Tottenham show defensive resolve to grind out win over Crystal Palace
Tottenham were made to work hard for their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, with Heung-min Son’s well struck winner midway through the second half proving decisive. The South Korean’s first ever Tottenham goal came in a 1-0 win over the Eagles and he came up trumps once more to guarantee the three points in a much-changed Spurs side.
Fresh from their 3-1 win over Real Madrid on Wednesday night, Spurs could well have stuttered - the previous five teams to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League had dropped points in their next league match - and they looked to be in for a frustrating afternoon before Son’s effort. There were a number of scares too in their route to three points, with Wilfried Zaha missing an open goal and debutant Paulo Gazzaniga forced into two smart stops either side of half time to, at the time, keep the scores level.
However, while the Argentine goalkeeper churned out a solid display on the first start for Spurs, the performance of Eric Dier at the heart of the three-man defence was essential for the hosts. Toby Alderweireld’s hamstring injury sustained in midweek could have derailed Tottenham, both on Wednesday night and Sunday’s early kick off, but Dier stepped in to bridge the gap effectively. Granted, he waste fault for Anthony Martial’s goal at Manchester United last week, yet the 23-year-old did not dwell on the error at Old Trafford to instead churn out a very good defensive display at Wembley.
Palace aimed to sit back and hit Spurs on the break by maximising the speed of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend. Dier, though, contained the duo to the best of his abilities to earn a WhoScored rating of 7.86; only Jan Vertonghen (8.16) earned better in the London derby. Of all Spurs players, Dier ranked top for clearances (9) and passes (82), all the while maintaining a pass success rate of 92.7%, that bettered only by Harry Kane (100%). While Palace’s approach meant they sat back and gave Dier space to play the ball out from defence, he was able to limit the Eagles’ attacking impact that resulted in another clean sheet for Tottenham.
It was a bitter blow for Palace, though, who have now lost their last eight Premier League matches away from Selhurst Park and have failed to scored in all eight. The Eagles remain at the foot of the table, five points from safety, and must now maximise the international break to help improve their fortunes on the pitch, particularly on the road. At home, they’ve done well, picking up positive results against Chelsea and West Ham in their last two games at Selhurst Park, yet on their travels, a failure to secure a positive result is yet another blow to their hopes of staving off relegation.
They had their chances to secure at least a point on Sunday, yet were made to rue their profligacy as they failed to hit the back of the Spurs net. The hosts may have ridden their luck, but with Manchester City hosting Arsenal and Chelsea facing Manchester United, three points is three points, no matter how difficult they were to attain. Spurs’ defensive resolve once again got them out of a potentially sticky situation, with Dier a key man in the middle of the back three.
