Tottenham 3 Crystal Palace 0
Crystal Palace did not want to play here, as they struggled to control a Covid outbreak that hit the manager, Patrick Vieira, and a number of players, and they wanted it to end from the moment Wilfried Zaha caught the collective mood of frustration and got himself sent off.
There were 37 minutes on the clock, Tottenham were 2-0 up and Zaha let his team down when he grappled with Davinson Sánchez before hurling his opponent to the ground. The club’s marquee name was already on a booking and Palace were en route to extending a worrying run of results. It is now just one win in seven Premier League games.
It was Tottenham’s day and, more specifically, it was that of Lucas Moura. The winger menaced Palace with his speed and direct running and he would finish with assists for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min – either side of a goal he scored himself.
On 82 minutes and the contest long since over, the home crowd sung the name of their manager, Antonio Conte, who responded with applause. The transformation that he has driven since replacing Nuno Espírito Santo in early November has been nothing short of remarkable: it is four wins, two draws and no defeats, the team well-placed for a Champions League push, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final victory to add into the mix.
Reports had surfaced on Christmas Day that the game was in jeopardy, with Palace reporting positive Covid tests, and it was not until three and a half hours before kick-off that the clubs confirmed, via Twitter, it would go ahead.
The Premier League's board had met to consider Palace's application for a postponement and they were not satisfied that it met the criteria. When the teamsheets dropped, Palace showed one change from their previous game – the 2-2 home draw against Southampton on December 15th – and the absentees took in Vicente Guaita, Nathaniel Clyne, James McArthur, Luka Milivojevic, Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Christian Benteke.
The stadium was dotted with empty seats and it had been a slow-burn start, with passes going astray and little incision or risk-taking. Both teams wanted to counter and it was noticeable how Spurs sat deep at the outset, inviting Palace onto them. Palace did not seem comfortable when asked to proactively prise their opponents apart.
Lucas blew the game open. He had missed a glorious chance on 25 minutes, glancing past the far post from Sergio Reguilón’s cross, before he ignited the move for the opening goal.
It was exactly what Conte had wanted: Palace’s defenders to be drawn out and his players to sprint in behind them. James Tomkins stepped up to engage Lucas, who popped the ball wide to Emerson Royal and continued his run. When he got it back, Palace were stretched, Lucas outpacing Joachim Andersen to cross low for Kane, who swept home.
Lucas quickly twisted the knife. It was another impressive burst from him and, when he worked it right for Kane who played in Emerson, Lucas tore into the area to provide the option. Emerson stood up the cross and Lucas got there ahead of Andersen, dominating him in the air to nod the ball down and in.
Zaha had been booked for a nibble on Sánchez just before the first goal and so he had to think that raising his hands to the same opponent would have been akin to playing with fire. Zaha did not think, his passions getting the better of him as he tussled with the Spurs centre-half by the touchline, and it was a roughhouse move he used to send him over. The stand-in Palace manager, Osian Roberts, stared into space from his seat on the bench.
Palace’s only attempt of the first half had come inside the opening 60 seconds, Jordan Ayew taking a touch and shooting high, and Roberts was now forced deeper into damage-limitation mode. He began the second-half with Odsonne Édouard on the left of a midfield four, Ayew as the lone front-runner, and the only question came to concern whether Spurs would gild their margin of victory.
Oliver Skipp, who had lashed wide in the 11th minute when well-placed on the edge of the area, had another strong game, snapping into challenges, and it was remarkable to see how often Emerson got into dangerous positions from right wing-back.
Kane steered just over from a Son corner and Conte did not leave him on much beyond the hour, mindful of the meeting with Southampton on Tuesday.
It was a tough watch for the travelling Palace fans, who cheered ironically when the referee, Jon Moss, booked Sánchez for a foul on Ayew. Conor Gallagher looked the part before Roberts withdrew him and Spurs got the goal that their second-half control merited when Lucas crossed from the right and Son touched home deftly at the near post. - Guardian
