Tottenham made it three wins in the space of a week with a solid 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Son Heung-min grabbed the only goal of the game to make it three goals in the space of three days for the South Korean and three is the magic number for Spurs, with their third Premier League clean sheet in a row and third victory of the season.
Alan Pardew’s Palace side proved to be stubborn opponents and on a few occasions threatened to leave North London with all three points, as both Yohan Cabaye and Bakary Sako hit the post. The latter, was the result of a fantastic save from Hugo Lloris to tip Sako’s shot onto the post, which proved absolutely vital as three minutes later, Son was played through by Christian Eriksen to steer his shot through the legs of Alex McCarthy.
Palace didn’t threaten much after that; the wind was very much taken from underneath The Eagles and Spurs looked extremely comfortable defensively to see out the victory.
With their next game at home to Manchester City, it was imperative Spurs grabbed a win at White Hart Lane and grab a win they did.
Here are the player ratings from Sunday’s game:
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris – 7 – The Frenchman proved just why he is so important to Tottenham by producing an outstanding stop from Bakary Sako and as a result, Son managed to score the only goal of the game. Comfortable in the air and excellent handling, whilst his distribution was also much better.
Kyle Walker – 7 – A good start to the season for Walker and another accomplished performance on Sunday. Made a big mistake in the first half by passing the ball across his own box, which eventually led to Cabaye hitting the post, but he kept Wilfried Zaha, Sako and Yannick Bolasie quiet and was defensively solid.
Jan Vertonghen – 7 – No Spurs player made more clearances than Vertonghen today and he’s starting to once again show the sort of form that made Barcelona interested in his services. Calm and collected and unafraid to venture forward too.
Toby Alderweireld – 6 – Alderweireld perhaps hasn’t looked as assured as his fellow Belgian compatriot this season and at times, is guilty of losing track of his man. It happened with Frazer Campbell today from Papa Souare’s cross, but he was tidy in possession and put in an acceptable performance.
Ben Davies – 6 – With Danny Rose again unavailable, Davies returned to the side and whilst he wasn’t much of an attacking threat as he would have liked to have been, he ensured the likes of Jason Puncheon, Sako and Bolasie couldn’t get into the game.
Eric Dier – 7 – Yet another commanding performance from Spurs’ most consistent player this season. Coming up against Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur was a tough ask, but Dier more than held his own and helped to nullify Palace’s attacking intent.
Dele Alli – 5 – To jump from League One to the Premier League straight away is a tough ask and it showed with Alli today. Guilty of getting into trouble by holding onto the ball for too long, the 19-year-old wasn’t much of an attacking threat as he struggled against the physicality of McArthur and Cabaye.
Nacer Chadli – 5 – Chadli has had an indifferent start to the season and couldn’t find a way past Martin Kelly at right-back. Was always crowded out when he wanted to cut inside and didn’t create enough chances for Spurs. A disappointing showing. Subbed for Christian Eriksen.
Erik Lamela – 6 – A much better performance from Lamela who looked confident in possession and put Palace under pressure. His decision making still lets him down but played a massive part in the goal as it was his tackle which helped set Eriksen away. Subbed for Tom Carroll.
Son Heung-min – 8 – A man of the match performance against Qarabag and another man of the match performance here. Looked pacy and eager to run into space, something which Spurs have lacked this season. Took his goal extremely well and is the creative spark that Spurs have lacked this season. Subbed for Clinton N’Jie.
Harry Kane – 6 – Harry Kane can’t seem to buy a goal for Tottenham and it was another frustrating performance again. However, he did help out defensively and worked extremely hard, although he should have set up Lamela for a tap in and instead blasted his shot across the face of goal.
Substitutes
Christian Eriksen – 7 – Came on for Chadli and within three minutes set up Son for the winner. Was stationed mostly on the left and worked hard defensively to stop Bolasie and Puncheon push for an equalizer.
Clinton N’Jie – N/A – Made his first Premier League appearance and his pace helped Spurs see the game out, as well as being a threat on the counter.
Tom Carroll – N/A – Came on extremely late and, therefore, had very little impact.
Crystal Palace
Alex McCarthy – 5 – His handling wasn’t great all game and will be disappointed at letting Son’s effort go through his legs. Needs to work harder to regain the form he showed at Reading.
Martin Kelly – 6 – Was pushed back by Nacer Chadli, but stood up to the challenge really well. Was beaten by Son on the outside for the eventual winner.
Damien Delaney – 6 – Both he and Brede Hangeland kept Kane quiet on the attacking front and against the pace of Son, Chadli and Lamela came through extremely well.
Brede Hangeland – 6 – The experienced defender showed his steely class with a very good performance and enjoyed a good tussle with Kane up front.
Papa Souare – 7 – Probably Palace’s best player and biggest attacking threat, his wonderful second half cross should have been controlled better by Frazer Campbell and defensively didn’t put a foot wrong.
James McArthur – 6 – Imposed himself in the midfield and didn’t shy away from a challenge. Kept a tricky customer in Alli quiet, but struggled going forward. Subbed for Jordan Mutch.
Yohan Cabaye – 6 – Kept things ticking over nicely in midfield and hit the post with a great first half effort. Couldn’t quite make much of an influence as he would have liked.
Wilfried Zaha – 5 – Enjoyed a good match-up with Kyle Walker last season, but this time around was virtually anonymous. Subbed at half-time for Frazer Campbell.
Jason Puncheon – 6 – Was nothing like his usual influential self, but still created chances for the visitors, although he never really tested the Spurs defence.
Bakary Sako – 6 – Has enjoyed a strong start to life at Selhurst Park and had Palace’s best chance of the game, but his shot was superbly tipped onto the post. Kept running forcing pressure on the right-hand side before being subbed for Patrick Bamford.
Yannick Bolasie – 6 – Was tasked with leading the line but struggled to impose himself against the resilient Spurs defence. A move to the wings did little to change his fortunes as Kyle Walker stood firm.
Substitutes
Frazer Campbell – 5- Brought on to add some strength up front, but couldn’t find a way past Vertonghen or Alderweireld as the game passed him by.
Jordan Mutch – N/A – Came on to add some pace in-between the lines, but proved lacklustre.
Patrick Bamford – N/A – Has struggled for game time since his loan move from Chelsea and didn’t have enough time to influence the game.
