Tottenham 4-1 Crystal Palace: Premier League – as it happened
07-Mar-2021 21:08:12 | The Guardian
Harry Kane made two goals for Gareth Bale and then scored two himself, the first a screamer, as Spurs continued their excellent recent form
The match report.
Related: Bale and Kane double up in Tottenham's dismantling of Crystal Palace
Peep peep! Spurs continue their good recent form with a thumping victory. Harry Kane made two goals for the rejuvenated Gareth Bale and then scored two himself, the first a screamer. It was 1-1 at half-time, but Spurs increased the tempo and Palace couldn’t live with them. Thanks for your company, goodnight!
90 min Five added minutes. Matt Doherty is booked for fouling Zaha.
88 min Kane’s second goal was Spurs’ 100th of the season in all competitions.
85 min The match is petering out. Spurs, who had won only three of the previous 13 league games before last weekend, have now won three in a row.
82 min Spurs’ next league game: Arsenal (A).
80 min Carlos Vinicius replaces the entirely magnificent Harry Kane, who made two and scored two.
79 min They won’t get the credit they deserve, as they are managed by Jose Mourinho, but Spurs have played some exhilarating football in the second half.
Another delicious goal! Lamela cuts infield and flips an insouciant pass over the defence to put Son through on goal. He cushions a volley across the six-yard line to find Kane, who heads into the empty net. There’s a VAR check for offside but Kane was behind Son when the pass was played.
74 min Palace make their final change: Jean-Philippe Mateta replaces the goalscorer Christian Benteke.
70 min A double change for Spurs: Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko replace Harry Winks and Gareth Bale, who has had an excellent night.
69 min: Zaha hits the post! A-hem, as I was saying. Zaha receives a square pass 25 yards out, moves the ball onto his left foot and drives a precise low shot that hits the inside of the far post and bounces off the chest of Lloris.
68 min This is a decent spell for Palace, in terms of possession if not chances. But they don’t really look like a team who believe they can come back from 3-1 down.
65 min Another change for Palace: Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Andros Townsend.
65 min Townsend lobs a clever pass towards Zaha, forcing Doherty to head behind for a corner.
61 min Bale’s corner is headed wide by the under pressure Kane.
58 min Doherty’s cross is headed across the area by Kane and put into the side netting from a very tight angle by Reguilon. Replays show his shot was blocked superbly by Townsend, but the referee gave a goalkick.
57 min Benteke’s header is calmly chested down and cleared by Kane, back in his own six-yard box.
55 min Bale drives a brilliant crossfield pass to Son, who cuts inside and shoots wide from 25 yards.
54 min Spurs’ tempo has been so much better since half-time, and both goals started with some quick one-touch passing.
What a marvellous goal. Doherty, on the right side of the penalty area, laid the ball back slowly towards Kane, 22 yards out. He surprised everyone with a first-time curler that flashed across the diving Guaita and into the top corner. That was a glorious strike from Kane.
Make that 15 goals: Harry Kane has scored a stunner!
51 min That’s Kane’s 13th assist of the Premier League season, and he’s scored 14 goals as well.
That was another well-worked goal. After some snappy passing on the right, Bale moseyed infield and curled the ball out to Reguilon. His deep cross was headed back across goal by Kane, and Bale got in front of Kouyate to slam a header into the net.
Gareth Bale does it again!
48 min Riedewald is booked for a foul on the lively Lucas Moura.
47 min Zaha has gone up front, with Jordan Ayew moving to the left wing.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half.
Wilfried Zaha is coming on in place of Ebere Eze.
Peep peep! Spurs dominated throughout and took a deserved lead through Gareth Bale, only for Christian Benteke to equalise in injury time with Palace’s first attempt at goal. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
That was a majestic header from Christian Benteke. Palace worked the ball nicely, with Eze finding Milivojevic in space on the left. He curled a lovely cross towards Benteke, who hung in the air for an age and planted an emphatic header into the corner.
Palace are level!
45+1 min Two minutes of added time.
45 min Reguilon fouls Ayew on the right wing, which allows Palace to bring their centre-backs forward. Townsend’s free-kick is punched away by Lloris.
42 min Palace have had more of the ball in the last few minutes. A dangerous cross from Ayew leads to a corner, with Alderweireld’s header hitting Sanchez and deflecting behind. The corner comes to nothing.
40 min van Aanholt plays a give-and-go with Ayew, forcing the last man Sanchez to come across and concede a corner. That was good defending.
37 min Bale’s deep cross is scissor-kicked well wide by Reguilon. It was a tricky chance on the run but a fine ball in from Bale, who is playing pretty well.
36 min Kane’s free-kick hits the wall and loops towards Moura, who fresh-airs an attempted volley from a very tight angle.
35 min Moura is tripped just outside the box by Cahill, who is booked. He thought Moura dived; it’s hard to tell.
33 min Apart from that one mistake from Milivojevic, Palace have defended brilliantly. Football can be a merciless game.
32 min Palace look like they want to kill time and keep it at 1-0 until they can bring Wilfried Zaha on. It hasn’t been the most ambitious performance.
30 min “The only emotional investment I have left in the league is the Bale Story,” says Matt Dony. “He’s shown over the last couple of weeks that he’s still a bit, y’know, good. I’m just hoping against hope that he carries on improving, stays fit, and the Euros come quickly. It’s not too much to ask, is it? Is it??”
Never.
29 min Ayew is booked for a foul on Bale.
27 min That was such a bad goal to concede, although Moura deserves plenty of credit for his zealous pressing.
The goal stemmed from a mistake by Milivojevic, who was robbed by Moura just outside the penalty area. He poked the ball through to Kane, whose precise low cross gave Bale a simple tap-in.
Gareth Bale’s renaissance continues!
23 min Palace have defended immaculately so far, giving Spurs no space at all in the middle of the pitch.
21 min Townsend makes good progress down the right but then overhits an attempted pass through to Benteke.
20 min “Hi Rob,” says Ruth Purdue. “Did you draw the short straw with this one after the Madrid derby?”
Apparently so. The first 20 minutes have been dismal.
17 min I don’t know what to say. Nothing has happened for the last 10 minutes, just lots of ponderous Spurs possession.
14 min Spurs continue to probe for an opening. That Son header is the only chance they have created so far.
12 min Nothing much is happening. You’re welcome!
9 min Spurs have had most of the early possession, though that’s a mixed blessing when both teams like to play on the counter-attack.
6 min The first chance for Spurs. Bale clips a good cross towards Son, who heads straight at Guaita from eight yards. That was a really good opportunity.
4 min Kane’s deep cross bounces up awkwardly at the backpedalling Ward, who almost heads it into the path of Reguilon. Ward recovers well to get between Reguilon and the ball.
1 min Peep peep! Palace kick off from left to right.
The players are out on the field and ready for business. It’s a chilly, dry night in north London.
It’s already been an eventful day in the Premier League, with excellent away wins for Fulham and Manchester United.
Related: Mario Lemina deepens Liverpool's gloom with vital winner for Fulham
Related: Manchester United catch City cold as Fernandes and Shaw end winning run
Pre-match reading
Related: Unless Tottenham get their balance right they will not finish in top four
Wilfried Zaha is back on the bench for Palace after a hamstring injury, while Dele Alli has been replaced by Lucas Moura in the Spurs side.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Winks, Hojbjerg; Bale, Lucas Moura, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Davies, Lamela, Dier, Sissoko, Alli, Ndombele, Bergwijn, Vinicius.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Spurs v Crystal Palace from the Insert Sponsor Name Here Stadium. It’s an important game for Spurs, who have fresh hope of a Champions League place after victories over Burnley and Fulham. They start the game in eighth, but a win tonight would move them to within two points of fourth-placed Chelsea.
Palace look as comfortable as ever in mid-table. There’s an outside chance of them being dragged into a relegation battle, but it’s highly unlikely. That xG-baiting win at Brighton, followed by two 0-0 draws at home, have taken them to 34 points with 11 games to go. If they win tonight, they can start thinking about next season.
Continue reading...Read More