12 brilliant minutes were enough for Tottenham to erase 76 minutes of frustrating football, as Ange Postecoglou’s side came back from a goal down to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 on Saturday.
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Tottenham went behind after Eberechi Eze scored a stunning free kick after an hour, but Timo Werner, Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son hit back to complete a desperately needed comeback. The victory keeps Tottenham (50 points) firmly in 5th place in the Premier League, now six points clear of Manchester United and just two points off 4th-place Aston Villa. Crystal Palace (28 points) remain 14th, eight points above the relegation zone.
Tottenham control the game, but struggle to create chances
At this point in the Postecoglou project, Tottenham rely very heavily on counter-attacks to generate scoring chances. It has, largely, served them well this season (especially early on, before opponents starting showing them a bit more respect with their own shape and structure), but they struggled badly on Saturday as Crystal Palace had so little of the ball that opportunities to counter were very few and far between. Instead, they aimlessly passed the ball around the final third and settled for 28 crosses into the box, without a natural center forward in the team to target. Injuries, suspensions and international call-ups wrecked most of Postecoglou’s chances to form a cohesive attack this season, and Spurs have done brilliantly to pick up the number of wins they have despite all of that, but significant strides will have to be made in the summer to create a more consistent attacking identity.
After holding just 18 percent of possession (but managing to out-shoot Tottenham) in the first half, Palace found themselves under serious pressure immediately after the restart. Spurs never could work out the final ball, though, as Werner caused problems down the left wing but was wayward with crosses and shots alike.
Crystal Palace withstood that early surge and pulled off a smash-and-grab job with a moment of individual brilliance just before the hour mark. Eze won a free kick 22 yards out and commanded the dead ball with wide eyes — and for good reason. Eze whipped a right-footed strike over and around the Tottenham wall, well out of Guglielmo Vicario’s reach and stuck the ball just inside the far post.
Tottenham continued to find very little joy in the final third as the Crystal Palace defense grew in numbers and sunk deeper and deeper. Eventually, the ball residing in and around their penalty area for nearly the entirety of the game turned disastrous with one hugely unfortunate sequel of events in the 77th minute. Brennan Johnson pressed Joachim Andersen as he tried to play the ball out from the back, winning it back before beating Andersen and crossing behind and around the backline. The only other player who saw the ball being played was Werner, who streaked past everyone and hammered home his first goal for Spurs.
Three minutes later, Palace’s inability to get the ball away bit them again. A quick throw-in was taken and James Maddison was suddenly in plenty of space in the right channel. Maddison chipped the ball over the defense with the outside of his right foot and found Romero making the back-post run. Romero ever so slightly redirected it past Sam Johnstone and wheeled away to furiously celebrate his winning goal.
Spurs’ tails were up by the 88th minute, when Johnson played Son in behind with a simple ball to beat everyone but the goalkeeper. Son had no trouble beating him either, with a composed finish that bounced into the bottom corner and brought immense relief to the north London faithful.
What’s next?
Spurs will be back in action next Sunday (9 am ET), when they head to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa in a massive Champions League six-pointer. Crystal Palace will host Luton Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday (10 am ET).
Player ratings - Tottenham vs Crystal Palace
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace, final score: 3-1
Goalscorers: Eberechi Eze (59'), Timo Werner (77'), Cristian Romero (80'), Heung-min Son (88')
59th minute - GOAL - Eberechi Eze curls a stunning free kick to put Crystal Palace ahead
77th minute - GOAL - Timo Werner pulls Spurs level after Brennan Johnson crosses
80th minute - GOAL - James Maddison finds Cristian Romero for Tottenham’s winner
88th minute - GOAL - Heung-min Son slots home to put the game to bed
How to watch Tottenham vs Crystal Palace live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET Saturday
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Online: Premier League on Peacock
Tottenham starting lineup
Vicario — Royal, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie — Bissouma, Bentancur, Maddison — Kulusevski, Werner, Son
Crystal Palace starting lineup
Johnstone — Ward, Andersen, Richards — Munoz, Lerma, Wharton, Mitchell — Ayew, Eze, Mateta
Tottenham focus, team news
OUT: Richarlison (knee), Manor Solomon (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Fraser Forster (foot), Pedro Porro (undisclosed)
Crystal Palace focus, team news
It was nice to see Chris Richards start for new boss Oliver Glasner and even nicer to see him get his first Premier League goal. Eberechi Eze returning for this one would be a boon for the attack but Jordan Ayew has perhaps quietly been very good for the Eagles in his (and Michael Olise’s) absence, when Ayew himself wasn’t away from the team.
OUT: Michael Olise (hamstring), Rob Holding (ankle), Cheick Doucoure (achilles - out for season), Marc Guehi (knee), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (thigh)