For the first time in 616 days, Tottenham have won three games in succession. If that proves Roberto De Zerbi’s prowess over at least two of his predecessors, then he will presumably reserve some thanks to the assistance of Crystal Palace.
On a night when they crossed to the north of London, with their manager in grave danger of the sack, Palace contrived to commit an utterly ludicrous act of self-sabotage in two phases.
The first defined the match, with Jean-Philippe Mateta dismissed after only 13 minutes for a challenge that was as unnecessary as it was brainless.
From there, Pierre Sage’s side then quickly conceded from a set-piece with the sort of defending that explained why Palace have shipped more goals than any other team in the top flight.
That no further damage was inflicted until Jan Paul van Hecke’s second-half header was less reflective of the game than the tally showing 34 Tottenham shots to Palace’s two.
Given Sage’s tenuous grip on his job, and the thunderous face in the crowd of his chairman, Steve Parish, that might prove to be the final straw. If it is, Mateta ought to at least have the decency to drive him to the airport.
Archie Gray opened the scoring for Tottenham after 25 minutes to settle the nerves
Jan Paul van Hecke slid in to make it 2-0 and all but wrap the game up for the home team
In the recent past, such doubts were gathering around De Zerbi, but not now, and especially with a favourable run of fixtures on the horizon. Having belatedly entered the top half of the table, his side are finally aligning results with performances, even if this fourth game in an unbeaten stretch was aided so much by the opposition.
For Sage, along with whatever consequences this result brings, the regret will come from knowing his side had looked decent out of the gate. They had stopped a couple of attacks with some comfort, retaliated fast on the breaks and Daichi Kamada had drawn a save from Antonin Kinsky, albeit an easy one.
But the red card eradicated those traces of momentum. Initially, Michael Oliver felt a booking was sufficient, but the VAR Jarred Gillett called him to the screen and from there it became obvious that Mateta’s studs-up lunge into Micky van de Ven’s ankle required an upgrade.
Sage’s reaction? He had a look of pure deflation. The tackle was bad enough but the need to make it was non-existent – Mateta was chasing a losing cause in Tottenham’s half against one of the quickest defenders in the league. Brainless stuff.
Naturally, it shifted the game in Tottenham’s favour, if only to the effect of a one-goal lead by the break. As with Mateta’s dismissal, the breakthrough reeked of self-sabotage by Palace, with Gray left unmarked at the far post before planting his head on Mohammed Kudus’s high, looping corner.
The video analysis will do Sage no favours. Kudus’s delivery was excellent, that much is true, but five Tottenham men had gathered at the far post with only three markers – even factoring for the red card, the tracking of Gray was abysmal.
None of which is a problem for De Zerbi, of course. As with their previous three games, there was clear evidence that the complexities of his pressing system are being better understood by the front line and midfield.
Given how much of his strategy is wedded to that work off the ball, the signs of a continued upturn are good, especially in the form of Sandro Tonali and Matheus Fernandes. They cost a fortune to acquire and have taken their sweet time to gel, but their partnership in the middle has developed to strong effect. On the ball and off it, they have driven the Spurs’s mini-revival and they certainly controlled this game.
The caveat here is that firm conclusions are ill-advised when the opposition is down to ten and space in the middle is easy to find.
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi is banishing the doubters as his team climb the table
Having belatedly entered the top half of the table, Spurs are finally aligning results with performances
For the same reason, it was difficult to judge the effectiveness of two of Tottenham’s weaker players – Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke. With Palace’s backline retreating to the depths to cover the absence of Mateta this was no evening for a central attacking role, but that pair of attackers struggled nonetheless, particularly Solanke. Marmoush, who started at No10 after earlier games on the left and up front, appears no closer to revealing his best position.
De Zerbi’s solution was to direct traffic to the wings and it worked. Mathys Tel, riding the isolated high of his performance against Chelsea, was again sharp. So too Kudus.
On balance, their twin threats should have yielded more of an output, but therein lies the great Tottenham riddle – finishing what they start.
At half-time, De Zerbi substituted Gray, who was carrying a yellow card, and Spurs maintained momentum by creating decent openings for Tel, Matheus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke and Solanke.
Palace were being pummelled and with no man where Mateta ought to have been, they had no out-ball, no release valve, no escape. Sage attempted a correction on the hour mark by introducing Eddie Nketiah off the bench as a striker, but it was a belated brainwave.
In return, De Zerbi replaced Solanke for an extra midfielder in Conor Gallagher, but his anxieties faded with Van Hecke’s finish for 2-0. As with the Chelsea win, Fernandes stood out in its creation with an excellent cross, from which Van Hecke powered a header at Dean Henderson. The initial save was excellent, but the ball returned to Van Hecke, who was sat on his backside and able to steer his second header past Henderson.
