Tottenham punish Jean-Philippe Mateta’s moment of madness to earn third straight win
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Resurgent Tottenham made it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time in 20 months with a comfortable 2-0 victory over 10-man Crystal Palace.
Buoyed by only a second triumph at Chelsea in 36 years last weekend, Spurs’ task was made more routine by a 13th-minute red card for Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta for a studs-up tackle on Micky van de Ven.
VAR intervened to assist referee Michael Oliver and it was largely one-way traffic after with Archie Gray able to open the scoring with a header after 25 minutes.
Roberto De Zerbi’s team started the second half impressively and eventually doubled their lead with 17 minutes left through former Brighton centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.
It allowed De Zerbi to hand a league debut to Spurs’ teenager Luca Williams-Barnett on an enjoyable night for the north London club, but this latest defeat will increase the scrutiny on under-fire Palace boss Pierre Sage.
James Maddison was available for Spurs but De Zerbi decided to put the playmaker on the bench after his injury scare at Chelsea, with Dominic Solanke recalled in attack.
Palace boss Sage had eased speculation over his future with a midweek Carabao Cup win at Fulham, but the visitors’ task in north London was made more difficult in the 11th minute.
Tottenham captain Van de Ven showed his pace to nip in ahead of Mateta, who caught the Dutch defender with a studs-up tackle on the Achilles, and while referee Oliver initially gave out a yellow card, it was soon upgraded to a red after a VAR review.
After a bright start for Palace, where Daichi Kamada had tested Antonin Kinsky early on, it was now an uphill battle for Sage’s men.
Two excellent crosses by Mathys Tel failed to find a Tottenham player soon after, but the deadlock was broken in the 25th minute.
Mohammed Kudus sent in a dangerous corner kick to the back post where Gray headed in his third goal for Spurs and second against Palace.
Home fans chanted about Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane with 28 minutes on the clock, but without his predatory instincts it stayed 1-0 until half-time, with a powerful Omar Marmoush shot blocked by Axel Disasi.
Pedro Porro was introduced for Gray at the break to continue his comeback from a hamstring injury and Tottenham started the second half with improved intent.
Fernandes had a volley blocked by Dwight McNeil before a smart shot on the turn by Solanke was saved by Henderson.
Solanke was replaced by Conor Gallagher minutes later and after Tel sent another effort off target, Andy Robertson was denied by Henderson from close range.
It felt a matter of time until Spurs grabbed a second and it eventually arrived when Fernandes produced a sensational cross for Van Hecke, who had his initial header tipped on to the crossbar by Henderson and managed to bundle in whilst laying on the floor in the 73rd minute.
Gallagher and Tel almost scored before Williams-Barnett got the nod with two minutes left and should have claimed an assist when he raced past Anan Khalaili, but Kudus failed to score at the back post.
Dejan Kulusevski, in his third appearance since a 526-day absence, nearly added the cherry on top, only for Henderson to tip over to ensure it finished 2-0.
