Three winners and losers from Tottenham’s disgraceful 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace - opinion
Tottenham Hotspur fell apart in the space of a few minutes against Crystal Palace and now the threat of relegation from the Premier League is as real as ever.
Thursday night was a truly dreadful occasion, so let’s waste no time in looking at the three winners and losers from Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Archie Gray asssisted again
Archie Gray is one of very few Spurs players who can actually hold his head high after his recent performances.
The versatile starlet was once again played away from his preferred position against Palace, but this did not stop him from registering an assist for the second successive game.
One look at Gray’s heat map shows he was all over the right side of the pitch and he even moved into the middle at times when required.
It seems the 19-year-old is the type of player who leads by example and he is the hardest working member of the Tottenham first-team squad who is currently available.
Dominic Solanke got back on the scoresheet
Spurs looked like they might finally be on their way to getting a result in the Premier League when Dominic Solanke opened the scoring.
However, Crystal Palace mounted a quick comeback and did not do anything of note after that point. Well, except for recording really poor duels won and passing accuracy stats.
Despite this, the Englishman did what no other Tottenham player was able to do by getting himself a goal, so he is a winner by default.
West Ham United are on Tottenham’s tail
Many West Ham fans had already accepted the club’s fate earlier in the season, but now they are just one point away from moving above the relegation zone.
The Hammers picked up a 1-0 victory over Fulham on Wednesday and along with Nottingham Forest, are huge beneficiaries of Tottenham’s defeat.
Unlike Spurs, West Ham have actually stepped up in the midst of danger and they will fancy their chances against Manchester City a week on Saturday.
Now the winners are out of the way, it is time to take a look at the biggest losers from Thursday’s disastrous defeat.
Micky van de Ven ruined the game for Tottenham
Cristian Romero has been sent off twice this season and Micky van de Ven is now in the same boat after a ridiculous foul which continued into the penalty box. Since the Dutchman made no attempt to play the ball, the double jeopardy rule did not apply, causing him to see red.
van de Ven was recently accused of downing tools and that seems a pretty fair assessment considering the events of Thursday night.
The defender had already been let off after his stretched leg almost played Ismaila Sarr onside for Palace’s disallowed goal. Had the winger gone under the knife and got himself a rhinoplasty ahead of the game, the score would probably have stood. It was really quite bizarre.
Souza’s time in the spotlight ended far too early
Souza made his first start for Spurs against Crystal Palace, but he was not even able to make it to half-time after being subbed due to the van de Ven incident.
The left wing-back had already lost four of his five duels, but he did look quite capable when he was on the ball.
It is a real shame for the Brazilian youngster to have had to leave the pitch so soon and for reasons which actually had nothing to do with his first half display.
Igor Tudor might be worse for Tottenham than Thomas Frank
To be very clear, Thomas Frank absolutely deserved to be sacked by Spurs and he played his part in the club dropping down the Premier League table.
However, even he managed to beat Crystal Palace, while Igor Tudor failed to even get close to a victory.
The manager was not helped by van de Ven, but his double substitution was too reactionary and negative. There was no reason to believe bringing on the mediocre Conor Gallagher was going to help his team out at all.
If truth be told, the Croatian already looks way out of his depth and it will be a miracle if he manages to avoid the same fate that Cristian Stellini once suffered.
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