Tottenham Hotspur defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 at home to win their third in a row in the Premier League.
It was one of the most one-sided affairs in the league so far. Jean-Philippe Mateta picked up an early red card in the 13th minute, which changed the whole outlook of the game for the remaining 77 minutes.
Archie Gray opened the scoring soon after that from a corner. And as it turns out, an Archie Gray header against the Eagles is not exactly news.
In similar fashion, Jan Paul van Hecke somehow sealed the deal while layed down.
Why did Tottenham get everything right against Crystal Palace?
De Zerbi adjustments
Roberto De Zerbi started the game setting Tottenham up in his usual 3-3-3-1 from the last few games. However, after the sending off, there was no more need for a three-at-the-back set in-possession.
He then switched it to a 2-3-5 (sometimes more of a 2-5-3), leaving just centre-backs Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven behind. Andy Robertson and Gray (Pedro Porro later) would both go further up the pitch occupying the half-spaces.
This gave them more bodies forward but also added an extra element to the backline whenever they tracked back.
Spurs also went up a level in the second half, rather than sitting on the result and passing sideways and backwards waiting for the final whistle. Getting to the final 10-15 minutes down by just one goal was exactly what Crystal Palace wanted, to have at least a chance – no matter how small. De Zerbi didn’t want to risk that.
They recorded eight shots in the first half and had already equalled this tally in the second half by the 55th minute. In the end, they set a new record for shots of any Premier League side both in a single game (34) and in a single half (26) this season.
The Eagles did get a decent chance in the 62nd minute with Dwight McNeil. But Dominic Solanke of all players did a great job blocking the shot and it led to a 3-on-3 counter-attack for the home side.
Wingers wreaking havoc
Right from the start, Tottenham looked for their wingers at all times. Crystal Palace defended in a 5-4-1 initially, with all four midfielders sitting narrowly and forcing them wide.
Mathys Tel was very busy down the left-hand side, looking to take defenders on and dismantle their defence. His personal battle with Oscar Mingueza was one of the most consistent ways they found to generate advantages.
Mohammed Kudus, on the opposite side, showed more off-ball movement to create tensions and cause reactions from the defenders, moving and lowering their block even more.
Spurs’ best chance in the first half, in fact, came from mixing those two together. Tel worked out wide, took two defenders on and crossed the ball in the far post, where Kudus was crashing. The Ghanaian couldn’t properly connect with the ball, however.
And it was precisely Kudus working to get free and receive in behind down the right that caused the corner kick that originated Gray’s opener.
He could have even gotten out of the game with a brace. But he mistimed his run and saw his goal disallowed following a Conor Gallagher pass and later missed an absolute sitter at the far post from a Luca Williams-Barnett cross.
Set pieces
When facing 10 men, set pieces become even more important as a way to unlock the game. Defences down one or more men tend to retract, negating space near their own goal.
Movement from Tottenham’s wingers was key in moving Palace’s defenders around. But what got them the two-goal cushion and final result of 2-0 was set pieces.
The Eagles did a poor job tracking all Spurs players inside the box, leaving Gray unmarked at the back post. But Sandro Tonali played a key role with a basketball ‘screen’ to stop Mingueza from getting there to contest the header.
Not to mention van Hecke and Solanke both had decent chances to score from other set pieces before the Dutchman bagged his goal to seal the deal.
In fact, he became only the second centre-back to record five shots in a single game this season, after Coventry City‘s Bobby Thomas against Manchester City in September.
If we’re nitpicking, the only possible thing to hold against Tottenham is how reliant they were on crosses. But again, facing 10 men can often make it tougher to break opponents down. And they didn’t spam crosses randomly, there were rehearsed movements to get them into the box and try to finish them.
Now, Spurs have gone from winless after six matches to their first three-game win streak in the Premier League since February 2025, still under Ange Postecoglou.