Tottenham Hotspur displayed one of its worst games at Selhurst Park as the Lilywhites gifted Crystal Palace its first Premier League win this season with a 1-0 defeat on Sunday.
From the opening whistle, Spurs never looked right as passes were sloppy, defending was poor, and the press that Spurs have been known to tear defenses down looked lackluster.
Never garnering chances in the final third to put a Palace defense in shambles, the Palace attack came into the game and started to make its presence on the pitch.
Winning headers and second balls through the midfield, Palace capitalized on a Spurs mistake for the lone goal of the game.
Cristian Romero made a pass across the box for Micky Van de Ven to run on it with a Palace defender charging him. Trying to get a quick lob pass over him for Destiny Udogie, Van de Ven slipped on his delivery and allowed Daniel Munoz to collect it and deliver a cross into the box against an open Spurs defense. Hitting Eberechi Eze around the penalty spot for a quick flick, the pass set up Jean-Phillipe Mateta for a controlled touch and goal against a charging Guglielmo Vicario.
Down 1-0 and the narrative of Dr. Tottenham coming into play, with Crystal Palace looking for its first win, the meme stayed true as Spurs struggled to get the tying goal.
The team had chances after going down as Brennan Johnson hit the post off a corner play, James Maddison had a shot saved in the last second by Dean Henderson, and Richarlison had a great look twice.
Unable to convert any of the chances, Spurs fell victim to possibly their worst defeat of the season.
A stat that jumped out on the telecast was Spurs had only won three away league games this calendar season. Really tough to see a different team away from home that leaves many wanting consistency.
I believe we all have the same thoughts on the loss being a true deflation, but I want to give Mikey Moore a quick appreciation for being the second youngest Spurs player in the Premier League to get his first start at 17-years-old. He didn’t look his best after being stunning in the Europa League game on Thursday, but he wasn’t the only one who had a rough day at Selhurst Park.
Tottenham will have to shake the defeat off quickly as they host the EFL Cup Round of 16 contest against Manchester City on Wednesday.
