ask the Man United manager why he says that. I've said all along that this is important."

On the final, he said: "It's going to upset a lot of people isn't it! The debate's now raging, the latest one is that neither of us will be able to get a trophy if we win, they're just going to take a team photo because we're not worthy.

"I mean, who cares if we're struggling in the league? Why is that important? If it's so easy to get to a final, then why doesn't everyone who finishes in the top three do it? It's a separate thing. It's got nothing to do with league form.

"We understand our league form hasn't been great. We understand the struggles we've had. A lot of them are because of the situation we've been in. But how does that diminish the achievement of getting to a final?

"Like I said, this club and others have finished in first, second or third in the Premier League, and haven't made finals. Why should that be diminished? I couldn't care less who's struggling and who's not.

"I think both us and Manchester United have earned the right to be there. I think we've probably beaten teams who will be in the Champions League next year, on our road to getting there. So looking forward to it, should be a great game."

The Premier League have confirmed that Crystal Palace's eighth-minute strike against Tottenham Hotspur was ruled out because of an offside by Jean Philippe Mateta in the build-up.

However, Eberechi Eze would find the net in first-half injury time and that effort would survive the same checks.

Spurs arrived into the meeting against London rivals the Eagles in good spirits having secured passage to the Europa League final just days ago.

With minds perhaps on that fixture later this month, it was Oliver Glasner's side who got off to the faster start at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and they thought they had gained the lead through Ismaila Sarr.

However, after on-field referee Chris Kavanagh had signalled for a goal, his VAR Graham Scott found that Mateta had strayed beyond the last man in the build-up play.

A statement on the Premier League's Match Centre account on X read: "VAR checked the referee's call of goal – and established that Mateta was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed."

The process was able to be completed quickly using the newly-introduced semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), and a visual was provided for greater clarity:

With the scoreline goalless heading towards the 45th minute, Eze was eventually able to put the ball in the back of the net for Palace again.

Kavanagh gave the all clear and this time Scott did too, with the resulting second statement confirming that right-back Daniel Munoz, who assisted his teammate, did not stray offside as Mateta had done previously.

The Match Centre clarified: "The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Munoz in an onside position in the build-up."

Therefore Ange Postecoglou's side went in one-goal down at the break, further disappointed because of Daniel Kulusevski's injury that forced his 19th-minute substitution.

And they would be further behind after half time through Eze again, scoring three minutes after the interval.

Dejan Kulusevski was forced off in the early stages of Tottenham's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace in what is a huge worry for Ange Postecoglou.

The Swedish international took a big hit just 15 minutes into the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, potentially to his knee. He tried to run it off but wasn't comfortable.

Kulusevski was taken off by Postecoglou and went straight down the tunnel, with Mikey Moore coming on in his place.

Postecoglou will hope it is not a significant injury for Kulusevski, with Spurs facing Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21. Spurs face Ruben Amorim's side in Bilbao after progressing past Bodo/Glimt in midweek.

In what has been a poor season, Kulusevski has impressed in periods throughout the 2024/25 campaign. The 25-year-old has 10 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances this term.

Postecoglou even praised the Swede earlier this week after recent injuries to James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall. "Certainly it's good to have Deki available because with Lucas and Madders, [who are] different players obviously, but very creative, going down in the same week," the Spurs boss said.

"It's great that Deki's back. He obviously missed a lot of football and it always takes a while to get his rhythm and I feel like he's been getting stronger with every game.

"Against West Ham you could see he was starting to get his rhythm again. Irrespective of where he's at, he's going to work his socks off for the team. He's got an unbelievable engine, he doesn't stop running and he'll be important for us."

Tottenham face their biggest game of the last six years on Wednesday, May 21 when they take on Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Goals from Pedro Porro and Dominic Solanke out in Norway sealed an impressive 5-1 aggregate victory for Ange Postecoglou's side over Bodo/Glimt. United meanwhile, beat Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford earlier this week having won the first leg 3-0 inside San Mames Stadium, which will host the final.

Though the Lilywhites have beaten United on three separate occasions this season, it could be argued the advantage is with United given the two clubs' differing injury fortunes.

Postecoglou has lost both James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall to big injuries while club captain Son Heung-min is currently missing with a foot issue, though he is expected to be back available by the time the showpiece clash arrives.

As for United, head coach Ruben Amorim has rested Bruno Fernandes in recent weeks all while Amad has gradually been increasing his minutes since returning from a long-term ankle injury. Joshua Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot are also pushing tirelessly to get back fit.

While a number of players are set to miss out because of muscular issues, no one will be absent through suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards. UEFA rules state that all bookings from the tournament are wiped at the start of the semi-finals with a yellow in each leg not resulting in a ban for the final.

Being sent off in the second leg would be the only way to miss the game due to suspension and as such, Cristian Romero, Brennan Johnson and Guglielmo Vicario, who were all booked across the tie, will be available.

As for United, Noussair Mazraoui, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Patrick Dorgu, Leny Yoro, Alejandro Garnacho were all cautioned but will not serve any ban.

In other suspension news, Aston Villa will be without Jacob Ramsey for their Premier League clash against Tottenham, moved forward to the Friday, after he was sent off against Bournemouth. The 23-year-old was shown two yellow cards in the 1-0 win and thus will be banned for the visit of Postecoglou and his players to Villa Park.

Ramsey has hurt Spurs on many occasions and as an expert in transition, not having him available is a blow for Villa but a clear boost for what will likely be a hugely-rotated Spurs side.

However, Postecoglou has hinted some key stars will feature as he does not want a lack of match practice to impact his squad with 13 days between the second leg win over Bodo/Glimt and the final against United.

Speaking of Amorim's side, Villa face them at Old Trafford on the final day with Ramsey back available for that game.

Regardless of what happens in the final, Unai Emery could face a hugely rotated United team with that also potentially being the case the previous week against Spurs.

Ange Postecoglou has understandably gone for a much-changed Tottenham Hotspur line-up to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs are on cloud nine after securing a 2-0 victory on Thursday night at Bodo/Glimt to ensure a 5-1 aggregate victory and a place in the Europa League final on May 21 in Bilbao where they will take on Manchester United in an all-English final. First, Tottenham must first face Palace, ahead of their FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday, and then a there's a trip for Spurs to Villa Park on Friday night.

Postecoglou had made it clear that he would have to rest numerous players for this fixture against Oliver Glasner's men because of the quick turnaround between games and also the number of injuries the north London side picked up in the following game the last time they played on an artificial pitch at Tamworth.

Just three players remain from the Bodo game as Dejan Kulusevski remains in the starting XI but is in the front three with Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, while Archie Gray gets a start in midfield alongside Pape Matar Sarr with Rodrigo Bentancur captaining the side. The back four is completely changed apart from Pedro Porro with Kevin Danso, Ben Davies and Djed Spence coming into the side along with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

Tottenham skipper Son Heung-min is back on the bench and the South Korean star will be looking to get sharp again in time for that final against Manchester United.

Here's the Spurs team that Postecoglou has gone with:

Tottenham return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon as they host Crystal Palace just three days on from reaching a European final. A 2-0 win over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday sealed their place in the Europa League final where they will play Manchester United in Bilbao.

With that clash not for another 10 days, focus is back on the league for now with Palace as the visitors to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ange Postecoglou is expected to rotate heavily in order to keep his strongest starting XI fit, but a welcome injury return could arrive.

"Yeah there's no [fresh injuries], everyone got through OK the other night," he admitted in a press conference. "Half hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he'll be the only one that sort of can come back in."

Like Spurs, Palace's main focus will also be on winning silverware as they face Manchester City in the FA Cup final next weekend, with the Tottenham boss full of praise for his opposite number.

"I think Oliver [Glasner] has done a brilliant job at Palace as well and I followed his journey," he said. "I've always liked managers that start from the bottom rung so to speak and and work their way up because you know there's a little bit more in them than just football knowledge.

"There's some real determination to get to the top and I've always got great respect for any manager that even reaches this level because not many get the opportunity to do so."

With all of that being said, football.london have taken a look at everything you need to know and how you can follow all the action!

What time does Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Town kick-off?

Tottenham face Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday with the game kicking off at the unusual time of 2.15pm.

It is unclear why this is the case but it may have something to do with Newcastle vs Chelsea taking place at midday and broadcasters not wanting the games to clash.

How to watch Tottenham vs Crystal Palace on TV?

The game will not available to watch in the UK as it has not been selected for TV coverage by Sky Sports. The London derby was initially scheduled to take place at 3pm on Saturday, but Spurs' Europa League clash moved the game back to Sunday.

While it is not being aired in the UK, it is available to watch live in other countries with Canada streaming the clash on FuboTV. In France, Canal+ Live4 will be the channel that is showing the clash while in Russia, Okko Sport have the rights to air the game.

It is available on beIN Turkiye, DAZN in Spain, Sky Sports in Austria and ViaPlay in Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway.

The full list of channels where the game can be watched is available here.

How can I streamTottenham vs Crystal Palace?

As mentioned above, the game cannot be streamed in the UK but there are other ways to follow the action. football.london will be providing comprehensive coverage of all the build up, in-play updates and post-match reaction right here through our live blog.

Highlights will also be available on Spurs' social media channels and the Sky Sports YouTube channel soon after the game has finished. BBC Match of the Day 2 will have a more thorough highlights package with that programme starting at 10.30pm.

Eze scores

Eze scores again. Once again a break and a huge space behind Spence for Sarr to run into and while the full-back stops the initial cross, it falls back to the Palace man to pick out Eze and and he's all on his own to fire home.

Dejan Kulusevski injury worry

Dejan Kulusevski coming off with what looked like an injury in the early stages of the match will be a huge worry for Ange Postecoglou.

The Tottenham boss will hope it is not a significant injury for Kulusevski, with Spurs facing Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21. The Lilywhites face Ruben Amorim's side in Bilbao after progressing past Bodo/Glimt in midweek.

In what has been a poor season, Kulusevski has impressed in periods throughout the 2024/25 campaign. The 25-year-old has 10 goals and 11 assists in 50 appearances this term.

Latest here.

Eze scores

There's another offside check but this time Palace get the decision. Again they get down the right flank with Munoz who passes inside for Eze to tap home.

Spurs sub

Some worry over Dejan Kulusevski who took a big hit just 15 minutes in, potentially to his knee. He tried to run it off but wasn't comfortable. Mikey Moore coming on for him. The Swede goes straight down the tunnel.

Postecoglou has been speaking about Yves Bissouma

The Tottenham boss told football.london about a chat he had with Yves Bissouma last month that proved to be rather prophetic and gave the latest on Lucas Bergvall and whether he might still be fit for the final. You can find that all right here.

Here are our Tottenham talking points

You can find our Tottenham talking points after an exciting week at the club, including Yves Bissouma's joke about Daniel Levy and the decision Postecoglou made that won the game in Bodo, by clicking right here.

Postecoglou was asked if he and the Spurs players might record a cup final song

The Tottenham boss had plenty more to say in an extra section of the press conference on cup final songs, building a team around Dominic Solanke and various other subjects, which you can find by going right here.

Welcome to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

After the euphoria and celebrations of Thursday night in Norway, Spurs must get their heads back in the Premier League world with what is likely to be a much-changed side to face Palace.

Ange Postecoglou has received a timely injury boost with the possibility that Son Heung-min could feature against Crystal Palace this afternoon (2.15pm).

Spurs head into the match in high spirits, having secured a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bodo/Glimt to reach the Europa League final, where they'll face Manchester United on May 21.

Meanwhile, Palace are also set to compete in the FA Cup final, taking on Manchester City at Wembley next Saturday.

With major finals approaching, both Postecoglou and Oliver Glasner face the dilemma of whether to rest key players or put them into action.

However, with Son potentially returning from injury, Postecoglou may focus on building his conditioning and sharpness ahead of the final in Bilbao.

"Everyone got through Thursday OK and we're half hopeful that we can get Sonny some minutes tomorrow," the Spurs boss confirmed on Friday.

"He'll be the only one who can really come back in."

Elsewhere, James Maddison , Lucas Bergvall and Radu Dragusin remain the long-term injuries and will miss the last games of the season.

Maddison sustained a knee injury during the first leg against Bodo/Glimt, while Bergvall tweaked his ligaments in his ankle.

Dragusin is recovering from an ACL injury sustained in February. After undergoing surgery, he is now working his way back to full fitness.

Glasner, on the other hand, will be without Adam Wharton, Cheick Doucoure and Chadi Riad.

"Unfortunately, he’s not available," the Palace boss said of Wharton.

"If everything goes right, he'll be reintegrated in full training on Wednesday when we start preparing for the [FA Cup] final - 90 per cent he can play.

"Sunday is too early. The pain is too much for this game. His [ankle] ligament is a little bit damaged."

Doucoure is recovering from a knee injury following surgery, while Riad, who ruptured his ACL in January, continues to be a long-term absentee.