Premier League

TOTTENHAM 2 (Gray 25, van Hecke 73)
CRYSTAL PALACE 0 (Mateta sent off 13)

TOTTENHAM chalked up their third win on the spin, and eased themselves into the top half of the table with a dominant 2-0 home win against Crystal Palace this evening (Saturday).

Headed goals in each half from right-back Archie Gray and centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke sealed the victory, which manager Roberto De Zerbi hailed as a “mature” performance.

Spurs had to battle their way through a resolute Palace rearguard, with Pierre Sage’s side forced to play with 10-men for nearly 80 minutes after an early red card for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

On a satisfying and drama-free night, De Zerbi’s only concern was how it took goals from defenders to seal a valuable three points.

Speaking afterwards, the Tottenham manager said: “Very pleased with the performance. Very tough game – I don’t know if [with 11 players] it will be a different game, but against Crystal Palace, it is very tough because they defend with a low block, no space.

“The passion we showed, the way we did not lose concentration, the way we reacted when we lost the ball. We could have scored more goals – we created many, many chances.

“We have to be more nasty in the last third of the pitch, but I’m very happy because we played 90 minutes the same way. We need more goals for sure, it’s not enough. But I think we are improving a lot.”

Just three games ago, bottom of the table Tottenham looked like they were going to face another struggle of a season.

Tonight, though, De Zerbi described his players as coming of age as a side. He added: “I think we showed we are a mature team.”

After the rare away win at Chelsea last week, there was a buzz about the ground from the start. An early twist came when Mateta, on 13 minutes, was outpaced by Micky van de Ven and recklessly slid in with his studs high enough to rake down the captain’s heel.

Referee Michael Oliver handed out a yellow, but was then called over to watch the replay by the VAR – and he promptly upgraded the colour to red.

Spurs set about their task diligently. On 25, the home side forced a corner and it looped to the back post. Gray steadied himself and sent a composed header back across and past Dean Henderson to open the scoring.

Spurs then started to settle into a groove as Palace sat deep. A pattern of play developed that saw Tottenham knock repeatedly against a 10-man backline. Every time the visitors cleared their lines, the excellent Sandro Tonali was waiting to mop up and recycle the ball. It was a controlled show of strength and calm.

On 50, Dominic Solanke spun and shot: Henderson’s one-handed block was super. Spurs piled on the pressure, with Omar Marmoush and Mateus Fernandes seeing drives deflected, and van Hecke smashing over from a corner.

Then Solanke saw a shot strike yet another Palace body and spin just wide. It was all Spurs, and felt like a second goal was on its way.

On 65, Solanke was hooked for Conor Gallagher’s energy. Solanke’s input had been okay – but this was another game where talk in the stands turned to Tottenham needing a new striker. Solanke faces the problem of not being a certain Ballon d’Or winner.

Solanke was bought to fulfil the role Harry Kane had previously played, something of a hard act to follow. Against Palace, he laboured to create himself space. It was a lot of back-to-goal style scuffling and not much else from the forward.

But despite Solanke’s bluntness, there was enough around him to seal the game. The second came on 73 – a lofted ball to the back post was met by van Hecke, who saw his header stopped by Henderson, punched up on to the bar, and then drop down for the centre-back to head home the rebound as he sat on the floor in the six-yard box.

Spurs are up to the nosebleed heights of ninth. It feels like this third win on the bounce – the first time since January, 2025 – bodes well for a much more comfortable season than the previous two.

Tottenham: Kinsky, Gray (Porro, HT), van Hecke, van de Ven, Robertson (Udogie, 76), Tonali, Fernandes, Kudus, Marmoush (Kulusevski, 77), Tel (Williams-Barnett, 87), Solanke (Gallagher 65)
Substitutes not used: Dubravka, Senesi, Maddison, Davies

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Disasi, Canvot, Mingueza (Khalaili, 59), Wharton (Lerma, 88), Kamada (Hughes, 88), Mitchell, Pino (Nketiah, 59), McNeil (Osorio, 77), Mateta (sent off 13)
Substitutes not used: Benitez, Doucoure, Guessard, Chilwell