Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his third goal of the season as Crystal Palace ended their wait for victory with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park.
The win moves Oliver Glasner’s side out of the bottom three and above Ipswich Town, who drop into 18th. Spurs, on the other hand, are still marooned on just three away games this calendar year in the Premier League.
Palace took the lead after 31 minutes through Mateta, who returned to the starting XI in style. Micky Van de Ven was sloppy on the ball at the back, which allowed Daniel Munoz to dispossess the Dutch defender and pick out Eberechi Eze in the box, who flicked the ball into the path of Mateta, who did the rest.
Just minutes after Palace’s opener, Van de Ven’s shot deflected off Brennan Johnson and struck the post, but Spurs were mostly outplayed by the hosts during the first half.
The excellent Eze thought he had doubled Palace’s lead in the second half, but he was just offside as Adam Wharton played him through.
Spurs’ struggles continued in the second half – failing to break down a Palace defence expertly marshalled by Marc Guehi – as their woeful away record continued.
Seventeen-year-old Mikey Moore became Spurs’ second youngest player to start a Premier League game, but that was the only real highlight of their afternoon.
Talking Point – Postecoglou’s Spurs continue to struggle on the road
Despite many plaudits for his attacking and exciting football, Ange Postecoglou’s record away from home in the Premier League is not pretty. Spurs have won just three away games in the calendar year, with one of those victories coming against already relegated Sheffield United at the end of last season.
After the collapse at the Amex Stadium a few weeks ago, a struggling Palace side presented the perfect opportunity for Spurs to pick up an away win, but they never got going. The former Celtic manager will need to fix this glaring issue as the season progresses for Spurs to have some success this season.
Player of the Match – Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
The England defender was excellent against his national team-mate Dominic Solanke, not giving Spurs’ striker a sniff all game. The Palace captain led by example, organising the rest of the defence and ensuring his side picked up that all-important victory.
Glasner was delighted he was able to keep hold of Guehi in the summer after lots of interest from Newcastle United and today he proved why there was that interest. To keep a clean sheet against Spurs is not easy, but Guehi did not seem to struggle today.
Player Ratings
Crystal Palace: Henderson 9, Munoz 7, Chalobah 7, Lacroix 6, Guehi 9, Mitchell 7, Lerma 6, Wharton 8, Sarr 7, Eze 8, Mateta 8. Subs: Hughes 7, Nketiah 5.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario 7, Porro 5 , Romero 5 , Van de Ven 3 , Udogie 4 , Bissouma 5 , Kulusevski 3, Maddison 5, Johnson 4, Solanke 4, Moore 5. Subs: Richarlison 4, Sarr 5, Werner 3.
Match Highlights
31’ GOAL! PALACE 1-0 TOTTENHAM (MATETA): Palace have the lead and Mateta has scored! Micky Van de Ven loses the ball to Munoz, who picks out Eze, who finds Mateta and the French forward finds the back of the net.
34’ SPURS HIT THE POST! This game has come alive now! Van de Ven picks the ball up in the box from a corner and fires it into Brennan Johnson… and the ball hits the woodwork!
45+5’ WHAT A SAVE! Maddison thought he had scored for Spurs but Dean Henderson pulls off an incredible save to keep the midfielder out.
50’ PALACE GOAL DISALLOWED! The Selhurst Park crowd erupt as Eze squeezes the ball under Vicario, but he is just offside. However, VAR is looking into the decision.
54’ HUGE PALACE PENALTY SHOUT! Palace think they should have a penalty here. Eze sits both Porro and Van de Ven down in the box with some great footwork and thinks the Dutch defender has pulled him down. The referee and VAR say no though.
57’ PALACE CHANCE! The hosts almost had a second through Ismaila Sarr! The former Watford forward’s shot took a nasty deflection and Guglielmo Vicario did well to save the shot.
Key Stat
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