Tottenham beat Palace to go five clear at top

2 years ago 42
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James Maddison plays the cross that leads to the opening goal for Tottenham against Crystal PalaceJames Maddison's cross was bundled into his own net by Palace defender Joel Ward for the opener

Tottenham Hotspur moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League table and continued their superb start to the season with a win at Crystal Palace.

The visitors took control after the break and benefitted from a huge slice of fortune with the opener when Palace defender Joel Ward turned James Maddison's cross into his own net.

Maddison was key to the second too as his interplay with Brennan Johnson ended with Son Heung-min firing home his eighth goal of the season.

Jordan Ayew thumped in a stunning strike after taking the ball down on his chest in stoppage time for Palace, but there was to be no equaliser as Tottenham secured yet another victory under new boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian has breathed new life into his side since joining from Celtic in the summer and this win extended Spurs' run to eight wins and two draws from their opening 10 games.

The victory means Tottenham move on to 26 points, five ahead of Manchester City and Arsenal, who both have a game in hand and can close the gap over the weekend.

Maddison is Spurs' key man again

James Maddison and Son Heung-min celebrate scoring against Crystal PalaceJames Maddison and Son Heung-min have been in superb form for Tottenham so far this season

Postecoglou's impact on the Spurs squad cannot be underestimated - he is not only enjoying the best start to a season by a new manager in Premier League history, but has also guided his team to their second best start to a top-flight campaign.

Spurs' best ever start came in the 1960-61 season, when they amassed 30 points from their first 10 games and went on to win the league title. While it is early days, fans will be starting to dream of of a title challenge this term too.

Key to Tottenham's impressive form this term has been the irrepressible Maddison, who has appeared right at home in this Spurs team ever since his summer transfer from Leicester City, and it came as no surprise that he was at the heart of both goals at Selhurst Park.

Spurs were much improved after the break following a tight first half in which Palace striker Odsonne Edouard went closest with a low strike that was pushed away by Guglielmo Vicario.

Palace had defended solidly and maintained their shape well for 52 minutes, but they buckled when Maddison found space inside the penalty area drove the ball powerfully across the face of goal to deflect in off Ward.

After that Tottenham, and Maddison in particular, found space more frequently and he played a significant part in the second, carrying the ball forward and gliding into the box before feeding Johnson, whose cutback was converted by Son.

Maddison and Son's ability to maintain their stellar form will be key in determining just seriously Tottenham can challenge at the top of the table as the season progresses, but right now both players are looking unstoppable.

More to follow.

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Crystal Palace

  1. Squad number1Player nameJohnstone

  2. Squad number2Player nameWard

  3. Squad number16Player nameAndersen

  4. Squad number6Player nameGuéhi

  5. Squad number3Player nameMitchell

  6. Squad number28Player nameDoucouré

  7. Squad number8Player nameLerma

  8. Squad number9Player nameJ Ayew

  9. Squad number19Player nameHughes

  10. Squad number15Player nameSchlupp

  11. Squad number22Player nameÉdouard

  1. Squad number11Player nameMatheus França

  2. Squad number14Player nameMateta

  3. Squad number17Player nameClyne

  4. Squad number29Player nameAhamada

  5. Squad number49Player nameRak-Sakyi

Tottenham Hotspur

  1. Squad number13Player nameVicario

  2. Squad number23Player namePorro

  3. Squad number17Player nameRomero

  4. Squad number37Player namevan de Ven

  5. Squad number33Player nameDavies

  6. Squad number29Player nameSarr

  7. Squad number8Player nameBissouma

  8. Squad number21Player nameKulusevski

  9. Squad number10Player nameMaddison

  10. Squad number9Player nameRicharlison

  11. Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-min

  1. Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg

  2. Squad number11Player nameGil

  3. Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal

  4. Squad number22Player nameJohnson

  5. Squad number30Player nameBentancur

Line-ups

Crystal Palace

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Johnstone
  • 2Ward
  • 16AndersenBooked at 90mins
  • 6Guéhi
  • 3MitchellSubstituted forClyneat 70'minutes
  • 28Doucouré
  • 8LermaSubstituted forFrança de Oliveiraat 79'minutes
  • 9J AyewBooked at 90mins
  • 19HughesSubstituted forAhamadaat 70'minutes
  • 15SchluppSubstituted forRak-Sakyiat 60'minutes
  • 22ÉdouardSubstituted forMatetaat 79'minutes

Substitutes

  • 4Holding
  • 11França de Oliveira
  • 14Mateta
  • 17Clyne
  • 26Richards
  • 29Ahamada
  • 31Matthews
  • 44Riedewald
  • 49Rak-Sakyi

Tottenham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 13Vicario
  • 23Porro
  • 17Romero
  • 37van de Ven
  • 33DaviesSubstituted forEmerson Royalat 45'minutes
  • 29Sarr
  • 8BissoumaSubstituted forHøjbjergat 64'minutes
  • 21KulusevskiSubstituted forBentancurat 90'minutes
  • 10MaddisonSubstituted forGilat 89'minutes
  • 9RicharlisonSubstituted forJohnsonat 64'minutesBooked at 90mins
  • 7Son Heung-min

Substitutes

  • 4Skipp
  • 5Højbjerg
  • 11Gil
  • 12Emerson Royal
  • 15Dier
  • 18Lo Celso
  • 20Forster
  • 22Johnson
  • 30Bentancur

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Crystal Palace 1, Tottenham Hotspur 2.

  2. Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 1, Tottenham Hotspur 2.

  3. Attempt missed. Matheus França (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jean-Philippe Mateta with a headed pass.

  4. Offside, Crystal Palace. Sam Johnstone tries a through ball, but Joachim Andersen is caught offside.

  5. Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Guglielmo Vicario tries a through ball, but Bryan Gil is caught offside.

  6. Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card.

  7. Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  8. Foul by Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace).

  9. Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card.

  10. Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  11. Bryan Gil (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Foul by Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace).

  13. Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Pedro Porro.

  14. Goal! Crystal Palace 1, Tottenham Hotspur 2. Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Joachim Andersen.

  15. Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  16. Foul by Joel Ward (Crystal Palace).

  17. Attempt blocked. Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

  18. Attempt blocked. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Brennan Johnson.

  19. Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Rodrigo Bentancur replaces Dejan Kulusevski.

  20. Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Bryan Gil replaces James Maddison.

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