Archie Gray scored his first senior goal, while Richarlison had two of his own ruled out for offside, to lead Tottenham Hotspur to a much-needed 1-0 victory away to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
WATCH — Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur full match replay
Spurs (25 points) had won just one of their last eight Premier League games heading into the weekend and found themselves 14th in the Premier League table at Christmas. The victory not only moves them up to 11th place, but Thomas Frank’s side is also just four points off 5th place, which could end up being a Champions League place at the end of the season. Such is the congestion from 5th to 14th, where six points is all that separate 10 teams.
Richarlison thought he’d opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he got on the end of Pedro Porro’s cross, but Lucas Bergvall was narrowly offside in the build-up. Spurs’ goal came from one of just eight shots in the game (four on target) as they soaked up loads of pressure (seemingly by design) in order to counter the other way, but it was another set-piece goal (Spurs have scored the 2nd-most this season, behind only Arsenal) that provided the breakthrough. Porro’s corner kick wasn’t dealt with and Randal Kolo Muani was able to keep it alive at the near post and find Gray in the center of the six. Spurs were even closer to 2-0 in the 75th minute but this time it was Richarlison who cost himself the goal, going ever so slightly early as Mohammed Kudus played a sublime ball around and behind the defense.
Crystal Palace (26 points) are still a couple of places ahead of Spurs in 9th, but the Eagles have lost three in a row in PL play and have scored just one goal. Are the rigors of balancing the Premier League with the Europa Conference League starting to get to Oliver Glasner’s (admittedly small) squad? It certainly looks that way.
What’s next?
- Crystal Palace vs Fulham — Thursday, 12:30 pm ET
- Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur — Thursday, 3 pm ET
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates - by Andy Edwards
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 0-1
Goalscorers: Archie Gray (42')
NO GOAL! Richarlison narrowly offside as Kudus plays a brilliant ball in (75')
#CRYTOT – 75’ VAR OVERTURN
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) December 28, 2025
VAR checked the referee’s call of goal – and established that Richarlison was in an offside position and recommended that the goal was disallowed. pic.twitter.com/uOacS6uN99
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Spurs: Archie Gray scores his first senior goal (42')
NO GOAL! Richarlison scores again but Bergvall offside in the build-up (17')
#CRYTOT – 17’ VAR OVERTURN
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) December 28, 2025
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. pic.twitter.com/biCWFHxJd2
Crystal Palace starting lineup
Henderson - Clyne, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell - Lerma, Wharton, Hughes, Devenny - Pino, Mateta
Spurs starting lineup
Vicario - Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Spence - Bentancur, Gray, Bergvall - Kudus, Kolo Muani, Richarlison
How to watch Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11:30am ET Sunday (December 28)
Venue: Selhurst Park — South London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Palace continue to punch above their weight but they were hammered 4-1 at Leeds United last time out in a shock defeat. They’re still in the hunt for European qualification and pushed Arsenal all the way a few days ago as they lost to the Gunners on penalty kicks in the League Cup quarterfinals.
Spurs are in a real pickle as they lost at home to Liverpool last weekend and imploded once again. Thomas Frank saw his captain Cristian Romero sent off for another wild decision and Spurs have been their own worst enemy at multiple times this season as they sit four points behind Palace heading into this game.
Crystal Palace team news, focus
Palace are without Ismaila Sarr who is at AFCON with Senegal, while injuries have piled up in recent weeks. USMNT defender Chris Richards suffered a nasty injury against Arsenal and is a doubt. So too is Eddie Nketiah, while Cheick Doucoure, Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada are all out. Wharton is the main man in midfield, Guehi holds things together at the back and the duo of Mateta and Pino have an extra load in attack.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Spurs will be without Romero and Xavi Simons through suspension, while James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski all remain out injured. Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are both away at AFCON. It’s likely that Kevin Danso comes in for Romero at the back, while Lucas Bergvall will be tasked with creating chances from midfield. Brennan Johnson, Joao Palhinha and Richarlison are all pushing to start.
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
This feels like a game which Spurs will dominate and despite all of Palace’s injuries they will enjoy picking Spurs off on the counter. Crystal Palace 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur.
