Crystal Palace (0) 3 v 0 (0) Tottenham Hotspur
76 Zaha (penalty)
84, 90+2 Edouard
Yellows: Zaha, Gallagher Moura, Tanganga x 2 = RED
Played Saturday 11 September 2021 at Selhurst Park, attendance TBC, Referee Jon Moss.
A 1-0 win would have done nicely for erstwhile Premier League (PL) leaders Tottenham Hotspur but Crystal Palace notched up their first PL win of the 2021-22 season with a convincing 3-0 score-line. It was their first Premier London Derbies (PLDs) win in 12 and the first time any club has started the season with 4 London derbies in a row. The match hinged on an incident early in the second half when Spurs defender Japhet Tanganga body-checked the flying Eagle Wilfried Zaha. His response was more aggressive than the fouler but both were given Yellow cards. Within minutes a reckless tackle by Tanganga gave him a second Yellow and he was off.
Fortunes then changed completely when a cross from Conor Gallagher hit substitute Ben Davies on the arm and Zaha scored the penalty awarded. New signing Odsonne Edouard from Glasgow Celtic came on and scored within a minute and added a second in added time. Spurs finished humbled and forlorn and with a mounting injury list.
Things will not get any easier on Sunday 19 September 2021 when the next PLDs match is Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea. Congratulations to Chelsea on their 600th PL win (3-0 v Aston Villa) many of course thanks to Jose Mourinho. He in turn marked his 1000th match as a Manager/Head Coach with a 2-1 win by AS Roma over Sassuolo in the Italian Serie A on Sunday 12 September 2021. He has a 63% win rate and won 25 titles in four countries! The Blues have won their last two matches at Spurs, and with Romelu Lukaku scoring freely the home defence will do well to hold out. Never mind it’s only a North London derby to follow!
Until next time “Keep Safe” and enjoy your football where ever you are, Andrew at PLDs.