Tottenham Hotspur (1) 4 v 1 (1) Crystal Palace
36 Kulusevski, assist Maddison 18 Kudus
53 Bissouma, assist Udogie ( 86 Kudus Red Card)
55 Areola (o.g.)
60 Son, assist Sarr
Yellows: Van de Ven Paquetta, Soucek, Soler Ref. A Madeley
Played Saturday 19 October 2024 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, attendance 61,381.
An astute half-time substitution – Pape Matar Sarr for James Maddison – gave Spurs a welcome win in this Premier London Derbies (PLDs) match. Sarr gave them the extra drive they needed to overwhelm The Hammers after the visitors had taken the lead in a more even first period. The match ended on a bad note when goal-scorer Mohammed Kudus received a straight Red Card on VAR review after a fracas involving Micky Van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr for violent conduct. The Lilywhites defender also was shown a Yellow. Both Clubs have since been charged by the FA for failing “to ensure that their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative and/or violent way…”. With so many double meanings is it surprising FA decisions are sometimes questioned?
The next PLDs match is Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday 27 October 2024. The Eagles come into this on the back of another defeat – 0-1 away to Nottingham Forest – and in the relegation zone being 18th with just 3 points from their first 8 matches. This fixture has only produced one win for Crystal Palace, the 3-0 win in 2021-22, in the last 8 seasons with 5 away wins. Spurs will want to pick up their momentum again in the Premier League (PL), and another home defeat will really put the pressure on Oliver Glasner. There is no Roy Hodgson to fall back on now.
There has been another round in the UEFA Leagues. On 22 October in the Champions League Arsenal beat Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine 1-0 through an unfortunate own goal with Gabriel Martinelli’s shot going in off the post and back of goalkeeper Riznyk. The Gunners have 7 points from their 3 matches and are ninth. Tottenham Hotspur beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 through a Richarlison penalty on 24 October and are second on goal difference in the Europa League with 9 points after 3 matches. Chelsea, who won 1-4 away to Panathinaikos in Greece, top the Conference League with 2 wins out of two matches played. The top 8 after 8 matches go automatically into the Round of 16.
Until next time, “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football, Andrew at PLDs.