Spurs back to winning ways as they thrash Eagles 4-0
Tottenham Hotspur defeated Crystal Palace convincingly 4-0 at Selhurst Park to claim their first victory since the Premier League (PL) resumed. Harry Kane moved within two of Jimmy Greaves on the list of the highest scorers for Spurs all-time after scoring twice in five second-half minutes.
In each of their previous ten games in all competitions, Antonio Conte's team had given up the first goal, so perhaps some added motivation prior to the game inspired a strong start against London rivals today. Despite Spurs' good intentions, Vicente Guaita, the goalkeeper for Palace, had a fairly calm first half and saw virtually little that bothered him.
His counter-part Hugo Lloris, who contributed to Spurs' most recent loss to Aston Villa, made amends in part by making a wonderful save on Jordan Ayew's thunderous drive down to his right. The visitors struggled at times to leave their own half while failing to stop the constant barrage of chances. Before Michael Olise's attempt was pushed wide, center back Joachim Andersen nearly rocked the roof with a 30-yard rocket that went just wide.
Tottenham overcame a wobbly start to grab the lead for the first time in 11 games with the manager's remarks still echoing in their regions. Ivan Perii's perfectly delivered cross found Kane, who rose highest to nod home from point blank range on his 300th PL appearance.
In the Premier League this season, Patrick Vieira's team had a strong history of recovering from deficits, picking up 12 points from hopeless situations—a total only surpassed by Spurs. However, when Tottenham's center-forward increased the advantage with a signature display of brilliance, the task became considerably more challenging. Bryan Gil sent Kane a solid feed, and Kane's touch was flawless to get the ball off his foot before firing the shot into the corner.
As Palace pushed forward, Spurs were finding oceans of space on the break and they made that pay to pull three clear. Kane did the running, initially teeing up Son Heung-min, but the Korean failed to work an angle and instead found Matt Doherty who fired into the far corner. The Korean then netted in just a second PL game this term, as he raced in behind after a Kane ball to shrug off Marc Guéhi before rifling home capping off a memorable away day for Spurs.