Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in Premier League: Key stats
What's the story
Tottenham Hotspur secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, courtesy of Archie Gray's first senior goal. The young midfielder scored just before half-time, heading in from close range after a corner kick. The win in Matchweek 18 marked only Spurs's second triumph in their last nine Premier League matches and left Palace lamenting their missed opportunities. Here are further details.
Match dynamics
Palace's missed opportunities and Spurs's disallowed goals
Despite dominating much of the match, Crystal Palace failed to convert their chances into goals. Jean-Philippe Mateta missed a header from close range, which was their best chance in the first half. After the break, Justin Devenny and Maxence Lacroix also squandered good opportunities. Meanwhile, Spurs had two goals disallowed by VAR for offside - Richarlison was denied twice in place of the suspended Xavi Simons.
Match setbacks
Palace's injury woes and Spurs's late attempts
Crystal Palace's injury woes deepened as they lost defender Chris Richards. The team struggled with their busy schedule and are now winless in five matches across all competitions. Tottenham came close to extending their lead on several occasions, with substitute Wilson Odobert hitting the post and Rodrigo Bentancur forcing a save from Dean Henderson. Gray's goal proved enough for a much-needed win, easing pressure on head coach Thomas Frank.
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A look at the points table
With this win, Spurs are 11th with 25 points collected from 18 matches. It was Spurs' 7th win of the season (D4 L7). On the other hand, Palace missed the chance to go 7th and are placed 9th. It was their 6th defeat this season.
Match stats
Here are the match stats
Palace dominated ball possession, managing 62.1% with their xG being 1.31. Spurs' xG was 0.84. Frank's side had 4 shots on target from 8 attempts. Notably, they hit the woodwork once. Spurs also created one big chance in the game. In terms of opposition touches in the opposition box, Palace had 35 compared to the visitors' 17.
Do you know?
Gray enters record books
As per Opta, Gray (19y 291d) is the youngest Englishman to score for Tottenham in the Premier League since Dele Alli in January 2016 (19y 287d - also vs Crystal Palace).
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Richarlison shines for Spurs
As per Squawka, Richarlison managed 41 touches versus Palace and won 9 duels. He also had 4 touches in opposition box. He made 4 clearances and created three chances. He made 1 assist and two of his goals were ruled out for offside.