Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1 (Solanke 34, sent off van de Ven 38)
CRYSTAL PALACE (Sarr 40 pen, 45+7, Strand Larsen 45+1)

ANOTHER loss, and another match day where Premier League survival becomes more precarious: Tottenham were turned over by a workmanlike Crystal Palace tonight (Thursday), beaten by three late first-half goals.

Speaking after the game, a crestfallen Igor Tudor – seeing his side fall to their fifth straight defeat – claimed he could see a way out of what looks like an impending and disastrous relegation from the top-flight.

Spurs now sit just one point ahead of West ham and Nottingham Forest – and have Liverpool away next.

Tudor said: “Maybe it sounds strange, but I saw something in the team. Even now in the dressing room after the game: energy, passion, fight. It was there.”

Tudor said he felt Tottenham’s brittle confidence was cracked by a red card decision that saw Micky van de Ven given his marching orders on 38 minutes for pulling back the goal-bound Ismaila Sarr – Sarr scoring from the resulting penalty, and Spurs then falling apart.

“Unfortunately the red card changed the game,” Tudor added. “After, it was a different game. The second half, we tried. I saw interesting things in the second half and I am very disappointed, like the fans.

“We need to stop talking about pressure. This is not a topic to speak about, I will not speak any more about pressure. There are still nine games to play. [Cristian] Romero is coming [back from suspension], maybe some other players will come back, so we can be complete. We need to stay quiet, keep working and believe. After this game, I believe more.”

But when you are in a rut, it feels like the smallest of breezes can blow you off course. For Tottenham, a disastrous 12 minutes followed them taking a rare lead just after the half-hour mark via Dominic Solanke. The goal was created by the teenager Archie Gray, the one Spurs player who can walk off the pitch tonight with his head held high.

From a goal up and the stadium buzzing to 3-1 down and thoroughly beaten by half-time: the winds don’t take long to switch in N17.

The signs were there early on. Adam Wharton had a crack after an unseemly scramble with under a minute on the clock. Guglielmo Vicario parried from close range.

On 13 minutes, Mathys Tel gee’d the ground up when he received the ball wide, cut inside and darted between two Palace defenders to make space. Palace keeper Dean Henderson gobbled up the low effort at a second attempt.

Spurs were enjoying a bit more possession as the half progressed, but a warning sign flashed on 31. Palace broke quickly and the ball found Sarr. He strode into the box and van de Ven’s sliding tackle only meant his shot scooped up and over Vicario, and in off the far post. A VAR check took some time, illustrating how close it was – and the decision went Tottenham’s way by, quite literally, a nose.

It gave everyone a fillip – and Tottenham went straight up the other end and took the lead. Tel did well and his fierce shot was deflected for a corner. The ball was swung deep and Gray managed, somehow, to bring it down and then wriggle himself to the line. His cross was turned home by Solanke.

The lead did not last, and the equaliser came in disastrous fashion. Van de Ven pulled back Sarr as he scampered through on goal. The Spurs skipper got a straight red for his troubles and Sarr stepped up and equalised.

Then, before half-time and after Tudor had made a double substitution, Jorgen Strand Larsen darted in behind and tucked home a low shot to give the visitors the lead.

As the lengthy first half stoppage-time played out, the home side were reeling; lost and groggy: Sarr got in between Pedro Porro and Vicario, who were busy blaming each other for not dealing with an easy ball down the middle, and made it 3-1.

Tudor must have said the right words at half-time because Spurs did all they could with their limited resources to try and find a way back. Solanke managed to force Henderson into a near post save with his feet, while Kevin Danso had a header pushed away, and a Joao Palhinha effort flew wide.

It was too little. Tudor and Tottenham’s only hope is that key, injured players are able to hit the ground running when they return – and that West Ham and Nottingham Forest are still catchable when the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus are fit enough to lace up their boots.

Tottenham: Vicario, Danso, Van de Ven (sent off 38), Porro (Simons, 74), Souza (Gallagher, 43), Sarr, Palhinha, Gray, Tel, Kolo Muani (Bissouma, 43), Solanke (Richarlison, 74)
Substitutes not used: Kinsky, Austin, Olusesi, Kyerematen, Rowswell

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Riad, Richards, Canvot, Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton (Hughes, 81), Munoz (Clyne, 14), Guessand (Johnson, 66), Sarr, Strand Larsen (Uche, 81)
Substitutes not used: Benitez, Lerma, Pino, Sosa, Devenny