Son Heung-min, centre, scored an Asian record 20th Premier League goal on Sunday. Neil Hall / EPA
Son Heung-min, centre, scored an Asian record 20th Premier League goal on Sunday. Neil Hall / EPA
Son Heung-min, centre, scored an Asian record 20th Premier League goal on Sunday. Neil Hall / EPA
Son Heung-min, centre, scored an Asian record 20th Premier League goal on Sunday. Neil Hall / EPA

After Madrid win Tottenham show mettle with dogged victory over Crystal Palace


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

Devastating against Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur had to be dogged and diligent at home to Crystal Palace.

They followed a famous victory in the Uefa Champions League with an equally important win domestically. In doing so, they answered another question about a previously questionable mettle.

Now moulded by Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs stood up.

On a day they required full points to keep on the Manchester clubs’ coattails, they dug deep. Thanks to Son Heung-min's second-half winner, they delivered.

“We knew it was going to be difficult because of the midweek game,” said Eric Dier, perhaps the standout performer in a white shirt at Wembley. “We had a lot of players missing as well, so this game was really important to continue that momentum from midweek.

"There’s no point in beating Real Madrid on Wednesday if you can’t win here at home on the weekend as well."

It was both telling and true. If Wednesday’s display was full of energy and emotion, Sunday needed concentration and conviction. Palace set up as expected, packed tight behind the ball. For the most part pragmatic, they were potent on the counter.

Before Son struck, Wilfried Zaha spurned the game’s best chance, dragging his shot wide after rounding Paulo Gazzaniga in the Tottenham goal. The Argentine goalkeeper was making his debut since signing in the summer from Southampton. His last Premier League appearance came 687 days beforehand, when his old employers hosted his current.

Gazzaniga was playing because Hugo Lloris and Michael Vorm were both injured. Counting the cost of their midweek mission, Spurs were without Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli, too. They would lose Harry Winks to injury at half time, while Harry Kane sustained a serious knock to his ankle that impacted his knee. Filling in for Ben Davies, Danny Rose started a first league match since January 21.

To Palace’s credit, Gazzaniga was the busier of the respective goalkeepers. In the third minute, he was perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty, when he came for a Zaha cross and connected with Mamadou Sakho’s head instead of the ball.

______________

Read more

Sheringham: Kane to command transfer fee 'bigger than Neymar'

Ian Hawkey: Chelsea driven to victory over Manchester United

Richard Jolly: Manchester City deserving winners over Arsenal

Graham Caygill: Find out this week's Premier League predictions

______________

Later, Gazzaniga saved superbly from Scott Dann’s header. In the second half, he repelled Luka Milivojevic and matched that with another block from Andros Townsend’s drilled shot following Serge Aurier’s complacency. Just before the hour, the full-back erred again to allow Zaha in, but with Gazzaniga beaten to the ball, the winger somehow screwed his effort across goal.

Let off the hook, within seven minutes Son delivered the decisive blow. Palace looked to have averted danger, but Moussa Sissoko’s scuffed cross was scrambled only partially clear by Yohan Cabaye. Stationed on the edge of the area, Son took a touch and then curled his shot past Julian Speroni.

Tottenham had their all-important goal, Son his 20th in the Premier League. As such, the South Korean now ranks as the highest-scoring Asian in the division’s history.

Meanwhile, Palace’s recent record against Spurs sustains. They have failed to score in any of their past five trips across London, a league run stretching back to December 2004. Cast the mind back a little farther, their only Premier League win against Spurs is close to two decades ago.

With the defeat, Palace remain rooted to the bottom of the standings. Yet their performance at Wembley suggested that, with Roy Hodgson back at an old hunting place and now in charge, they should not necessarily form the league’s worst team.

Tottenham have other concerns, though, staying third but moving level with second-placed Manchester United. Job done - eventually - they could sit back and watch four of the other top five battle it out with one another later on Sunday.

"I think we deserved to win the game,” Son said, vital victory secured. “It's great to get the three points ahead of the international break. Now we can enjoy watching the rest of the football this afternoon."

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Saturday's results

West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley

Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm 

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.