Eberechi Eze scored on either side of halftime to give Crystal Palace a 2-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and condemn the hosts to their 20th Premier League defeat of the season.
Palace’s first league win since early April kept them in 12th place with 49 points – equalling their best-ever points tally in the Premier League with two games left in the season.
Both teams had little to play for, but the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium still had an air of optimism about it, with Palace having reached the FA Cup final and Spurs within touching distance of Europa League glory.
The home fans’ cheer quickly evaporated, however, and they were subjected to a frustrating afternoon in which Palace had the hosts on the ropes from the get-go.
“Good performance. We did everything we needed to do today. Energy and we won our duels. We’re in a good position for next week [FA Cup final],” Eze told Sky Sports.
“The final means everything. We have to put ourselves in the best position and today was a good step towards that. We’re confident and we need to do what we do, be the best version of ourselves and anything is possible.”
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Palace repeatedly tore through Tottenham’s defence with ease and put the ball in the net in the eighth minute but Ismaïla Sarr‘s goal was ruled out to due to an offside in the build-up.
Oliver Glasner’s side created a string of chances and had another goal disallowed in the 43rd minute after Maxence Lacroix‘s header glanced off team mate Marc Guéhi‘s arm before crossing the line.
They finally broke the deadlock just before halftime when winger Daniel Muñoz bombed down the right flank and squared the ball to Eze for a tap in.
Three minutes after the interval Tottenham were rocked by another sweeping attack as Eze ghosted into the box and calmly slotted home Sarr’s pass to net his seventh league goal of the season.
The goal drew a reaction from a listless Tottenham but despite their efforts they could not piece together any truly threatening attacks, while Palace almost added a third when Eddie Nketiah drew a sharp save from Antonin Kinsky in the 92nd minute.
For Tottenham, who have only one win in 10 league games, the defeat extended an abysmal run and dropped them into 17th place in the standings after West Ham United beat Manchester United.
The north-London club, who have only the already-relegated trio of Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton below them, are on course for their lowest finish since the 1976-77 season, when they finished 22nd and were relegated from the top-flight.
They were also dealt an injury blow when attacker Dejan Kulusevski went off injured after only 19 minutes – a significant concern for manager Ange Postecoglou with just 10 days until their Europa League final against United.
“It was disappointing, we never really got into the game and we didn’t control it at any time…,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports.
“I’m disappointed, it’s clear we’re not anywhere near the level we need to be. We’re making changes and the guys are getting opportunities.”
