Crystal Palace 0 Tottenham 1
In Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur were undone by moments of magic from Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic. At Selhurst Park four days later, they needed something similar from Christian Eriksen to beat a dogged and resolute Crystal Palace side.
This was a vital victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s men. Chelsea’s 4-2 triumph over Southampton 24 hours previously had seen them extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points, so nothing less than a win would do if Tottenham were to keep up their challenge for the Premier League title.
For a long while on a freezing Wednesday night in south London, it looked like they were not going to get it. Sam Allardyce’s charges, full of confidence after a run of six victories in eight matches, started the stronger of the two teams and pinned the visitors back in the early stages.
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The energy and industry of James McArthur caused problems for Tottenham in midfield, where Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama were unexpectedly overrun. Wilfried Zaha showed flashes of quality on the right flank, while Mamadou Sakho was typically dominant in the heart of the backline.
The one thing lacking from Palace’s positive first-half showing was a golden opportunity to take the lead: the hosts managed just three shots on goal, only one of which was on target. For all of Tottenham’s struggles when it came to creating chances, they at least gave up very little at the other end of the field.
Pochettino made a double substitution at the interval, introducing Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min in place of midfield duo Wanyama and Dembele. Tottenham also shifted from a 3-4-2-1 formation to a 4-2-3-1 in order to match up with Palace’s three men in the engine room, and the Argentine’s change instantly gave his team the upper hand.
At their best, Tottenham’s potent combination of pressing and possession allows them to play the game almost exclusively in the opposition’s half of the field. That was exactly what happened for much of the second period on Wednesday, and although they were far from their free-flowing best in the final third, Tottenham eventually did enough to breach Palace’s backline.
The loss of Sakho to injury in the 57th minute had an adverse effect on the home side’s rearguard, but Pochettino’s side had begun to exert control before then. Alli should have converted at the back post just a few seconds after the centre-back’s departure, before Kyle Walker, Eric Dier and Harry Kane all had efforts of their own.
It was down to Eriksen, though, to secure all three points for Tottenham. Collecting the ball 35 yards from goal, the Denmark international took a touch, turned and fired a tremendous shot into the bottom corner of the net.
“In the first half it was difficult to find a way to move the ball quick but after 90 minutes we deserved the win,” Pochettino said afterwards.
“We showed great character and personality after a very disappointing weekend. We showed we have learned a lot from last season. That is so important because last season was a big challenge to improve.”
Tottenham have now won eight consecutive matches in the Premier League, something they have managed just twice before in their history. On both of those occasions, in 1950/51 and 1960/61, they went on to win the title.
The four-point gap separating them from leaders Chelsea means that remains unlikely in 2016/17, but this Tottenham team refuse to go away.
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