Football London

Richarlison's opener at Crystal Palace was overturned after replays showed that Lucas Bergvall was offside in the build-up at Selhurst Park

The Premier League Match Centre has explained why Tottenham's opening goal against Crystal Palace was disallowed for offside. Richarlison converted from close range at Selhurst Park from Pedro Porro's cross before the goal was ruled out.

In Spurs' first proper attack, the Brazilian thought he had made it two goals in two games when he put the ball past Dean Henderson. However, the video assistant referee (VAR) overturned the decision after replays showed that Lucas Bergvall was offside in the build-up.

The midfielder collected the ball in an offside position before passing to Porro. Replays showed that Richarlison was onside, despite initially looking like he had gone slightly early.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the Match Centre provided clarity on why the goal was overturned. They said: "VAR checked the referee's call of goal – and established that Bergvall was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed."

The disallowed goal was the game's first chance, with both sides struggling to carve out opportunities. After Richarlison's strike was ruled out, Palace grew into the game, and Jean-Philippe Mateta came close with a right-footed effort.

Spurs came into the clash in the capital 14th in the Premier League table after a disappointing defeat to Liverpool last time out. However, Thomas Frank has insisted he isn't losing any sleep over his side's slow start.

"The good thing is I've always been a good sleeper, so I think that's helpful!" he said. "But of course you can feel that the thoughts are just underneath you. Sometimes we've all experienced that with work.

"They've been there a long time because there's a lot of things to sort out. We want to be successful, we want to be consistent. There's all small different bits we'd like to improve. It's completely open and transparent.

"I think it's also clear that we are searching to find a very consistent, competitive team week in, week out. When you get small setbacks and don't get the right response you try something new or you stick to it."

Whoever goes in against Palace knows they're going to have a tough game. If Palace get their best XI out, they're a really good team, and he's a clever manager Glasner. I'm going for a home win for Crystal Palace. I'm not convinced with Tottenham. They'll be missing two players with red cards as well.

You can imagine the noise if Crystal Palace beat Tottenham. That's why it's a huge game for Thomas Frank. From where they are, there's a little bit of noise around Tottenham at the minute, and that will only get louder if Palace beat them.

Here's the final Tottenham team of the year that Thomas Frank has selected to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon

Thomas Frank has named his last Tottenham starting line-up of 2025 and he has had to replace two key players for the Premier League match at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The fallout of the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool ensured Frank has lost Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero to bans after their red cards. The Dutchman will miss three matches for his lunge on Virgil van Dijk and the Argentine is out for one match for his kicking out at Ibrahima Konate, but the skipper has also been charged by the FA for his reaction to the red card and failure to leave the pitch promptly.

Spurs return to Premier League action without the duo after the festive period to a derby against Oliver Glasner's Eagles, who lie six places and four points above them in eighth spot in the table.

Kevin Danso comes in for Romero alongside Micky van de Ven while Xavi is replaced by Richarlison, who starts the derby after coming off the bench against Liverpool and grabbing his fourth goal in seven Premier League matches. Teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall both start again after recent strong performances, while Dane Scarlett is on the bench and Kota Takai makes his first appearance on the bench.

Here's the Tottenham team Frank has selected:

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.

Here is the Tottenham team that we reckon Thomas Frank will select to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon

The absence of two key Tottenham players will be felt in Thomas Frank's starting line-up on Sunday at Crystal Palace.

Spurs return to Premier League action after the festive period, having had Christmas Day off with their families, and now they return to a derby against Oliver Glasner's side, who sit six places and four points above them in eighth spot in the table. After the chaotic 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, Frank has lost Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero to bans after their red cards.

The Dutchman will miss three matches for his lunge on Virgil van Dijk and the Argentine currently is out for one match for his kicking out at Ibrahima Konate, but the Tottenham captain has also been charged by the FA for his reaction to the red card and his failure to leave the pitch promptly.

Kevin Danso will likely come in for Romero into the backline while Frank must decide whether Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel or Brennan Johnson replace Xavi in a more offensive role or Richarlison comes into the line-up with Randal Kolo Muani pushing out wide.

The Brazilian came off the bench against Liverpool and netted his fourth goal in seven Premier League matches which will likely mean a start for him this time around. Teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall could both get another start after recent strong performances.

Here's the Tottenham team we reckon Frank will select:

(4-2-3-1) Vicario, Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence; Bentancur, Gray; Kudus, Bergvall, Kolo Muani; Richarlison.

The Tottenham Hotspur boss is expecting things to click at the north London club sooner rather than later after a tough start

Thomas Frank is not losing any sleep over Tottenham's troubles because he has been here before in his managerial career.

The Dane's tenure in north London is yet to spark to life with Spurs sitting 14th in the Premier League table at Christmas and a disgruntled fanbase unhappy about the team's lack of creativity and a shaky defence. Last weekend's 2-1 loss to Liverpool, as Tottenham finished the game with nine men after red cards for Xavi Simons and captain Cristian Romero, made it five defeats out of the past eight for Frank in the league.

Frank has a history of slow starts though at Brentford and Brondby so he is not lying awake at night thinking about Spurs' current plight, even if he admits he does spend plenty of time thinking about it.

"The good thing is I’ve always been a good sleeper, so I think that’s helpful!" he said. "But of course you can feel that the thoughts are just underneath you. Sometimes we’ve all experienced that with work.

"They’ve been there a long time because there’s a lot of things to sort out. We want to be successful, we want to be consistent. There’s all small different bits we’d like to improve. It’s completely open and transparent.

“I think it’s also clear that we are searching to find a very consistent, competitive team week in, week out. When you get small setbacks and don’t get the right response you try something new or you stick to it."

The 52-year-old added: "It’s normal. It’s not the first time in my career I haven’t found the team instantly clicks but it’s coming over time. I know it will come, probably sooner rather than later."

Frank found success at both his former clubs, particularly in taking Brentford into the Premier League and helping them punch above their weight as an established team in the top flight. It is those experiences that he will draw upon to help him out of a hole in north London.

"At Brondby I didn’t win the first eight games and then we were unbeaten in nine. At Brentford, we lost eight out of 10 games and then were unbeaten in 10. So I am convinced we will see a similar pattern here," said the Dane. "I'm not in doubt about that, because I know how to make a competitive team.

"We will make a very competitive team here as well. I’m in no doubt of that. To make it even more complex here is the amount of games we are playing, with rotation and physical load and mental load that just impact a team and especially if it’s not used to doing that week in, week out."

While Tottenham ended their 17-year trophy drought by winning the Europa League in May under Ange Postecoglou, defeats became all too commonplace in the Premier League as the club finished 17th with a second string side as the Australian focused on the European competition.

With losing continuing to be an all too regular occurrence this season, most notably at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Frank admits that it can become as much of a habit as winning.

“I definitely think there are habits that can go both ways. There are good habits and bad habits, and, of course winning is a good habit and losing is a bad habit, but underneath that is the habit of every staff member, every player," said the Spurs boss.

"How you react when there are setbacks in games is something we are really working very, very hard on. That’s something I also think we have dealt ok with. For example, the Brighton away game maybe the year before we would have lost, but we came back and got a 2-2 draw. That was a good example as was Bodo away.

"So there are bits that are going the right way, but we are not consistent enough to do that every third or fourth day. No matter how much I hate saying it, that’s an ongoing thing we need to work on. Small bits and good habits for every player."

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has discussed whether the club are a Champions League team and risks the wrath of his supporters after some admissions that have already frustrated them

Thomas Frank has risked the wrath of Tottenham supporters again after claiming that his side are not a Champions League team, due to how they qualified for the competition. It comes at a time when the Dane has struggled to get the fans on board, despite an initially quick start to the campaign.

Supporters have been left frustrated by a lack of identity, especially in an attacking sense, while Frank has come under fire for leading the mindset of the players. At times, the former Brentford manager hasn't helped himself by being brutally honest about the situation, but in a more realistic light - a relative whiplash from the dream Ange Postecoglou had sold fans.

The latest quotes from Frank, when speaking with Sky Sports, has unearthed that brutal honesty once again, but could frustrate the fans. He said, when asked about the project at the club: "Honestly, I think we are in a transition phase, because yes, we are a Champions League club, but are we a Champions League club?

"We only qualified because we won the Europa League. We didn't qualify because we were one of the four or five best clubs in the Premier League last season.

"We finished 17th. And now we need to compete in the Champions League while we're competing in the Premier League, which is the most difficult thing."

While it may be an honest assessment from the head coach, it's the sort of one that caps the ambition that fans have. Many are left hoping to see some improvement, while also having a style of play they can cling onto and put some hope into when results aren't quite there.

Spurs head into the weekend of Premier League action with just 22 points from 17 league games, picking up only one win in their last five. Particular frustration has come with where those points have come, with Tottenham in the top five in the away league table, but in the bottom four of the home league table.

Given that more fans will spend their money to watch games at home than away, the general sentiment and frustration will only build if Frank cannot turn things around. The manager has outlined the challenge ahead of him, before taking on Crystal Palace, which could prove to be another crucial game for his future at the club.

"I think I see a lot of similarities to my first head coach job," he told the press. "Of course, completely different scale. This is, of course, a massive club. One of the biggest clubs in the world and so much focus on it, so that makes it of course bigger and a different challenges, but I see a lot of similarities when I had my first head coach job in Brondby and here where you try to build something over time.

"You inherit something that you need to try to get right with a lot of good people around me and then where this makes it extra challenging is, of course, that we play Champions League and Premier League at the same time. And we try to improve while we are driving 100 miles an hour, but that's part of it.

"That's a good challenge. I think I see a lot of good things we improve, but we, of course, it's all about how can we have even more consistency in performances. It's all about that. How can you create consistency in performances day in, day out? That's the thing we're working on every single day."

Tottenham are in the bottom half of the table again, with Crystal Palace being a crucial clash in their hope of working their way up the table. It will be a challenge, however, given the loss of some key players in the team for a match against a tough opposition.

Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons will both be absent after picking red cards against Liverpool last time out, meaning some tough decisions will have to be made. "I'm confident we can get good results," Frank said, despite the team selection issues he face.

"Of course, you always want a fully fit squad. But right now, we have the players we have available and we need to deal with it and find a way and get good performances out there and results."

Spurs spent around £175million during the summer, while Crystal Palace’s outlay was closer to £45m

Oliver Glasner says Tottenham’s financial investment means they have “different goals and opportunities” to his Crystal Palace side ahead of Sunday’s meeting at Selhurst Park.

Spurs spent around £175million during the summer, while Palace’s outlay was closer to £45m, although the Eagles are currently six Premier League places above Thomas Frank’s side.

Glasner is working with a small squad this season which has been further stretched by the club’s first ever involvement in Europe, with at least two more Conference League fixtures to come in February’s play-off round.

Whatever the result in south London this weekend, Palace will finish 2025 above their opponents.

“It’s a great team with a very good manager,” said Glasner. “They’ve invested a lot of money. They have different goals to Crystal Palace, different opportunities to Crystal Palace. To win against them means showing a great performance.

“They have two banned players, (Cristian) Romero and Xavi Simons, but when I see their squad, their attacking (options), it’s just amazing.”

Palace have just completed a highly unusual run of three matches in five days owing to complications arising from their Conference League scheduling and progression to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Asked whether he had advice for any manager who might face similar, Glasner said: “Do it different than we did because we had one draw from three games.”

Meanwhile Thomas Frank has heaped praise on Glasner, who led Palace to a memorable FA Cup triumph last season. Frank said: "I think Oliver has done a top job at Palace in many ways, really, really impressive.

"There is a clear identity of the team - defend low, very compact, very difficult to break down, incredibly good on the counters - probably one of the best in the league. They are very good on set pieces as well, one of the best on corners, long throws, so, very strong on set pieces as well.

"Also, when they build, they have a clear identity with their 3-4-3 system. So, they've done a really good, impressive job.”

A string of encouraging displays for Spurs resulted in Kolo Muani being recalled by France for last month's camp

Randal Kolo Muani knows only good performances and goals for Tottenham will help him realise his World Cup dream.

Kolo Muani featured for France in the Qatar edition and unfortunately had a one-on-one effort crucially thwarted by Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez during extra-time before a penalty shoot-out loss in the final in 2022.

Argentina claimed World Cup success and although Kolo Muani earned a move to Paris Saint-Germain six months later, a lack of game-time saw him drop out of international reckoning.

A string of encouraging displays for Spurs resulted in Kolo Muani being recalled by France for last month’s camp, but a broken jaw denied him the chance to feature under Didier Deschamps again.

Quizzed on his motivation for 2026 with the World Cup only six months away, Kolo Muani insisted his full focus was on life at loan club Tottenham, who travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

“I feel very good and my team-mates are good with me,” Kolo Muani told the Press Association.

“For the moment I just want to play really good at the club. This is really important and after we will see for the World Cup.

“That is why I need and want to show more my quality and want to score also.

“We need to win more games and if I want to go to the World Cup, I need to do some (more) good performances.”

It has been a challenging period for Spurs with inconsistent form under Thomas Frank, which meant they were 14th at Christmas.

Nevertheless, Kolo Muani’s dynamism has quickly earned him a rapport with the fanbase and earlier this week he attended the club’s One Hotspur Junior Christmas Party at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kolo Muani added: “It is fun and for the kids it is a great moment. This is just magic for Christmas and everybody is happy, so that’s good.

“Yeah, I feel that (support) when I go out to the games and before. I saw a lot of fans and I’m happy. I feel good.”

France international Kolo Muani also offered his support for Frank amid fan criticism.

“Yeah we have a good relation(ship),” Kolo Muani explained.

“We talk together so much and he has good coaches, so I am happy with him.

“All the team, my team-mates, we have trust with the coach and everybody is happy with him. Now we work a lot to go hard (for this period).”

The Tottenham Hotspur boss has high hopes for one of the club's gifted teenage midfielders and has compared him to a Liverpool star

Thomas Frank believes Lucas Bergvall can become his version of Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai and a big part of Tottenham's future.

The 19-year-old arrived from Swedish side Djurgarden last summer but has already played 66 times for the north London side, scoring twice and laying on eight assists. So impressive was his adaptation last season under Ange Postecoglou, playing his part in Spurs' Europa League victory despite missing the semi-finals and final with an ankle injury, that he was handed a bumper new long-term contract in April within nine months of arriving in the Premier League.

Bergvall swept the fans' Player of the Year awards at the end of his debut campaign and now Frank believes the versatile teenager will become a star for the long term at Tottenham and compared him to one of Arne Slot's title-winning stars.

"Lucas is very talented. I think he will end up as what we call an eight, that’s where I think he will end, but who knows?" he said. "He’s more than capable of playing as a 10 or he can play a more midfield role from the side as he did against Liverpool.

"He’s a player we can use in different roles which is hugely beneficial and important, to have that player who can run in behind, he’s very good at pressing, good on the ball and he can drive forward with the ball.

"You need different types. For example against Liverpool, they came in with five midfielders so he moved in ahead of the extra midfielder. The way he defended for the first half hour was a big reason why I felt we were slightly on top in those 30 minutes. It was a big reason for doing that instead of playing with two main wingers."

He added: "To have a player like Lucas who can be that flexible is very important. Over time he will fall into a more fixed position. It’s completely normal for a young player to play in different positions.

"To be that flexible is a huge boost. Look at Szoboszlai, who we all think is one of the best midfielders in the league. He’s playing 10, eight, six, right-back, right-winger, nine, centre-back… maybe not nine and centre-back, but he played all the other roles! It’s very important to have a player like that."

When asked whether Bergvall reminded him directly of the 25-year-old Hungarian, the Spurs boss admitted that from the outside there are similar traits.

"That’s maybe the one, as you asked me and I’m on the spot here, because both have fantastic running power and both drive with the ball," said the Dane. "I don’t know Szoboszlai, it looks from the outside looks like he’s a good personality. Lucas is a great personality and a great character. He’s a big part of the future we are trying to create here."