what is happening?
Spurs recorded their third straight victory, with their second straight clean sheet and red card for the opposition, with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, moving them into the top half of the league.
The last two victories have all started in a very similar fashion, with Spurs’ opponents having an early chance before Spurs get into their stride, and again it happened here.
Things changed just before the quarter hour when for once VAR went in Spurs favour. Palace on the break and van de Ven cuts in and takes the ball away from Mateta who lunges in and takes VDV’s achilles. Usual whinges about footballing incident, no intent, not that type of player.
But we all know if it had been the other way round then it wouldn’t have taken VAR for the red to be shown and the media would be caterwauling their heads off.
This though led to a problem for Spurs. De Zerbi now had the wrong players out there. Well, we knew that from the start with Solanke starting up front and no Maddison starting, he was fit for the bench after his early departure in the previous game.
But now they had a bum up front, a number 10 who is more suited to running at teams, not trying to break down a flat back 9, and two wingers only intent on running into cul-de-sacs, defenders, going backwards and being inept with their end product.
So in the first 25 minutes you saw the same old struggles, with them managing only three attempts, none on target. Then from a corner Archie Gray nodded in the opener from the back post. Now did Kudus know he was there? There seemed to be a routine but if you look at the rest of attempted crosses by Kudus, it looked like just one more overhit piece of ineptitude. That got lucky.
Honestly don’t know what the fanbase see in Kudus, a lot of slowing up the play with no end product. If he was half as good as they think he is, even with Solanke he’d have racked up a couple dozen assists by now.
Gray made way for Porro at the break, he made an impact driving forward. But though shots were mounting up, those on target were few and far between. Solanke eventually making way for Gallagher – almost a like for like change.
In the 72nd minutes, another excellent, dangerous, corner by Fernandes, which eventually found its way back out to him, this time his excellent cross found the head van Hecke, saved onto the bar the ball fell to van Heck, who sat on the floor nodded in the second on the day, his second of the season.
But the last word should go to Kudus. Luca Williams-Barnett replaced Tel in the 88th minute and did more in his time on the park than Tel had done in those 88 minutes, with one run, getting to the byline and crossing the ball only for Kudus to butcher an open goal chance… that went for a throw.