Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace: result and report

The Pundit picked Tottenham Hotspur (47%): correct

Report

Tottenham Hotspur won 2-0, which was the home win expected before kick-off. The scoreline still undersells how one-sided this became once Crystal Palace went down to ten men.

Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off after 13 minutes. That left Crystal Palace a man short for more than three quarters of the match. Twelve minutes later, Archie Gray put Tottenham Hotspur ahead from Mohammed Kudus's assist. The second goal did not arrive until the 73rd minute, when Jan Paul van Hecke made it 2-0.

The chance numbers show why the margin should have been wider. Tottenham Hotspur finished with 4.08 xG to Crystal Palace's 0.21. They took 18 shots to one and created six big chances, while Crystal Palace created none.

Tottenham Hotspur missed four of those big chances and hit the woodwork once. Crystal Palace also made seven saves, so the finishing and the opposition goalkeeping kept the score close.

The risk of that slim lead was small, though. Crystal Palace managed one shot in the entire match, and Tottenham Hotspur's 27 key passes to two show where the play stayed. After the red card, the away side were trying to survive rather than find a way back.