Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace Saturday, Jan. 23, winning 3:1.
Palace has struggled to put the ball in the net lately, held without single goal in their last five Premier League matches. But their offensive drought ended in the 30th-minute when winger Wilfried Zaha,sent in a low cross that deflected off Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen and into the net for an own goal.
The first half finished with Crystal Palace up 1:0, but Tottenham came out determined to even the score in the second half. Premier League star Harry Kane scored the equalizer for Tottenham in the 63rd minute, when midfield player Nacer Chadli sent a high cross in the direction of Kane, who smoothly headed home the cross.
Both teams continued to create chances as the game continued. Crystal Palace hit the post twice in a span of seconds, as well as testing the Tottenham keeper on multiple occasions.
“We wouldn’t have lost the game if it hadn’t been for their goalkeeper,” said Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew. “At 1:1 he made two great saves and it was just not our day.”
Tottenham had multiple opportunities to score from set piece routines. Midfield player Christian Eriksen took a beautiful dipping shot that just barely sailed over the crossbar.
As the final whistle drew closer, midfielder Dele Alli, who has been in excellent form, scored a remarkable goal to give Tottenham the lead. Alli received the ball in the air at the top of the box. Then, calmly controlling it with his chest, he flicked the ball over the charging defender, and volleyed a powerful shot into the bottom corner, stunning the Crystal Palace fans.“I haven’t seen one as good as that for a long time,” said striker Harry Kane.
Teammates surrounded the 19 year-old to congratulate and celebrate with him on a truly world class strike. “As soon as he flicked the ball over his head I feared the worst, Pardew said about the goal. “It was a great moment for him and he is a great talent.”
This was a big win for Tottenham, currently in fourth place in English Premier League. The win narrows the team’s gap behind Manchester City and north London rival Arsenal to two points. The win also further separated them from fifth place Manchester United, who lost 1:0 to Southampton this week.
Tottenham Manager Mauricio Pochettino was extremely proud of his team, saying, “We have the youngest squad in the Premier League, but the way the players showed their maturity it looked like the oldest.”
Tottenham looks to continue their good form, as they work toward a top-four finish or higher.
