Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 1-0 defeat in the Premier League last weekend as Crystal Palace claimed all three points against them, courtesy of a first-half goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta. It was the fourth defeat for the Lilywhites in the English top flight in nine attempts this season but perhaps their most unexpected one given that the Eagles were winless so far in their league campaign.
Ange Postecoglou’s men were absolutely outplayed for most of the match and displayed a lack of intent, which raised several question marks regarding the team’s commitment with several managers previously also losing their jobs due to similar reasons. Nevertheless, Postecoglou’s position for the time being remains safe but there is a serious need to find out where exactly the team is struggling.
As far as their defensive department is concerned, players are being severely overworked due to a lack of depth. Destiny Udogie has put in laborious shifts game in and game out, with Ben Davies not being up to the intensity of the Premier League while Sergio Reguilon has long been excluded from the club’s plans. A lack of match freshness saw him struggle, particularly from a physical perspective.
Pedro Porro is facing a similar scenario, especially given that he has been utilised often in the Europa League too. The manager’s decision of excluding Djed Spence from his squad has not worked out to good measure in the continental competition as Archie Gray is still very young and inexperienced to be comfortably able to replace Porro in those games.
The central defenders have also not looked fresh off late with Micky van de Ven putting in the hard yards in other competitions as well, whereas Cristian Romero has had to travel back and forth from Argentina for international duty twice in as many months. There seems like a lack of trust in Radu Dragusin, at least as far as the Premier League is concerned, and there is no fourth option that can be relied upon to enter the fray.
Postecoglou has religiously rotated his midfielders and to the club’s due credit, they have ensured that the engine room is not understaffed. The fact that they were still run over by Crystal Palace can be put down to the offence and defence being equally lethargic, while performances by Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison were an aberration considering the broader picture.
For the offensive department, the less said the better. Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed some sort of a purple patch for a spell of five or six matches, but with Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke losing their form at the same time, there has been little to write home about a side that seems overly reliant on individual brilliance. Son Heung-min’s absence was not capitalised on by Timo Werner or Richarlison, while it is perhaps unfair to expect a 17-year-old Mikey Moore to deliver the goods.
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The team’s next challenge is within a matter of days against Premier League champions Manchester City. The fixture comes in the EFL Cup, with Pep Guardiola likely to make several rotations. It will be interesting to see if Spurs can live up to the challenge as the Carabao Cup remains a competition which they can win to overcome a lengthy drought of silverware.
