Crystal Palace earned a first Premier League win of the season as Jean-Phillipe Mateta’s goal sunk sorry Tottenham.
The striker finished after half an hour to earn the Eagles a deserved victory, which leaves Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou’s facing more questions about his inconsistent side.
Here are three talking points from Selhurst Park…
Spurs produce poorest display of the season
Spurs arrived in south London on the back of encouraging wins over West Ham and AZ Alkmaar, helping to banish the memory of their stunning collapse from 2-0 up at Brighton.
But their performance at Selhurst Park for 90 minutes was every bit as poor as their second half against the Seagulls three weeks ago.
Postecoglou’s side were passive and sloppy, a point underlined by the winning goal, which was as much down to a sublime piece of skill by Eberechi Eze as Spurs’ carelessness.
Cristian Romero played a needless ball across his own box to Micky van de Ven, who cheaply lost possession to Daniel Munoz.
Munoz’s cross was deftly flicked into Mateta’s path by Eze, and the striker did the rest at the back post. Assuming he meant it, Eze’s touch was a wonderful piece of improvisation.
Spurs, though, had it coming.
They were second-best with and without the ball, so loose in possession and seemingly unprepared for the intensity of Palace’s press and work rate.
Guglielmo Vicario looked especially uncomfortable with the ball at his feet – but bailed out his side with a string of saves – and Spurs’ form players, notably the two No8s Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, struggled to exert any influence on the game.
They barely created a chance in the second half after Kulusevski’s effort seconds after the restart was saved by Dean Henderson, and for the second time in three weeks Postecoglou was left looking a little stunned at full-time, presumably bemused by his side’s tendency to blow hot and cold.
Postecoglou suggested the Brighton defeat was down to complacency and you could not help but wonder if Spurs had turned up expecting to easily beat the winless Eagles.
At least Spurs were good in the first half at the Amex, a point Postecoglou emphasised when he looked back on the game recently, but here they were woeful for 90 minutes.
Credit is due to Palace, who pressed Postecoglou’s side intelligently and ferociously, helping to cut off Spurs’ supply lines to their forwards and disrupt their rhythm.
The result, though, was yet another reminder that Spurs remain a work in progress, capable of being brilliant on their day but still prone to periods where they look barely able to compete.
Mikey Moore debut falls flat
For Mikey Moore, this must have been a deeply frustrating full debut in the Premier League.
The 17-year-old winger was rewarded for his electrifying display against AZ on Thursday with a first start at this level, but was largely peripheral in an abject team outing.
On the rare occasions Moore got on the ball, he offered glimpses of his quality – but they were few and far between.
It was no surprise when the teenager was replaced by Timo Werner just after the hour in a triple change, which had little impact on the flow of the game.
Moore was the last visiting player to blame for such a limp effort and his time will come but, if anything, another flat performance without Heung-min Son, who was missing again through injury, only further underlined how reliant Tottenham are on their captain.
Eze superb as Palace eye turning point
For all that Spurs were abject, Palace were magnificent in their first win of the season, which will ease the pressure on head coach Oliver Glasner.
The Eagles will hope it proves a turning point and can lead to a return to the form which saw them take 21 points from a possible 24 at the end of last season.
Palace certainly looked back to those levels off the ball, as they fed off the atmosphere at Selhurst Park to rough up a timid and error-prone Spurs.
Adam Wharton, back in the side after sitting out Monday’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, was impressive in the midfield but the afternoon really belonged to the majestic Eze.
Spurs could not contain him for a spell at the start of the second half, when he had a goal disallowed for offside, saw a credible penalty claim turned down and generally terrorised the opposition with his touch, skill and turn of pace.
If Palace are the claw their way out of danger, Eze will be key – particularly now Michael Olise has gone – and this display suggests he has found his rhythm at just the right time for Glasner.
