A brace from Eberechi Eze either side of half-time handed Crystal Palace a first away win at Europa League finalists Tottenham Hotspur in 28 years.
Ange Postecoglou adjusted his lineup significantly for the clash, making eight changes from the team that faced Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-final in Norway on Thursday. Only Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski, and the day’s captain, Rodrigo Bentancur, were retained.
Kulusevski’s game was cut short as he exited the field injured after just 20 minutes. The revamped Spurs lineup found themselves outmatched by Palace. With an outstanding display away from home, Palace demonstrated why they’re considered formidable contenders in next weekend’s FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Oliver Glasner’s Eagles nearly took an early lead when Ismaila Sarr scored just ten minutes in. However, the Senegalese international, who was instrumental in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Aston Villa by scoring twice, had his goal disallowed due to an offside in the lead-up to the play.
Daniel Munoz then struck the crossbar midway through the first half after linking up with Jean-Philippe Mateta and the Colombian, who was a constant threat down Spurs’ left flank, blew another opportunity to open the scoring minutes later when he opted to try and find Mateta instead of shooting.
Palace skipper Marc Guehi had a goal correctly ruled out for handball but there was no reason to disallow Eze’s fifth Premier League goal of the season in first-half stoppage-time. A swift counter-attack, again led by Munoz, this time enabled Palace’s prominent attacking midfielder to slide home from close range.
Spurs introduced Yves Bissouma at half-time but he was immediately a passenger as Eze led a superb breakaway to score Palace’s second. The 26-year-old’s exquisite through ball allowed the lightning fast Sarr to scamper into the penalty area, and he returned the ball on a plate for Eze to run onto and drill home at the first time of asking.
Palace could have scored more, with Spurs a distant second best throughout the contest, and that sentiment was highlighted by their post-match xG tally of 3.39 – a remarkable figure when compared to Spurs’ 0.68.
Not only was this Palace’s first win at Spurs since 1997, it also completed the Eagles’ first-ever league double over their London adversaries from the other side of the capital.
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
|
Position / Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Antonin Kinsky |
8.3/10 |
|
RB: Pedro Porro |
6.0/10 |
|
CB: Kevin Danso |
6.2/10 |
|
CB: Ben Davies |
6.4/10 |
|
LB: Djed Spence |
7.2/10 |
|
CM: Archie Gray |
6.5/10 |
|
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur (c) |
6.0/10 |
|
CM: Pape Sarr |
6.8/10 |
|
RW: Wilson Odobert |
5.7/10 |
|
CF: Dejan Kulusevski |
5.7/10 |
|
LW: Mathys Tel |
7.7/10 |
|
SUB: Mikey Moore (19′ for Kulusevski) |
6.1/10 |
|
SUB: Yves Bissouma (46′ for Bentancur) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Son Heung-min (58′ for Porro) |
5.6/10 |
Subs not used: Guglielmo Vicario (GK), Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Brennan Johnson, Richarlison, Dominic Solanke.
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
|
Position / Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Dean Henderson |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Chris Richards |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Maxence Lacroix |
6.8/10 |
|
CB: Marc Guehi (c) |
8.1/10 |
|
RWB: Daniel Munoz |
8.3/10 |
|
CM: Will Hughes |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Jefferson Lerma |
7.2/10 |
|
LWB: Tyrick Mitchell |
6.9/10 |
|
AM: Ismaila Sarr |
7.6/10 |
|
AM: Eberechi Eze |
8.9/10 |
|
CF: Jean-Philippe Mateta |
7.3/10 |
|
SUB: Eddie Nketiah (60′ for Mateta) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Ben Chilwell (61′ for Mitchell) |
6.5/10 |
|
SUB: Daichi Kamada (61′ for Lerma) |
6.7/10 |
|
SUB: Romain Esse (78′ for Sarr) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Justin Devenny (87′ for Hughes) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Matt Turner (GK), Nathaniel Clyne, Caleb Kporha, Matheus Franca.
