Fosu-Mensah takes down Lucas out of frustration, giving Tottenham a free-kick just outside the penalty area. This is perfect range for Eriksen who has scored from this distance on a number of occasions. The wall does its job but the ball deflects out for a Spurs corner, allowing the away side to wipe precious minutes off the clock.
88'
H. Kane has scored a goal for Tottenham Hotspur! Assist by C. Eriksen.
Christian Eriksen, after a number of poor deliveries, got his measurements perfect on this occasion which allowed Kane to nod the ball into the back of the net.
HARRY KANE BREAKS THE DEADLOCK! The England international forward isolates himself atop the scoring charts with a basic back-post header from a corner. Wayne Hennessey gets his fingertips to the chance but it rolls off his extremities and nestled into the roof of the net! Its Kane’s 24th of the league season, and Tottenham’s first today!
87'
Lee Chung-Yong enters the game and replaces A. Townsend.
Andros Townsend will also be removed in favour of Lee Chung-Yong. The former Spurs winger has put in a mighty effort today, often times being the only outlet for a pacey counter-attack.
85'
D. Delaney enters the game and replaces J. Tomkins.
Immediately after that chance, Roy Hodgson makes a substitution, with James Tomkins unable to continue. His replacement will be Damien Delaney.
84'
HOW HAS AURIER NOT GIVEN TOTTENHAM THE LEAD!? A cross is put in by Davies and Kane lets the ball drift through his legs towards the back post where Aurier is waiting. Unfortunately for the Ivory Coast international, the ball gets caught underneath his feet and the former PSG full-back is unable to tap the ball into the empty net. Spurs really should have the lead after that golden chance.
80'
Son Heung-Min enters the game and replaces M. Dembélé.
A Palace defence which is in danger of losing another body as James Tompkins appears to have hurt himself quite badly after swinging a leg at a clearance which he missed. The defender went down almost immediately and is currently receiving treatment by the Palace medical staff.
Tompkins hobbles off the pitch as Tottenham make their second substitution of the match; with Son Heung-min entering the pitch in place of Mousa Dembele in a very attacking change by Pochettino.
78'
Heung-Min Son is warming up on the touchline and being put through his final paces before entering the match. Son has quite the record as a super substitute, and his pace alone should be enough to frighten the Palace defence.
75'
Alli is once again making a claim for a penalty after the creative midfielder was brought down by Hennessey who came out of his goal to make a sliding save at the foot of the Tottenham forward. The match official decides that the keeper made a play on the ball, and rewards Crystal Palace with a goal-kick.
73'
FANTASTIC SAVE BY HENNESSEY! The ball falls to Davies who turns and fires a weak but accurate shot in the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. Despite knowing nothing of the shot, the Palace goalkeeper gets down extremely well to poke the ball out for a corner with what seemed like an outstretched finger.
72'
Alli and van Aanholt are being given a stern talking to by the referee after the two players confronted each other following a tackle put in on Alli which he feels was worthy of a penalty kick. The referee thought otherwise, and motioned for a Tottenham corner.
Minute
Description
70'
The ball is out for a Tottenham corner but more pressing is the health of van Aanholt who slipped while attempting to clear the ball, and stayed down during the ensuing Tottenham attack. The Dutch full-back is now up and has gone off the pitch to receive some treatment. Eriksen’s set-piece is a very poor effort, and the ball misses everyone on its way out for a goal-kick.
66'
Lucas Moura enters the game and replaces É. Lamela.
Aurier is called for his second foul-throw of the game, which will allow Lucas Moura to enter the fray on the right-hand side in place of Erik Lamela who will be withdrawn in the first substitution of the match for either side.
63'
Claims for a penalty by Crystal Palace are immediately waved away by the referee. Sorloth is knocked over in the penalty area but the tackle from Aurier and the contact from Sanchez are both deemed to be legal.
60'
The game is far more stretched as Lamela finds himself in acres of room, but some poor control allows the ball to run from him. Tompkins comes across and takes the opportunity to put the ball out for a corner. Eriksen takes the set-piece and it’s met by Dier who puts it wide of the goal.
57'
Eriksen tries to catch the Palace defence off-guard with a low cross into the area, but Tompkins stoops low to make the effective clearance.
55'
Aurier gets free on the right and links up with Eriksen who volleys the ball towards Kane in the centre of the penalty area. The England striker hits a clean volley but the strike trickles just wide of Hennessey’s post and out for a goal-kick.
53'
Tottenham are building slowly, finding little room in a packed midfield to operate. The flanks have been instrumental to Spurs’ attacks, but the penalty area is crowded with defenders making it hard for Kane to get on the end of anything.
50'
Lamela lays it off to Aurier who cuts it back towards the middle of the penalty area, but the centre-backs were well placed to deal with the danger and immediately put the ball out for a throw.
48'
Kane receives the ball from Alli and attempts a shot from outside the penalty area but the effort was high and wide, never troubling Hennessey.
46'
Crystal Palace start the second half!
45' +1
M. Dembélé gets yellow.
Mousa Dembele is given the first yellow card of the match on the stroke of half-time.
44'
Townsend gets into space on the right before cutting inside and attempting a curler into the far corner, despite having Benteke in the box in space. The effort is tame and Lloris has no trouble getting down to make the save.
42'
STAT: Harry Kane has only two fewer goals in the Premier League than Crystal Palace.
39'
Palace fans are furious with the referee after Lloris once again fails to handle a ball cleanly. Townsend’s long ball for Benteke is met by Lloris who did not catch it cleanly, and seemingly grabbed the ball when outside of his penalty area, before sliding back into the box. The referee makes no indication of an infringement, and the Tottenham keeper is once again slightly fortunate.
36'
Milivojevic sends his corner to the far post where it is met by van Aanholt, only for Lloris to claim. The French goalkeeper has significant trouble handling the ball and cannot catch it cleanly, putting it out for a corner. The French international is given respite however when the referee indicates that the ball had crossed the line before Lloris got a hand to it and a goal-kick is awarded.
33'
Palace are finding it extremely difficult to retain possession after winning the ball from Tottenham. All 11 Eagles players are constantly in their own half doing their defensive duties, which hinders their ability to counter-attack. Any time Hodgson’s side do win the ball, it is lumped forward for a Spurs defender to reclaim and initiate another attack.
30'
Offiside but it could have been a penalty! A turnover on the edge of the Palace penalty area gifts Kane the ball inside the 18-yard box. Fosu-Mensah bowls the striker over in what would be a clear spot-kick, had Kane not been in an offside position when receiving the ball which was tapped forward by Alli. Crystal Palace should count themselves lucky, as the linesman made ultimately the correct call.
27'
Wan-Bissaka is acquitting himself well just under a half-hour into his first Premier League start. Tottenham have found little joy down their left-hand side, with Lamela rarely getting involved in Spurs’ forward moves.
24'
Tottenham are keeping possession well inside Crystal Palace’s half, but are seemingly lacking the incisive pass necessary to break down a resolute defence. The attack ends after a very wasteful shot at an acute angle by Wanyama goes out over Hennessey’s net.
21'
Sorloth registers a shot on target after driving a speculative header towards Lloris who didn’t have to move to make the stop. Palace have a number of shots on target so far, but none of them have caused panic for the French international goalkeeper.
19'
Dier tries to pass the ball out of the back but gives it right to Townsend who can restart the attack from a great position just outside the Tottenham penalty area. A van Aanholt cross leads to a throw-in but Palace’s fortunate interception leads to nothing as the final ball is caught easily by Lloris.
17'
Van Aanholt gets free on the right and fizzes a ball into the centre of the penalty area but Lloris gets to the cross before Benteke can meet it.
14'
Milivojevic is unhappy with the referee awarding Tottenham another free-kick deep in Palace territory. Eriksen drives the ball into an awkward position but Hennessey catches it – albeit not very cleanly. The Crystal Palace goalkeeper has had a bit of a rough time early in this match, with Tottenham constantly peppering his goal with shots.
11'
ALMOST FOR KANE! This time Hennessey reacts promptly after van Aanholt’s attempted clearance puts the ball directly in the path of the Tottenham striker. The goalkeeper does a good job of making himself large and blocks the shot well.
8'
Alli is fouled by Fosu-Mensah who is late in his challenge to win the ball. Eriksen stands over the free-kick and chips the ball into the area to which Hennessey shouts his claim for the ball and then immediately pulls back, causing all sorts of confusion in the Palace penalty area. Tomkins eventually comes across to put the ball out for a corner which amounts to nothing.
4'
Aurier plays a long ball to Kane which is dealt with by Tomkins who puts it out for a corner with a clearing header. Lamela’s ensuing set-piece is defended well by Benteke, only for Palace to give Tottenham a throw-in on the near side of the pitch.
2'
Wanyama gives away an early free-kick inside the Tottenham half after putting in an over-zealous challenge to win the ball.
1'
Tottenham get the match underway attacking from right to left!
Good afternoon and welcome to our live text commentary of the Premier League fixture between Crystal Palace and Tottenham from Selhurst Park in London.
Considering Crystal Palace’s unprecedented poor form to begin the season, 17th place in the league table is a slight improvement. Tied on points with both Swansea below them and Southampton directly above, a win today for Palace would move the Eagles into the giddy heights of 13th position, level with West Ham and Huddersfield.
25 goals scored in 27 matches is an extremely poor record, but an MCL injury to Christian Benteke early in the season and a run of seven matches without finding the back of the net under Frank de Boer are partly to blame for that low total. It does not get any easier against Tottenham, as Roy Hodgson is left without eleven members of his squad due to injury - including Jason Puncheon, Jeffrey Schlupp, Bakary Sako and precocious talent Wilfried Zaha in attack. Keeping Harry Kane and Dele Alli from scoring is another hardship all on its own, as the home side will also be without Scott Dann, Martin Kelly, Mamadou Sakho and goalkeeper Julian Speroni.
Palace enter today’s fixture on the back of four games without victory, including drubbings against Arsenal and Everton. They have conceded nine goals in their last four matches – which bodes very well for a Tottenham side whose attack is only bettered in the Premier League by Manchester City and Liverpool who occupy first and second positions in the table respectively.
A 2-2 draw against Rochdale in the FA Cup was a slight snag on an otherwise impressive run of results that has seen Spurs go 14 matches unbeaten in all competitions since a 4-1 loss to Manchester City in late 2017. An impressive draw at the Allianz Stadium against Juventus and a win against rivals Arsenal should bolster the confidence of Mauricio Pochettino’s side. A win against Palace in another all-London affair would send Spurs up to third place, par with Manchester United and a solitary point behind second-place Liverpool.
Crystal Palace Starting XI (4-3-3): Wayne Hennessey; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, James Tomkins, Patrick van Aanholt; Luka Milivojevic, Jairo Riedewald, James McArthur; Andros Townsend, Alexander Sorloth, Christian Benteke.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, the team news has been confirmed! Let's begin with the home side.
Crystal Palace substitutes: Dion Henry, Pape Souare, Damien Delaney, Erdal Rakip, Jason Lokilo, Nya Kirby, Chung-Yong Lee.
Tottenham substitutes: Michel Vorm, Juan Foyth, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose, Lucas Moura, Heung-Min Son.
Tottenham Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Hugo Lloris; Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Ben Davies; Victor Wanyama, Mousa Dembele; Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli; Harry Kane.
Roy Hodgson makes three changes from the side that lost 3-1 to Everton in the Premier League 15 days ago. Wayne Hennessey keeps his place in goal and will be protected once again by a centre-back pairing of Fosu-Mensah and Tomkins. Patrick van Aanholt retains his spot at left-back but it will be a first start for 20-year old Aaron Wan-Bissaka who will fill in for the injured Joel Ward at right-back. In midfield, McArthur and Milivojevic return to the side but the trio will be completed by Jairo Riedewald instead of Yohan Cabaye. In attack, all three players set to take the field against Tottenham also started the match against Everton, with Alexander Sorloth and Andros Townsend flanking either side of central striker Christian Benteke.
Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are the only injury concerns for Tottenham, as the former has yet to fully recover from a hamstring injury that was sustained in early November and the latter is kept out with an ankle concern. Harry Kane has been on the scoresheet in each of his last four matches in all competitions and should have a glut of chances against what is essentially a second-string defensive line-up from Palace. The England number nine leads the league with 23 goals and will certainly look to use the derby to put some space between himself and Mohamed Salah who ranks second on the list.
Mauricio Pochettino also makes three alterations to the starting 11 that managed a victory against Arsenal. Hugo Lloris starts in goal behind a defence featuring returning players Ben Davies at left-back and Davinson Sanchez at centre-back. The other two roles will be filled by Serge Aurier who replaces Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier who drops back from midfield into the back four. Mousa Dembele will get a chance to continue his phenomenal form in a midfield pairing with Victor Wanyama who will replace Jan Vertonghen who recently sustained an ankle injury in training. Christian Eriksen starts on the right with Dele Alli in his typical centre-attacking midfield position. On the right, Erik Lamela replaces Heung-Min Son and the trio of creative, forward-thinking players will support Harry Kane who is the lone striker.
HALF-TIME: Crystal Palace 0-0 Tottenham.
Harry Kane unsurprisingly has had the best chance of the match so far, but his strike was saved well by Hennessey who made up for his earlier mistake by denying the England international who was through on goal. For Palace, Andros Townsend has looked the most dangerous, with his pace lending itself well to Hodgson’s clear instructions to attack on the counter. Christian Benteke has been ineffective in all facets except for defending Tottenham corners, while Alexander Sorloth has barely seen any involvement at all. Spurs seem the most likely to score, but the Crystal Palace manager cannot be disappointed in his team's effort and defensive stability.
A draw would be a great result for the home side, but a lack of depth on the bench is starkly contrasted by Pochettino’s array of attacking options. New signing Lucas Moura, as well as Heung-Min Son and Danny Rose can all be called upon in the second half to make the difference, especially when tired legs begin to set in. It will be a stern test for Palace in the closing 45 minutes, who could desperately use any points they get.
The two sides go into the half-time interval level after a first 45 minutes that has been plagued by hesitant goalkeeping at either end. An early Hennessey mistake could have made it 1-0 to Tottenham after the Palace shot-stopper failed to collect a ball that he vocally claimed. In the opposite goal, Hugo Lloris could have faced significant punishment if the referee had deemed he handled the ball outside of his penalty area.
FULL-TIME: Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham.
Serge Aurier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane all had a number of chances to break the deadlock before Kane’s timely 88th minute match-winner, but it was very fitting that a goalkeeping error cost Palace the points. The striker rose well above his marker to get his head on the ball, but Hennessey should have done much better as the shot-stopper got his hands to the chance before going into the net.
Tottenham piled on the pressure late, and Harry Kane eventually managed to nod home his 35th goal in all competitions. Palace seemed to have grown into the match with Sorloth and Townsend getting free on the wings late in the second half, but in the end the gulf in quality was too much for the home side who fought valiantly until the end.
That ends our live-text commentary of the Premier League fixture between Crystal Palace and Tottenham. We hope you enjoyed the match and we look forward to seeing you next time!
Tottenham with this win move temporarily above Chelsea, but a win for the Blues todawould drop Spurs back into fifth position. As for Crystal Palace, they remain in 17th, only outside of the relegation zone on goal differential. Next up for Tottenham is an FA Cup replay against Rochdale before hosting Huddersfield Town at the beginning of next month in the Premier League. Palace have an exceptionally difficult fixture list upcoming, with the Eagles hosting Manchester United before travelling Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
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