UK Edition
Tottenham 1 Crystal Palace 0: Son Heung-min spares Spurs' blushes after Wilfried Zaha spurns golden chance
Beating the Real Madrid of Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo at Wembley will stand forever in Tottenham Hotspur folklore but, when this season ends, it is quite conceivable that winning four days later against the Crystal Palace of Roy Hodgson and Scott Dann may prove equally significant.
On a day when four of the top five were meeting each other and points were certain to be dropped, Tottenham had looked for more than an hour like they would waste a golden opportunity to reinforce their title challenge. Hodgson seemed to be outmanoeuvring Mauricio Pochettino and the game’s best chances were increasingly falling to his team. Tottenham looked fatigued, physically and mentally, but a goal by Son Heung-min ensured they still ended the week by reinforcing the impression that this team is coming of age.
Yes, it was for very different reasons than Wednesday’s electrifying victory, but holding your nerve and just simply finding a way are other obviously vital hallmarks. Beneath that, it was still hard not to feel sympathy for Palace, whose organisation, commitment and attacking threat belied their increasingly desperate Premier League position.
Hodgson, who never lost at Wembley as England manager, is evidently already past the point of taking positives from a losing performance. “We need points,” he said. “I would have settled for playing much worse than we played and having a bit of good fortune where the ball deflects past the goalkeeper or the referee awards us a penalty which isn’t a penalty. You don’t get what some people might think you deserve and our task gets harder with every defeat. Of course the confidence is fragile.”
The midweek victory against Real Madrid had certainly come at a physical cost for Tottenham.
Toby Alderweireld and Hugo Lloris had suffered respective hamstring and abductor injuries and also absent here were Michel Vorm, the expected replacement in goal, and Dele Alli, who had scored twice against the European champions. That meant Paulo Gazzaniga making his debut in goal and Son tasked with replacing Alli’s creative presence alongside Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen.
A subdued atmosphere was in keeping with most of the football. Tottenham might have been in command of the ball but the match’s pattern – almost a training-ground exercise of attack against defence – was actually being most shaped by Palace. They had obviously meticulously prepared for that challenge and, for all Tottenham’s dominance of territory and possession, initially looked comfortable.
They were also creating the game’s best chances on the counter-attack. An early cross by Wilfried Zaha caused huge uncertainty and, in rushing from the goal with his arms outstretched, Gazzaniga collided forcefully with Mamadou Sakho. It was clumsy and potentially dangerous but referee Kevin Friend saw no infringement.
Dann then underlined Palace’s threat from set-pieces with a header that was well saved by Gazzaniga.
Pochettino clearly hoped Mousa Dembele would provide more penetrative passing when he came on at half-time but still Palace carved regular chances against the tide of possession. Andros Townsend pounced after Serge Aurier had misplaced a pass and his direct run and shot forced a fingertip save by Gazzaniga. Zaha then surged into space behind the Tottenham defence but, having guided the ball around Gazzaniga on the edge of the penalty area, just overcompensated with his attempted finish back across goal.
Palace’s flurry seemed to provoke a reaction from Tottenham and, with Moussa Sissoko especially effective with his direct running, their best period of the match was rewarded. A pinball situation had occurred in the Palace penalty box following a move involving Sissoko, Kane and Danny Rose.
Yohan Cabaye’s attempted clearance then only reached Son on the edge of the area and he had sufficient time to set himself and curl a match-winning shot that started well outside Julian Speroni’s right-hand post back inside the goal.
FULL TIME
A hard-earned win for Spurs, who keep the pressure building on the top two. Crystal Palace stay in the BAD ZONE at the bottom of the table but on this evidence, won't be there for too much longer. Zaha was superb and the defence was really well organised. There is more to come from Roy Hodgson's Palace.
83 mins
That's absolutely brilliant from Sanchez. He has Cabaye running at him trying to win the ball, shields it out for a throw, waits for Cabaye to commit and then turns him, calmly passing it forwards.
Zaha's lost the ball in the middle of the pitch! Son is away! He only has the goalkeeper to beat, cuts in from the left and tries to send Speroni to his left, does, then tucks the shot inside to his right. Side netting. Huge miss. Will Spurs regret that?
78 mins
Cabaye bends the corner in, Gazzaniga is under pressure and does well to punch. Dann is all over him too, that should really be a foul. At the moment, the goalkeeper is probably man of the match. It's either him or Danny Rose anyway.
Kane is taken off for Llorente, Palace bring Sako on for Ward. That might mean a change of shape for Hodgson's team.
74 mins
Zaha has been Palace's best player by a mile today. He's playing like Premier League Gareth Bale at the moment, working hard everywhere, using his arsenal (no pun intended) of tricks and annoying defenders. He races back to stop Son breaking away on the counter-attack, turns back and puts Palace on the counter-press. Spurs block them out.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!
And that's the breakthrough! Palace can't hold on any longer!
Sissoko finds Kane in the box, he spins, finds Rose, who touches it on and shoots on his right, it's blocked and falls to Son on the edge of the box. He opens his foot up and curls it with power past the goalkeeper into the back of the net.
64 mins
Spurs ping some one-touch passes together to get the ball forward and into the Palace box but Sissoko's lame low cross is cut out. He's not done enough in this game so far.
Rose is played in down the left and plays a fantastic pass across the box towards Aurier. The right-back doesn't read the ball though and misses as he slides in.
61 mins
Palace enjoying a little spell of attacking possession here. That was a massive chance to miss - Palace don't look like a relegation threatened side at the moment, they're building on the momentum and playing with confidence.
Another corner, it's flicked to the back post and Milovojevic is completely free! He heads at the near post... and Gazzaniga saves! Brilliant stop! The referee stops play because Son's taken a whack to the head from Sakho.
58 mins
Gazzaniga catches and kicks early to look for Kane upfront. Throw-in to Spurs. Kane switches play, Aurier loses the ball and Palace take their time but Schlupp is caught taking too long with the ball and is booked for hacking Aurier down. He made his own problems there.
Eriksen and Rose stand over the free-kick wide right. It's Eriksen who curls the ball in at pace towards the near post but Ward reads it and heads away. And ZAHA IS AWAY! HE'S CLEAN IN BEHIND THE DEFENCE! Aurier gives the ball away and Townsend threads the pass in behind for Zaha who zips onto it, goes round the goalkeeper and shoots towards an empty goal. Wide.
54 mins
Spurs beginning to look dangerous here. They've got momentum and Palace seem a little rattled by the constant pressure. Rose batters his way into the box, Sanchez gets lucky with the bounce and wins a corner. It's cleared and Rose tries to start the attacking move again. Schlupp punts the ball away.
48 mins
Rose tries to go past Fosu-Mensah but the Palace man blocks well and Spurs have to go backwards. Townsend picks up on a loose ball from Aurier and runs away with it. He's got space and time here! Dier pushes him wide, Townsend obliges and and shoots low and hard on his left foot across goal. Gazzaniga gets down to push it wide - great save again.
HALF TIME
Brilliant stuff from Crystal Palace. Their gameplan is working almost perfectly, they look dangerous on the counter-attack and have blocked every path to goal. Spurs need to draw them out to break down this defence, quite how they'll do that is a mystery. It just takes one mistake - a little more urgency might force it.
45 mins +2
Sakho controls a high ball first time and is extremely close to handing it to Harry Kane, who would've been clean through on goal. Phew. Ward wins a free-kick wide left, Cabaye gets ready to send it into the middle... Gazaaniga saves easily.
Townsend is booked for bringing down Sissoko by grabbing his shorts. A tactical foul, close to half time. Makes sense. Eriksen's cross is headed away.
45 mins
Zaha is such a tidy player. He's so unpredictable and able to glide away from defenders with a little drop shoulder and quick acceleration - Spurs don't like him.
Spurs counter quickly. Winks finds Eriksen, who finds Son, who hits a weird cross/shot thing from wide left and it's just wide. Winks tries a long range shot but gets nowhere goal.
43 mins
Spurs still passing around the Palace half, unable to really cut through them. The defence is so well organised there are just no gaps. Can they keep this up for the rest of the match?
Vertonghen gets bored of waiting and goes for a long range shot, Dann blocks it and for a second the ball spins towards the bit of the goal that Speroni can't reach. He recovers and prevents it going just wide of the post.
36 mins
Chance for Spurs! Rose is able to take Fosu-Mensah out of the game with a one-two, cuts inside instead of crossing and puts the ball in the box on his right foot. It's not cleared well and Kane waits for the ball to drop so he can volley, changes his mind and heads early but puts it over.
Dier makes another slide challenge on Zaha.
31 mins
Rose wins a corner off Loftus-Cheek. Dann is basically hugging Kane in the area for that corner, Palace get it clear.
Aurier is out wide right, spots Rose on the opposite side of the pitch and bends a cross towards the far post. Rose attacks it with a diving header but heads wide. All he had to do was put his head straight through that one and it was a goal, instead he goes for the header as though he's trying to knock it to the side.
19 mins
Danny Rose gets in trouble for heavy handed marking in the box from the corner, Townsend moves the ball out wide to Cabaye, who engineers space to shoot quickly but smacks the ball into bodies in the box. Palace want to hit Spurs on the counter-attack.
Winks goes down as his foot gets caught under the weight of a tackle in the centre-circle.
16 mins
Zaha burns Aurier on the left wing but as he approaches the box, Dier comes flying in to steal the ball and clear up the danger. He passes inside to Sanchez, who is closed down... and Cruyff turns his way out of trouble. Great play.
Dier slides in on Zaha shortly after as the Palace man runs through at goal. Zaha is at it today.
15 mins
Great play by Son on the left. He turns Scott Dann and speeds away from him but Palace are keeping the box busy and are able to block crosses and shots that Spurs try.
Winks plays a brilliant pass between defenders to find Rose on the left and Dann reads it, blocking the cross at the near post to prevent Kane getting in. Palace are defending really well here.
Son wins a tackle in the middle of the pitch, Eriksen takes the loose ball and decides to take a shot. He drags it wide.
9 mins
Danny Rose is rapid! He races to win a ball sent back towards the goalkeeper and passes inside, Gazzaniga hits a first time pass out to recycle play.
BT Sport's resident expert referee has just said that 'technically' that earlier incident should have been a penalty. The goalkeeper was nowhere near the ball when he clattered Sakho.
3 mins
Crystal Palace start well and get the ball into the corner early on. Spurs block their path and keep snapping to try and win possession back, Winks fouls about 40 yards out and Cabaye stands over the free-kick.
Cabaye chips in... Sanchez hooks it away and Zaha dribbles inside the area, twisting and turning, before chipping to the back post. SAKHO IS THERE! He misses the header and Gazzaniga wipes him out! Is that a penalty? No!
Don't worry Palace fans
We're a little Spurs heavy in buildup for this blog so let's turn our attentions to Crystal Palace, who are finally showing signs that they are ready to mount a run and escape relegation.
According to some research by our man Alistair Tweedale, Crystal Palace have a 43 per cent chance of survival. Roy Hodgson strikes again!
Pochettino wouldn't change Spurs for any other job - for now
This was an interesting quote from the Spurs manager this week:
“I cannot guess what happens at Real Madrid or Barcelona. I don’t want to lie. Always I want to be honest and say, ‘I don’t think about tomorrow’. It doesn’t depend only on me, it depends on many circumstances. I like to be respectful, prudent, cautious, intelligent. For me, the most important club in the world is Tottenham. The emotion is real – I cannot fake it. Today, I do not change Tottenham for another club in the world because I am so involved, so focused. The club, the fans, provide us with an unbelievable life. It’s important for us to pay that back.”
No Lloris, no Alderweireld
But wait - there's more! It's not just Alli. How will Spurs cope today without three of their best players? Even the greatest teams struggle when big cogs are taken out, the injuries to Lloris, Alderweireld and Alli could have consequences for the title race. Imagine if Palace bring their Roy Hodgson A-Game to Wembley today...
Spurs are eight points behind Man City, who if they beat Arsenal today, will almost be running away with it. With no League Cup, that means Spurs' hopes for a trophy rest on either the Champions League or the FA Cup. Unless, of course, they win today, City lose and the gap is closed. Stranger things have happened.
