Crystal Palace beat hosts Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League ahead of their FA Cup final next week.
Palace thought they had taken the lead within the first 10 minutes when Ismaila Sarr tapped home from close range, but the VAR ruled the goal out as Jean-Philippe Mateta was offside in the buildup.
Perhaps the most costly moment of the match for Spurs came before the 20th-minute mark when attacker Dejan Kulusevski was forced off the pitch as a result of injury, with supporters fearful that he could miss the club's Europa League final against Manchester United later this month.
The Eagles would take the lead shortly before the interval when Eberechi Eze swept into an empty net after Daniel Munoz squared the ball across goal following an excellent pass from Mateta.
Eze doubled the lead just after the restart when he led a counter-attack from the edge of his own box and charged forward to get on the end of a cutback.
The Eagles would hold on for all three points, and the result leaves the club in 12th place with 49 points after 36 matchweeks, whereas Tottenham end the weekend in 17th place with just 38 points.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
© Imago
No one could blame either side for not necessarily being focused on Sunday's game given both will soon play in cup finals, but the fact that Tottenham have lost 20 Premier League matches is damning for boss Ange Postecoglou.
Should Spurs fail to win the Europa League this term, then 2024-25 will be remembered as one of the club's worst ever seasons in the Premier League era.
As for Palace, manager Oliver Glasner will be pleased that his side will head into the FA Cup final on the back of a confidence-boosting win.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS. CRYSTAL PALACE HIGHLIGHTS
8th min: Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace) goal ruled out
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Mateta holds possession up near the halfway line and helps Palace work the ball out wide on the right to Munoz, who fires a low cross from the side of the box to Sarr to finish from close range, but Mateta was initially offside.
A very close call!
19th min: Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur) injury
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Marc Guehi tackles Tottenham's Kulusevski with force in the 16th minute, and though the attacker tries to shake off his injury, he cannot continue and comes off the pitch for Mikey Moore.
A massive worry for Postecoglou!
45th min: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Crystal Palace (Eberechi Eze)
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Palace work the ball down the right in their half before finding Mateta, who plays an excellent first-time pass through to Munoz before the wing-back races away towards goal but squares unselfishly to an unmarked Eze, who converts into an empty net.
A deserved lead for the visitors!
48th min: Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Crystal Palace (Eberechi Eze)
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Eze races away from the edge of his own penalty area and plays an excellent pass to the right to Sarr, who spots Eze making a bursting run towards Tottenham's box and finds the attacker with a cutback before the Englishman sweeps past goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
Brilliant work from Eze!
MAN OF THE MATCH - EBERECHI EZE
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Eberechi Eze was instrumental for Glasner's Eagles given he scored twice, with his second effort a showcase of his pace, creativity and ingenuity.
The attacker produced the joint most shots (four) of any player on the pitch, and he was also excellent at retaining possession given he completed 21 of his 24 passes.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS. CRYSTAL PALACE MATCH STATS
Possession: Tottenham Hotspur 74%-26% Crystal Palace
Shots: Tottenham Hotspur 8-23 Crystal Palace
Shots on target: Tottenham Hotspur 1-10 Crystal Palace
Corners: Tottenham Hotspur 4-8 Crystal Palace
Fouls: Tottenham Hotspur 12-10 Crystal Palace
BEST STATS
Tottenham Hotspur trail Crystal Palace at half-time, with Eberechi Eze's goal just before the break the difference.
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) May 11, 2025
Palace have had 15 shots, their most in the first half of a Premier League game this season.#TOTCRY pic.twitter.com/ofAhwD7bfp
24 - Tottenham Hotspur have lost 24 matches across all competitions this season, their second-most ever in a single campaign, only behind their 25 in 1991-92. Misery. pic.twitter.com/NloJ43rTN9
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 11, 2025
WHAT NEXT?
Tottenham play their final away game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa on May 16, but their focus will undoubtedly be on the Europa League final against Manchester United on May 21.
As for Palace, their focus will also be on a cup final given they will face Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup next Saturday before hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league in their last home match of 2024-25.
Lewis Nolan
