Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
(Reuters) - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 CRYSTAL PALACE 0
Tottenham Hotspur rode their luck before South Korean forward Son Heung-min earned them a 1-0 victory over bottom club Crystal Palace to consolidate their place in the Premier League's top four on Sunday.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their first goal with Moussa Sissoko Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
Mauricio Pochettino's side, fresh from beating European champions Real Madrid in midweek, found Palace a difficult nut to crack at Wembley and could have been behind before Son curled in the winner midway through the second half.
Despite not being at their best, however, Tottenham remained in third position with 23 points having won five of their last six league games. They are behind Manchester United on goal difference before their clash at fourth-placed Chelsea later.
"No point in beating Real Madrid on Wednesday if you can't win at home at the weekend," Tottenham defender Eric Dier said.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Joel Ward in action with Tottenham's Harry Kane . REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
"We knew it would be difficult today with players missing but we wanted to keep the momentum going."
Palace have four points from 11 games but could count themselves unfortunate as Scott Dann was twice denied by Tottenham's debutant keeper Paulo Gazzaniga while Wilfried Zaha wasted a great chance shortly before Spurs scored.
Gazzaniga also saved well from former Tottenham player Andros Townsend early in the second half while Son could have given a nervy Tottenham breathing space but dragged a good chance wide.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Luka Milivojevic has a header saved by Tottenham’s Paulo Gazzaniga REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
Tottenham were without Dele Alli, scorer of two goals in the 3-1 victory over Real, while keeper Hugo Lloris and his deputy Michel Vorm were both unable to start, handing a first appearance to Argentina's Gazzaniga.
The 25-year-old grabbed his chance, making crucial saves to earn the man-of-the-match vote.
Tottenham dominated the first half without being able to break down a stubborn Palace side and they were grateful to Gazzaniga who saved well from Dann's header.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham’s Paulo Gazzaniga collects the bal as Eric Dier (L) and Jan Vertonghen (R) look on REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
The second half was more open and Palace grew in confidence after Townsend took advantage of a defensive mistake to force another great save from the home keeper.
Tottenham began to commit players forward and Zaha should have punished them when he was clean through but, after going round a poorly-positioned Gazzaniga, he shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
It proved a costly miss for Roy Hodgson's side.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
A few minutes later a clever Tottenham move ended up with Harry Kane playing in Danny Rose whose shot was blocked. The ball ended up with Son on the edge of a crowded area and he curled a delightful shot past Julian Speroni.
Son is now the leading Asian scorer in the Premier League with 20 goals.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Harry Kane reacts after sustaining an injury. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Joel Ward in action with Tottenham's Harry Kane Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen in action with Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha with referee Kevin Friend REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Andros Townsend in action. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Mamadou Sakho in action with Tottenham’s Fernando Llorente. Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Mamadou Sakho in action with Tottenham's Serge Aurier . REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Tottenham's Son Heung-min with Crystal Palace's Yohan Cabaye at the end of the match. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace's Yohan Cabaye and Tottenham’s Fernando Llorente at the end of the match. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - November 5, 2017 Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino REUTERS/Peter Nicholls EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
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