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Blimey. Spurs’ winning run comes to an end after a late equaliser from Jeff Schlupp. But the man of the match was the Palace keeper Vicente Guaita. Having been badly at fault for Harry Kane’s goal, he made three outrageous saves - two in the dying minutes - to earn Palace a point. The 2,000 Palace fans contributed hugely to a thrilling game, and the celebration after Schlupp’s goal was a thing of beauty.
Full time: Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Lo Celso’s rubbish free-kick is headed away, and that’s the last touch of a primal, richly entertaining match.
90+4 min Lo Celso is fouled on the right wing by Zaha and Townsend. This will be the last attack of the game...
90+4 min It’s all Spurs now. This is pulsating stuff.
90+3 min That was an incredible save. He was at full stretch and got just enough on the ball to push it onto the top of the bar.
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90+3 min: ANOTHER STUNNING SAVE FROM GUAITA! Dier curls a textbook free-kick over the wall, but Guaita flies to his right to make a spectacular fingertip save!
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90+2 min In fact Kane has left it to Dier and Son...
90+2 min Alli draws a needless foul from Kouyate, 25 yards from goal. Kane will fancy this as well.
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90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Spurs have been on top since the goal, which makes you wonder why they declared at 1-0 so early in the second half. It always felt like they would need a second goal.
89 min The excellent Eberechi Eze is replaced by Andros Townsend. Palace have got a player there.
87 min Guaita has had an interesting day - one howler, two exceptional saves.
86 min: WHAT A SAVE FROM GUAITA! It’s all happening now! Davies’s mishit cross beats Guaita and hits the face of the crossbar. The ball rebounds to Aurier, who smashes it into the six-yard box. Kane steers an instinctive header towards goal, and Guaita plunges to his left to make a brilliant one-handed save. Blimey.
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85 min Palace break menacingly from a Spurs corner. Zaha’s lovely backheel release Eze, who runs 40 yards before being superbly tackled by ... Dele Alli. That was a vital challenge because Palace had a two-on-two.
84 min A double change for Spurs: Dele Alli and Ben Davies replace Bergwijn and Reguilon.
84 min Kane’s free-kick takes a big deflection and spins a few yards wide of the far post. For a second it was going to drift into the corner.
84 min Spurs win a free-kick 25 yards from goal. I’m not sure exactly what happened but Harry Kane is over it.
83 min That was quite a moment, and easily the best goal celebration we’ve seen since fans returned to the Premier League. The Palace players and fans went wild.
Eze floated a lovely, dipping free-kick into the six-yard box, where it was spilled by the unsighted Lloris. Schlupp reacted quickest to ram it over the line from four yards.
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GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-1 Spurs (Schlupp 81)
Jeffrey Schlupp gets a deserved equaliser, and the Crystal Palace fans are going doolally!
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81 min Palace have battered Spurs in the last 10-15 minutes. Zaha is fouled by Aurier 20 yards from goal on the left wing...
80 min Another Eze corner is headed up in the air by Cahill, and Benteke leaps to nod it straight at Lloris. That was a tricky chance because he was under pressure and there was no pace on the ball.
78 min Eze’s floated corner is headed onto the roof of the net by Benteke! That was a good effort, a powerful header from 12 yards as he jumped backwards.
78 min van Aanholt’s cross deflects behind for another corner. Spurs are hanging on to their lead with increasing desperation.
76 min Jose Mourinho loves a hard-fought 1-0 victory. There was a famous one at Blackburn during his first title-winning season at Chelsea, when the players went topless in celebration after the match. This won’t be quite as symbolic, if they do hang on, but it would still have a whiff of silverware polish about it.
75 min Lo Celso is down after a collision with Schlupp.
74 min A Palace change: Jairo Riedewald replaces Luka Milivojevic.
73 min Lo Celso’s free-kick is headed well wide from 10 yards by the unmarked Dier. That looked a great chance at first, though replays show he was stretching and couldn’t make strong enough contact.
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72 min “We’ve heard little of Son today?” queries Richard Hirst.
He’s been pretty quiet, as have all the Spurs attackers bar Kane and the full-backs. He did have that early chance and also got an assist for Kane’s goal, even if it was a routine square pass.
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71 min “Is there any team that, if you take their two best players out of the equation, would still be as good?” says Tim Young. “If Salah and Mane both did their ACLs, would they win the league by 10+ points? I mean I don’t disagree with the point being made, it’s just rather obvious isn’t it?”
I’m not sure I agree with that. The drop-off would be far greater at Spurs, in my eternally humble opinion.
70 min Had that been on Schlupp’s left foot, he’d surely have scored. This is a great spell for Palace, who have had 75 per cent of the possession in the last 10 minutes.
69 min: Great chance for Schlupp! Milivojevic floats ther free-kick to the far post. It’s headed back across goal by Benteke and then McArthur towards Schlupp, who slices a volley well wide with his right foot!
68 min Zaha is fouled 30 yards from goal by Hojbjerg. Lo Celso and Zaha exchange unpleasantries, presumably on the subject of diving. I thought it was a foul, for whatever it’s worth.
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67 min A Spurs change: Giovani Lo Celso replaces Tanguy Ndombele. That should enable Spurs to keep the ball a bit better.
66 min Hojbjerg whistles a terrific low drive just wide from 30 yards. Guaita had it covered, mind.
63 min A block tackle from Hojbjerg, 30 yards from goal, sends the ball spinning behind him for a Palace corner. Eze floats it towards the penalty spot, Cahill heads it up in the air and Bergwijn boots it clear.
61 min “This is the most Mourinho-esque team since his Inter side,” says Digvijay Yadav. “There is no compulsion to play any other way and everyone buys into his band-of-brothers mentality.”
60 min Palace have some decent options on the bench, including Andros Townsend and Jordan Ayew. This is starting to get a bit hairy for Spurs.
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58 min Palace have been the better team in the second half, and Mourinho is scowling at somebody, I think Reguilon.
56 min Palace work the ball really nicely to find Zaha on the left side of the area. He cuts inside Aurier and smashes a shot over the bar from 12 yards. That wasn’t a bad chance.
55 min Spurs haven’t conceded a league goal in over a month but Palace have had their moments, and the individual ability of Zaha and Eze means this isn’t a comfortable 1-0 lead.
53 min “Are Spurs genuine challengers, given their absolute reliance on their front two?” says Devon Nicholson. “Methinks they’re one Harry Kane muscle-pull away from looking ‘just quite good’, instead of ‘challengers’. Mind you, I’m a Gooner so I might be indulging in sour grapes, who knows?”
If Kane and Son stay fit all season I think they’re the likeliest challengers to Liverpool. But that’s a supersized if, and I still think Liverpool will win it by 10+ points.
51 min Zaha shoots over from 10 yards, though it wouldn’t have counted because Benteke was offside in the build up. Sad to say but Benteke has had a poor game.
50 min “Copestake, kiddo, you’re a better man than I, but still a coward in this respect,” says Matt Dony. “I openly admit my love for Jose. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want him anywhere near Liverpool, but the league is always inherently better when he’s in it. He’s entertaining when he’s winning, he’s entertaining when he’s losing. Great stuff.”
Now this looks like a job for me
So everybody, just follow me
‘Cause we need a little, controversy
‘Cause it feels so empty, without me
49 min A loose ball from Reguilon goes straight to Zaha, who runs at Sissoko and goes down. I thought it was a foul; the assistant referee disagreed. Sissoko has already been booked, though I doubt that would have been a second yellow even if a foul had been given.
48 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “What strange times we live in. José at Spurs, a man I thought was in his way down, and a team exciting but perhaps limited and yet here we are. Having watched that thing on that channel Mourinho seems quite likeable and the team is right behind him. Obviously we’re Spurs and he’s José so at some point Kane will do his hammy, Spurs will falter and José will implode, but this is quite a nice few months all the same.”
A bit of news from Germany
46 min Alderweireld’s long ball forward is chested majestically by Kane into the path of Bergwijn. He makes a mess of the cross but that was another delightful bit of play from Ally Shearingham.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half.
“Harry Kane is Teddy Sheringham, but a better goalscorer,” says Mac Millings.
HE’S ALLY SHEARINGHAM.
“I’m writing from Cincinnati and am just a couple of years into being a fan of soccer and Spurs,” says Dave Purcell. “I find the Jose stuff fascinating. When he was hired, my soccer friends all told me to prepare for the worst, that he was possibly sent by Satan himself to ruin the beautiful world of soccer. I kept an open mind and I’ve found him to be hilarious, a reasonably good dude, and obviously successful. I liked him in the Amazon doc. I get that he was probably a jerk in the past, but people are allowed to evolve, even world-famous sports figures. Am I hopelessly naive?”
Maybe a little. With Mourinho, everything is studied. I do think it’s a complicated subject, far more nuanced than Jose the bad guy v Pep/Klopp/Poch the good guy. Mourinho is a rampant narcissist, but then so are most of the people who slag him off on Twitter.
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“I’ve been musing on a player who may have trodden Harry Kane’s path before and I’m coming up with Ruud Gullit,” says Gary Naylor. “That’s praise indeed, but he does seem to be moving into that class.”
Interesting. I don’t really see it, though I can’t think of a better comparison at the moment.
Half-time reading
“People always seem to misread Jose M,” says Ian Copestake. “I secretly quite like him and the many faces he plays up to. Secretly mind.”
Your secret’s safe with me and all four of our readers.
Half time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Peep peep! Spurs lead through a peculiar goal from Harry Kane, who wrongfooted Vicente Guaita from 30 yards. They’ve had most of the ball but the chances have been more evenly shared - both keepers made one outstanding save, and Eberechi Eze hit the post for Palace. It’s a really good game.
45 min “You don’t think Hodgson might do one more year,” says Bill Hargreaves, “possibly as player-manager?”
Well why not. He could play between the two banks of four and organise them.
43 min: Eze hits the post! Palace are having an excellent spell. Eze receives the ball just inside the area, to the left of centre. He shifts it away from Alderweireld, onto his right foot, and sidefoots a sudden shot that beats Lloris and hits the outside of the post. Really good effort.
41 min Milivojevic’s first-time shot from 20 yards is blocked by Dier. I was worried this game might be dull, given the tactics of both sides, but it’s been frantic and highly entertaining.
41 min “Damning Roy with faint praise I feel,” says Richard Hirst. “He took Fulham from relegation certainties to a Europa League final in two and a half seasons. Not many can do that.”
He did something similar with Switzerland and Palace, among others, yet he did the opposite with Liverpool and England. It’s hard to fathom; he turns water into wine and wine into water.
40 min van Aanholt’s tame low shot hits Son and loops into the loving embrace of Lloris.
39 min The free-kick is 18.1 yards from goal, to the right of centre. Milivojevic and van Aanholt are over it...
38 min Sissoko is booked for flattening Schlupp just outside the area.
36 min The reinvention of Harry Kane is quite something. I thought all those injuries had turned him into a late-period Alan Shearer tribute; instead he has become one of the best passers in the league, while still having the ability to score 35 goals a season if he stays fit. Right here, right now, at 2.51pm on 13 December 2020, there aren’t many better players in the world.
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34 min “Crystal Palace is an obvious gig for Sean Dyche, I think,” says Shom Biswas. “Palace would be upwardly mobile enough for Dyche, who has simply nowhere to go, unless he decides to go abroad. And best fit for Dyche, who would definitely look to make Palace a perennial Europa challenger, before moving on.... That would be progress for all.”
Yes, I see what you mean. He’s probably the closest to Hodgson in the Premier League at the moment, at least in the way his teams defend.
33 min: Good double save from Guaita! Kane’s brilliant pass puts Bergwijn through on goal. Guaita dives at his feet but can only push the ball to Ndombele. He smashes it towards goal and Guaita stays tall to deflect it behind for a corner.
31 min Eze’s free-kick hits the top of the wall.
30 min There are sarcastic cheers when Bergwijn is penalised for a pulling back Eze 25 yards from goal. This is Milivojevic country, but Eze scored against Leeds so it looks like he’ll take it.
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30 min This is an excellent spell for Spurs. The home fans are restless, though that’s more with the referee than their own team.
29 min “Hi Rob,” says Giancarlo Sandoval. “You mentioned that the game with Liverpool will tell us more about this Tottenham team’s title credentials, but I think this Palace game is definitely a harder test. Palace are quite good defensively and play on the counter. The key to winning titles I think is how to deal with these teams (especially when the Spurs’ team tactical identity is somewhat similar).”
I know what you mean about the tactics, but are you really saying Palace away is tougher than Liverpool away?
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28 min Kane blasts a free-kick well wide from 35 yards. Even you’ve got limits, H.
27 min “As a Fulham supporter I’ve of course got an undying love for Roy,” says Richard Hirst, “but you have to admire the way he sets his teams up. The players all know what they are supposed to do. Compare and contrast with managers of certain bigger clubs.”
He’s a fascinating manager. Sometimes it feels like you could give him any team you like – the best in the world or the worst – and they would finish between ninth and 13th.
26 min A Palace corner is headed back across goal to Schlupp, whose hopeful shot on the turn bounces through to Lloris.
That’s a goalkeeping error I’m afraid. Spurs moved the ball nicely from left to centre, with Son finding Kane 30 yards from goal. He had a quick touch and swooshed a shot that totally wrongfooted Guaita. He started moving across his line and by the time he changed direction it was too late. Guaita did get a hand on the shot as he fell, but he could only push it into the net. Kane’s shot went straight into the centre of the goal and, though he did cut across the ball, Guaita was far too presumptuous in moving so far to his right.
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GOAL! Palace 0-1 Spurs (Kane 23)
Harry Kane wrongfoots Vicente Guaita from 30 yards!
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22 min “Morning Rob,” says Mary Waltz. “It’s just past 6am on the west coast and the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet. Jose is definitely back, his pre-match hug with Roy Hodgson was classic Jose. ‘It is so nice to receive my proper tribute from my inferiors.’ He has turned Spurs around. (I hate saying that.)”
I still think it’s too early to say, though Wednesday’s match at Liverpool should give us a good idea. And maybe I’m being naïve, but I thought there was quite a touching warmth in the way he and Roy Hodgson greeted each other.
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21 min Spurs make a total mess of a training-ground free-kick 30 yards from goal. I won’t dignify it by describing what happened.
20 min Milivojevic is booked for a foul on Kane.
20 min The resulting corner is headed towards goal by Kane, and Guaita changes direction smartly to push it away.
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19 min: Great effort from Reguilon! This is excellent stuff. Reguilon picks up a loose ball 20 yards from goal, cuts inside on his right foot and flashes a curling shot just over the bar.
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18 min: Great save from Guaita! This is an equally good save. Aurier’s low cross from the right found its way through to Ndombele, who drive it hard and low towards goal from 10 yards. Guaita plunged to his right to palm the ball away at full stretch.
17 min “I’m under the impression Hodgson is retiring after this year,” says Joe Harvey. “How do you think Palace will manage the transition? I’m a little worried - Hodgson really doesn’t get enough credit for handling that aging squad.”
Yes, good point, especially as he has a very specific way of playing and buys accordingly. They’ll have to choose his successor very carefully.
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16 min Zaha is looking so dangerous. Eze drives a long angled pass from the left towards Zaha, who takes the ball on the run and rattles it over the bar. Dier did well to shepherd him wide.
14 min: Great save from Lloris! Benteke, on the left of the area, shoves the ball back to Zaha just outside the area. He takes a touch and hits a fierce shot that is brilliantly saved low to his right by Lloris. At first I thought he was unsighted; replays showed there was a deflection, which is why he had to suddenly change direction.
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13 min “Can’t help but feel for Christian Benteke,” says Ezra Finkelstein. “The much-maligned striker is constantly ridiculed for his lack of goals and has become a punchline of sorts, so to see him scoring last week must have done him a world of confidence.”
He’s a case study in the primacy of confidence. At Aston Villa he often looked unplayable.
12 min It’s all Spurs, though Palace are used to playing this way against the big teams. Andy Hinchcliffe makes the good point that, because Palace’s two banks of four are so narrow, Spurs’ full-backs should provide an important attacking threat.
9 min: Just wide from Son! The first chance falls to Spurs. Alderweireld drives a long pass over the defence for Son, who makes a terrific angled run from left to right. He takes the bouncing ball in his stride but shoots wide of the near post from a tight angle.
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7 min Eze picks up a loose ball and slides in Zaha, whose first-time shot is well blocked by Alderweireld. Zaha and Eze look sharp on the counter-aattack.
6 min Tottenham are constantly moving the ball from side to side, trying to pull Palace’s two banks of four out of position. Good luck with that.
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5 min Palace break through Zaha on the left. He gets into the area and hits a cutback that is cleared by a combination of Hojbjerg and Ndombele (I think).
4 min Plenty of early possession for Spurs, though it’s all in front of Palace’s back ten.
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1 min Peep peep! Palace kick off from left to right.
Both these teams prefer to play on the break, so there might be a bit of a stand-off at the start of the game. The 2,000 Palace fans at Selhurst Park will probably have something to say about that.
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Southampton 3-0 Sheffield United was the score in the early Premier League game. Che Adams, Stuart Armstrong and Nathan Redmond scored in a match that was even more one-sided than the score suggests. The result moves Southampton up to third in the table. God bless Ralph Hasenhuttl.
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Pre-match reading
Team news
Gareth Bale is not in the Spurs squad. He’s unwell, though Jose Mourinho stresses he has tested negative for Covid. Dele Alli gets a place on the bench as a result.
Crystal Palace (4-4-2) Guaita; Clyne, Kouyate, Cahill, van Aanholt; Schlupp, Milivojevic, McArthur, Eze; Benteke, Zaha.
Substitutes: Butland, Ward, Tomkins, Townsend, Riedewald, Ayew, Batshuayi.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Reguilon; Sissoko, Hojbjerg; Bergwijn, Ndombele, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Hart, Doherty, Rodon, Davies, Lo Celso, Alli, Lucas Moura.
Referee Kevin Friend.
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Preamble
Guess who’s back
Back again
Jose’s back
Tell a friend
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back, etc etc
Truly, the Premier League has been so empty without Jose Mourinho. Sure, he’s been around, but not in any recognisable form; an evil twin called the Sour One. His Manager of the Month award for November - the first since 2007, which is absurd - adds to the growing feeling that Mourinho might be back as a relevant, title-challenging force. Better still, the story has a twist: for the first time he is in the role of dark horse, trying to challenge the establish elite rather than look down on them.
This is a big week in the arc of Spurs and Mourinho. They start with a tricky trip to Crystal Palace, a side who love bloodying superior noses; then they travel to Anfield for a rare old humdinger against Liverpool; and next Sunday they are at home to away specialists Leicester. If they win all three, a title challenge will be well and truly on.
Kick off 2.15pm.
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