Crystal Palace vs Tottenham a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
April 27, 2017
1,736 Views
- Just how big a win could that be in the race for the Premier League title as Tottenham got the better of Crystal Palace
- They were perhaps not firing on all cylinders at Selhurst Park last night but they managed to come through this test unscathed as they once again cut the gap between themselves and Chelsea to just 4 points
- Questions were asked as to how exactly Tottenham would bounce back from their Wembley disappointment on Saturday
- And they answered it in the best possible way….eventually
- Crystal Palace started the game the brighter as they surged forward early on
- Their gameplan was more to unsettle Tottenham and you would have to say that it certainly worked early on
- The likes of Dele Alli and Kyle Walker were somewhat out of sorts while Harry Kane was afforded very little room to manoeuvre in and around Palace’s penalty box
- Once again Mamadou Sahko was like a brick wall as he withstood what little Tottenham threw at him the first half
- By the same notion although Palace started brightly they did not offer all that much of an attacking threat in regards to testing Hugo Lloris
- The stats after 25 minutes or so said it all with just 1 shot on target for either side
- The biggest talking point of the first half was undoubtedly whether or not Victor Wanyama should have been sent off
- After picking up an early yellow card for a bad foul, the midfielder slid in late on Andros Townsend. Referee Jon Moss took Wanyama to one side, but let him off with a warning.
- It was apparent that Moss did not want to send the Kenyan international off
- But by the letter of the law, the former Southampton player should really have been given his marching orders
- He would be replaced at half time but it was somewhat of a get out of jail free card for Tottenham
- Mauricio Pochettino started with a back three but it was quite apparent that it was not working
- But thanks to the versatility of Eric Dier it meant that Tottenham would then adopt a flat back four for the second half
- The midfield personnel was changed as both Wanyama and Mousa Dembele were bought off in place of Moussa Sissoko and Heung-min Son
- Demble looked pained in the first half and hopefully it is a precautionary measure before Sunday
- But after the restart Palace would eventually have to make an enforced change of their own
- And it was one that arguably turned the game
- Mamadou Sahko who has been at the lynchpin of everything positive that Palace have done defensively as of late was hurt as he attempted to tackle Harry Kane
- The French international lay prone on the ground for a number of minutes and eventually would be stretched off and replaced Damien Delaney
- Tottenham then knew they had to step it up a notch
- And they would nearly break the deadlock soon after when Dele Alli ghosted in at the back post
- So often that has been the main source of goals but this time the ball just edge agonisingly across goal and out to safety
- The minutes were starting to run down and Tottenham were being shut out at all opportunities
- In fairness though they did not get frustrated and just kept plugging away
- Then with 12 minutes to go there was a breakthrough
- And what a breakthrough
- Christian Eriksen was fed the ball about 28 yards from the goal and he was presented with plenty of time to hit a speculative effort
- This was not a wild attempt though as the ball dipped viciously and eventually found itself nestled in the bottom corner of the goal
- Wayne Hennessey did not stand a chance as Spurs finally got their noses infront
- And it was a goal that took the wind out of Palace’s sails
- The plan to just withstand Tottenham had just come short and they had nothing really to offer in the final 15 minutes or so
- For large periods after going ahead it was a keep ball exercise for the away side and it is something they did impeccably
- They closed the game out but made sure the title race is still wide open
- Sunday could be an absolutely pivotal clash
- North London Derbies are big, but they simply will not get any bigger this one
- Hold onto your hats!
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