Ed Aarons was at Selhurst Park this evening. His verdict is in, and here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Roy Hodgson is asked by Sky reporter Emma Saunders how he would “assess tonight”, and his initial response is dry, moves through brittle, then barrels towards plain rude. “I can never answer those questions, I’m sorry I really can’t. How do I assess tonight?”
“What is your overriding emotion?”
“My overriding emotion after every defeat is pretty much the same, really. I’ve got to say I don’t really know how to answer that question. I’m finding it harder and harder to answer questions, because they’re not specific enough for me. I thought our first-half performance was good, we gave them a good game throughout … unfortunately when you’re 2-0 down it becomes very difficult … we took some chances … we put some players who haven’t played much for us and had a look at them … to be fair even right until the end the team was fighting … we scored a late goal and had lots of corner kicks.”
“Were you frustrated that the goal came as late as it did? Should you have found a way through earlier than that?”
“Well, again, I don’t quite know what to say to that. Yeah, we should have scored five or six against them I thought. I mean I dunno, what do you want me to say? I’m sorry. I don’t think we could have done more than we did against them … we are playing against a team that are top of the league … my [lightly sarcastic] overriding feeling at the moment is that it was unfortunate we couldn’t build on the first-half performance because of the unfortunate own goal that put us 1-0 down.”
“Thanks Roy.”
“OK.”
Emma Saunders has earned her wages tonight all right.
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Son Heung-min is equally personable, and here’s his answer when Kelly Cates asks him if Tottenham are thinking about a title challenge: “No, not at all, not at all! [aside to Carragher and Neville] I’m experienced now, I’m 31, I can’t just say we’re going to win the league! [back in character] You know my answer probably. We want to stay on the ground, stay humble, it’s early in the season. We will try to get three points in every game and see what’s going to happen at the end of the season. We work hard and let’s see what’s going to happen!”
All of which delivered with a twinkle in the eye, and as a knowing smile slowly plays across his face.
A top-quality back-and-forth between Postecoglou and the Sky punditry duo of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville. Carragher cheekily asks the Spurs boss: “You’re just copying Pep, aren’t you?” Neville buts in by saying: “Well I tried that …” to which Postecoglou deadpans: “How’d that go?” A long round of laughter, and everyone splits their sides again when the Spurs boss departs with a perfectly timed, sotto-voce mutter of “I’m off to watch Man City.”
It’s really, really, really hard not to love Postecoglou.
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Ange Postecoglou talks to Sky. “Let ‘em dream … that’s what being a football supporter is all about … fair to say this lot have suffered a fair bit so I’m certainly not going to dampen that … I’m really happy today … this is a tough place to come … we had to really work for our victory … it’s never going to be an open game of football here … I knew we had to be patient … it’s another different way for us to win a game … you’re not always going to get a knockout in the first round … [the pressing] has been the best part of our game so far … if you look at the running stats across the league we’re at the top of them … the rewards we get in the last couple of games give [the players] a reason to run.”
Spurs were good value for their win. They stayed patient all evening, and were always in control. Well, nearly. They were cruising to an easy 2-0 victory thanks to an own goal forced by James Maddison (#873) and a wonderful team move finished off by Son Heung-min (#805). Jordan Ayew’s injury-time goal got them panicking a bit, but they held on staunchly for the win that takes them five clear at the top! Just look! Nobody will be talking of a first title since 1961 yet … but you can be sure a lot of fans will have started dreaming about it. And why not? Spurs look the real deal under Big Ange.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 13 | 26 |
| 2 | Man City | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 9 | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 9 | 10 | 19 |
FULL TIME: Crystal Palace 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Yes! Spurs hang on, and they go five clear at the top! Their best start to a top-flight season since 1960 continues apace!
90 min +12: A half chance for Palace! The ball bounces right to left into the Spurs box. Franca comes in to meet it, 12 yards out … but under pressure from Porro, slices behind. That surely is that?
90 min +11: Tottenham play keepball. They’re so close now.
90 min +10: In the latest London Bus news, Johnson is now yellow carded for dissent … then Ayew goes into the book for a desperate shove in the back of Sarr. Poor referee Andrew Madley! Such a pristine notepad as well.
90 min +9: We’ve waited all this time for the first yellow card of the match, and here it is, Andersen sliding in late from behind on Gil.
90 min +8: … Emerson Royal clears. Did he use a hand?! VAR checks, but there’s nothing untoward there.
90 min +7: On the touchline, Maddison gets right up in the referee’s grille regarding the decision to let the goal stand. Not sure what he thinks will happen now, but that’s what he does. Meanwhile Palace pile forward … and win a corner out on the left. Johnstone comes up for it, and …
90 min +6: A slight suggestion that when Ayew took the ball down with his chest, it rolled onto his left hand. They look again and again … but it’s not conclusive. Nothing clear and obvious, so the goal stands!
90 min +5: Yes, because VAR is going to check for handball. And check, and check, and check …
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Ayew 90+4)
A looping cross from the right. Porro goes up to clear, but misses the ball. Ayew chests down before lashing the dropping ball across Vicario and into the top right! What a finish! Does this game have one last twist?
90 min +3: Royal clanks a pass into the path of Mateta, who briefly looks like tearing clear down the middle. But he’s denied by Van de Ven, who slides in to clear. But from the resulting throw …
90 min +1: Sarr sends Johnson flying into the Palace box down the right. Johnson cuts back for Son, whose shot is blocked. The rebound falls to Bentancur, but there’s to be no dream return for the Uruguay international. He’ll be more than happy simply to be back after that ACL injury, to be fair.
90 min: There will be eight additional minutes.
89 min: Spurs send on another couple of substitutes. Maddison makes way for Gil, while Kulusevski is replaced by Bentancur. Both subs are making their first appearance of the season.
87 min: A corner from the left leads to one on the right, which is tugged back for Rak-Sakyi to shoot from distance. His effort is deflected over the bar, and then Franca hoicks the next corner straight out for a goal kick. Palace’s last chance to worry Spurs gone, you’d have thought.
86 min: Another free kick for Palace, this time out on the right. It’s worked out to the left, where Andersen shimmies into space down the wing. He crosses low. At the near post, Van de Ven hooks out for a corner before any Palace player can slam home from close range.
84 min: … but there’s nothing doing. Clyne was withdrawing his arm, which was right by his side, and there was little to no space between him and Johnson.
83 min: … Emerson dinks across the face of goal, right to left. At the far stick, Johnson attempts to cushion a header back to Maddison. The ball flicks Clyne’s arm and VAR is going to take a look.
82 min: Spurs continue to stroke it around confidently. Sarr is suddenly pinged clear down the right. He’s very close to releasing Son down the middle but his low diagonal pass is deflected out for a corner, from which …
80 min: Son cuts in from the left and finds Kulusevski in acres, 25 yards out. Kulusevski shoots straight into the nearest defender. He had all the time in the world, too. For a split second, a third goal looked on the cards.
79 min: A double change for Palace as Lerma and Edouard are replaced by Mateta and Franca.
77 min: Ayew curls the free kick into the mixer. With three Palace players lurking in the middle, Romero heads over his own bar. A crucial intervention, especially as nothing comes of the set piece.
76 min: Ayew is shoved over by Porro out on the left. A chance to launch something into the box, along the front of which everyone lines up.
74 min: Spurs by contrast look up for another goal or two. Maddison is positively gliding across the pitch right now.
72 min: That second goal really has taken the wind out of Palace’s sail, and the puff out of the home supporters’ lungs. Selhurst is pretty quiet, the travelling fans apart.
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70 min: Palace make a double change. Clyne and Ahamada come on for Hughes and Mitchell, the latter having picked up a knock.
68 min: That whole move was started by a magnificent raking diagonal pass by Sarr. The sort of goal befitting a team five points clear at the top. Which is what Spurs will be, barring an unlikely Palace revival.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Son 66)
This is a sensational team goal. A long diagonal pass towards Johnson on the left wing. Johnson immediately heads forward to Maddison, who enters the box and dinks a return down the channel. Johnson crosses low for Son, who can’t miss from six yards. That’s a delightful move!
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65 min: A bit of space for Mitchell down the Palace left … but he’s only able to shank a cross into the stand behind. The home fans are getting a wee bit frustrated.
64 min: Spurs make a double change. Richarlison and Bissouma make way for Johnson and Hojbjerg.
62 min: Just before the goal, there was a fine illustration of the hard pressing that’s a feature of Angeball. Maddison nearly closed down Johnstone, who was faffing about with the ball at his feet, and the passage of play ended when Guehi was forced to blooter out for a throw. From which, the move that led to the goal.
60 min: Palace replace Schlupp with Rak-Sakyi.
59 min: Palace are attempting to pick up their pace, but to little effect. Passes not sticking in the final third.
57 min: Spurs ping the ball about patiently. It’s eventually intercepted by … referee Andrew Madley. Drop ball. We play on.
56 min: Hughes swings the corner in from the right. It’s a fine delivery. Guehi is all alone on the edge of the six-yard box, but flashes a lame header well wide left. Palace should be level.
55 min: Palace respond well, Doucoure nicking the ball off a snoozing Bissouma, Edouard shooting from the edge of the D. A deflection takes the ball high over the bar. Corner.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Ward og 53)
Porro and Sarr combine down the right. The ball breaks back from the byline to Maddison, who pearls a vicious cross-cum-shot into the six-yard box from a tight angle. Ward, facing his own goal, can’t get out of the way or sort his feet out, and slams into his own net. Fine play by Maddison, but dismal defending.
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52 min: Schlupp sashays into the Spurs box from the left. Porro spinning around all over the shop. He fires a low cross into the six-yard box but there’s nobody there in blue and red to slap home. Spurs go up the other end and …
50 min: Kulusevski keeps the ball in play down the right touchline and wins a corner out of nothing. Fittingly, nothing comes of that set piece. But the winger had no right to get to that loose ball; fine determined play by the young Swedish winger.
48 min: Sky flash up a stat that illustrates Palace’s goal distribution this season: first half one, second half ten. That’ll give the hosts some encouragement and the visitors pause.
47 min: Ayew leaves a welcoming boot on the back of Royal’s leg. Tottenham’s left-back replacement far from happy as play goes on.
Palace get the second half underway. Spurs have hooked Davies in favour of Emerson Royal.
Half-time entertainment. A big game coming up this Sunday. Jamie Jackson is all over it.
HALF TIME: Crystal Palace 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Neither team has created very much, so here we are. Palace will be happier than Spurs.
45 min +1: Nothing much happens during the first of them.
45 min: There will be two additional minutes.
44 min: This half is petering out.
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42 min: … and Andersen heads it harmlessly over the bar. Spurs survive the relative onslaught.
41 min: The ball’s played back to Ward, on the edge of the D. He swings a defender’s leg at it, but the shot takes a deflection and it’s yet another corner. Coming in from the left this time …
40 min: Schlupp’s mere presence earns Palace a corner off Porro down the left. The corner’s half cleared, but then Ayew twists Porro’s blood down the right, and wins another corner. Vicario punches clear but Spurs can’t get out of their box and Hughes wins a third corner of the sequence, this time out on the right.
38 min: Porro and Son shuttle the ball down the middle for Maddison, who can’t quite get a shot away from the edge of the D. Lerma gets back just in time to block and hook away.
36 min: Andersen launches a long pass down the right. Ayew briefly looks like getting on the end of it, but Van de Ven comes across to stick out a telescopic leg. A shot denied at the expense of a corner, from which nothing comes.
34 min: Good news: Van de Ven is back up on his feet, and it looks as though no serious damage has been done. He trudges off for 30 seconds before coming back on.
32 min: Edouard clips Van de Ven on the back of the knee. There doesn’t look to be too much in it, but Van de Ven goes down in some distress. On comes the physio.
31 min: Edouard shoulders Romero in the chest as the pair compete for a loose ball. Romero goes down and wants some proper punishment meted out for a whack in the face. The referee shows no interest, and the Palace fans set about booing Romero the next few times he touches the ball. It is pantomime season soon, after all.
30 min: Ah right, here you are, speak of the devil. The stat’s flashed up: seven, with 72 percent of possession. Palace’s tally of three doesn’t seem too bad by comparison, given how little they’ve had of the ball. Fair to say neither keeper has had too much in the way of serious work to do.
28 min: Palace are doing a decent job of holding Spurs at arm’s length. The visitors won’t have had too many touches in the opposition box.
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26 min: Palace give the ball away cheaply in their final third on a couple of occasions. Maddison has an opportunity to cross or shoot but does nothing in particular.
24 min: Sarr makes good down the right … before taking a fresh-air swipe at an attempt at a cross. He batters the turf with the palm of his hand in frustration. The home fans enjoyed it, of course.
23 min: Ayew’s going nowhere down the right. Richarlison clips him needlessly. Hughes sends a long diagonal into a crowded mixer. The ball scrapes Richarlison’s arm amid a tangle. Palace want a penalty, and VAR check it, but there’s nothing to give.
21 min: Schlupp nearly skins Romero down the left with a graceful 360-degree turn, but just as he threatens to tear off into the Spurs box, Romero recovers his poise and snaffles the ball back. That’s a high-class tussle.
20 min: A little bit of space for Richarlison down the inside-left channel. He drags a harmless shot wide left of goal. Johnstone had it covered.
19 min: Spurs are dominating both possession and territory. All the game being played in the Palace half. The visitors have done a decent job in hushing the usually vocal home crowd.
17 min: Kulusevski crosses deep from the right. The ball looks like flying out, but Richarlison does extremely well to head the ball back from the byline to Maddison, on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. Maddison hits a first-time screamer high over the bar and deep into the crowd. That would have been one heck of a goal.
15 min: … Bissouma blooters wildly into the stand behind the goal.
14 min: Maddison goes down in pain, Ward having caught him on the Achilles, just as Hughes did to Van de Ven a few minutes earlier. As before, there’s no punishment other than a free kick, which …
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12 min: Both teams will be fairly happy with their start. Spurs look the more assured, but it’s been Palace who have put the opposition keeper to work.
10 min: Van de Ven again shows Hughes a clean pair of heels. So the Palace midfielder stands on the back of one of them. He’s fortunate not to go into the book at the very least.
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9 min: Spurs calm things down by slowing it down. But then suddenly Maddison is sent clear down the left by Richarlison. He’s got Son in the middle, waiting to slam home, but can’t get his low cross past Lerma, who clears. A fresh, open start to this match.
7 min: Palace come again, and this time it’s Edouard who aims for the bottom right from the edge of the box. That’s another test passed by Vicario. Romero gives his team-mates a rollocking for shipping a couple of decent half-chances in short order.
6 min: Edouard turns the ball to Hughes in the centre circle, and suddenly he’s free! But in a footrace, Hughes is no match for Van de Ven, and can’t stay ahead to get a shot away. He slips Ayew into the channel down the right instead. Ayew’s low drive towards the bottom right is parried by Vicario.
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5 min: Another long pass down the Spurs right. Guehi is wise to the plan this time and gets in ahead of Porro to clear.
3 min: A long ball down the right. Guehi should deal with it easily, but ambles towards it in the manner of a man popping down the shop for 20 Bensons. He allows Sarr to nip past him and whip a low cross into the Palace box. Palace – and especially Guehi – are fortunate that nobody in white has kept up with Sarr, and clear their lines.
2 min: Romero launches long. Maddison nearly gets on the end of the pass, but Johnstone comes to the edge of his box to claim. Otherwise, a quiet start.
Spurs kick off. It’s a crisp, clear night in south London. A full moon.
Before the game, a moment of silence to remember the victims of events in Israel and Gaza. Perfectly observed. Then a moment of warm applause in memory of Sir Bobby Charlton and Bill Kenwright.
The teams are out! Crystal Palace play in their red and blue halves, while Spurs sport freshly numbered lilywhite. The home fans in good voice, Glad All Over every one. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. In the meantime, here’s our old pal Gary Naylor (Guardian legacy email correspondent #1): “There are a million reasons against it, but I feel myself drawn to adopting Tottenham as a second club this season - and I suspect I’m not alone. A title wouldn’t quite have the romance of Leicester’s, but it would be something different, as would the Ange approach on and off the field. But I suspect the main reason is that the players look like they’re enjoying the fortune that has blessed them to be Premier League players - and, for God’s sake, we could do with more smiles in the world today.”
Roy Hodgson speaks to Sky Sports. “[The Newcastle defeat] gave us a lot to talk about and work on … we’re playing against top, top opponents who are unfortunately capable of giving any team they play enormous problems, so we have to be aware of that … we’re looking forward to the game and we’ll see what happens.”
This is the first match Spurs will play with Legacy Numbers on their shirts. This new caper involves every player in Tottenham’s history being given a unique number in order of their turning out for the club, from their first competitive fixture in 1894 – an FA Cup tie with West Herts – to the present day and beyond. Vaguely interesting numbers include:
1. Stanley Briggs
170. Walter Tull
354. Bill Nicholson
387. Alf Ramsey
420. Danny Blanchflower
439. Dave Mackay
441. John White
447. Jimmy Greaves
498. Glenn Hoddle
511. Ossie Ardlies
513. Ricky Villa
573. Gazza
617. Jurgen Klinsmann
666 (just because). Christian Ziege
726. Gareth Bale
767. Harry Kane
The current list goes all the way up to 879, the number awarded to Alejo Veliz, who became Tottenham’s latest debutant against Liverpool. Expect quite a few (i.e. most if not all) other clubs to announce their own heritage-based initiatives / merchandising grifts in short order.
Ange Postecoglou – whose team turned up late tonight - talks to Sky Sports. “These things happen in life, we’re no different to any other human beings who get stuck in traffic, you’ve just gotta deal with it, we’re pretty well organised … our performances have been good … we’ve been pretty consistent … it’s still the start and we need to improve … we’ve got to push on, we can’t just be happy with where we are … every player brings their own qualities and elements … Ben [Davies] is a different player from Destiny [Udogie] for sure but it’s still within the same structure … we give players the freedom to bring what they feel comfortable with into the game … it’ll change a little bit but the overall structure will remain the same … I try to show there’s a lot of freedom but I try to be the puppet-master [sly smile] and try to control where they go and why they do it.”
It’s Roy Hodgson’s 500th match in charge of an English club. He’s made one change to the team that went down 4-0 at Newcastle last weekend. Jeff Schlupp has recovered from a thigh problem and so Jean-Philippe Mateta drops to the bench.
It’s Ange Postecoglou’s 11th match in charge of an English club. He’s made a couple of changes to the side that beat Fulham 2-0 on Monday evening. Yves Bissouma returns from suspension and replaces Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who drops to the bench, while Ben Davies deputises for the injured Destiny Udogie. Rodrigo Bentancur, out of action since February, is back and named as a sub.
The teams
Crystal Palace: Johnstone, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Lerma, Doucoure, Hughes, Ayew, Edouard, Schlupp.
Subs: Holding, Matheus Franca, Mateta, Clyne, Richards, Ahamada, Matthews, Riedewald, Rak-Sakyi.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Davies, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison, Son.
Subs: Skipp, Hojbjerg, Gil Salvatierra, Emerson, Dier, Lo Celso, Forster, Johnson, Bentancur.
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire).
Preamble
This …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 12 | 23 |
| 2 | Man City | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 9 | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 9 | 10 | 19 |
… represents Tottenham Hotspur’s best-ever start to a Premier League season. It’s also their second-best start to a top-flight campaign of all time, behind Bill Nicholson’s legendary double winners, who after nine games of the 1960-61 season had nine wins under their belt, a feat that would give them a 27-point haul these days. New boss Ange Postecoglou has hit the ground running, mate, and if they win tonight they’ll go five points clear at the top, for 19 hours at least, and good luck remembering the time they’ve scaled such heights since the days of Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, John White, et al.
You’d expect them to open up that gap tonight, too. That’s because they’re on a three-game winning streak without conceding against Crystal Palace. They’ve won 13 of the last 16 matches against the Eagles, and drawn two of the others. And Roy Hodgson’s personal record against them is frankly abysmal, with just one win in 20 Premier League meetings and 13 defeats. The more jaded members of Tottenham’s fanbase will simply sigh, suggesting all this positivity is merely a perfect set-up for a typical Spurs implosion. However the neutral, having been presented with all of these facts, may have come to a slightly different conclusion: lads, it’s Palace; lads, it’s Mr Roy. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
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