February 27 2018

Roy Hodgson

A sickening, late header from Harry Kane saw Crystal Palace lose by the odd goal to Spurs. Mike Scott marks the Palace players.

A thoroughly depressing statistic is that Spurs have now beaten Palace 1-0 in the last four meetings between the clubs in the Premier League.

As earlier in the season at Wembley, Palace could well have got something from the game, even despite the current, crippling injury crisis that saw 20-year-old Aaron Wan-Bissaka make his debut…

Wayne Hennessey - 7

A really mixed bag for Hennessey. There were some moments on brilliance, including a point blank, one-on-one save from Harry Kane and a fine, fingertip stop to deny Ben Davies from a corner. At other times, there were moments of confusion that Palace were lucky not to be punished for. Early on, confusion between himself and Townsend meant a seemingly harmless, drifting ball in to the box nearly fell to Ben Davies to slot home.

Before the goal, the home side were nearly punished when he was left in two minds as to whether to come out for a corner and he ended up missing the ball by a good few feet. The goal itself has caused a lot of vitriol and anger on Twitter, with Palace fans suggesting he should have stopped it. It certainly looked soft, but the home side were only still on level terms because of the Welshman.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 8

The second game in a row that Palace fielded debutants saw Wan-Bissaka move up from the U23s to cover the injury crisis. The versatile 20-year-old found himself at right back and looked very solid, with assured positioning. He clicked well with Townsend and the two covered each other when one was of them was making a run forward. When they attacked together, it looked like Palace’s best chance to score. He possibly gave Ben Davies a little too much room when the Spurs man pulled out a great, stretching save from Hennessey, but really the debutant didn’t put a foot wrong.

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Timothy Fosu-Mensah - 7

A much-improved performance as a makeshift centre back from the Manchester United loanee. His positioning was virtually faultless, with Harry Kane only getting the better of him on one or two occasions; the England man did gain himself a couple of yards of space in the second half, but he dragged a shot wide. Apart from that, this game showed that Fosu-Mensah absolutely is capable of covering in the middle when need be.

James Tomkins - 8

The ever-reliable Tomkins was, once again, one of Palace’s best performers. The only chances Spurs really got in the first half came from mistakes and hesitancy from his goalkeeper and full back; nothing of note in terms of creative play troubled him. Tragically, he limped off with a few minutes to go after injuring himself stretching for a ball. He was substituted for Damien Delaney (4) whose only real part in the game was failing to stop Harry Kane heading in the winner. Tough on him, but that can be the nature of being a late defensive sub.

Patrick van Aanholt - 6

Van Aanholt had a really decent second half, including a clearance that stopped a wasteful Serge Aurier tapping the ball in from close range, but the Dutchman had a mixed first half that could have seen the game out of reach of the Eagles by the half hour mark. A woeful touch set up Kane for the one-on-one with Hennessey that the keeper excellently saved. Before that, he had looked menacing down the left, working well with Sorloth.

Luka Milivojevic - 7

A disciplined Palace defensive display (and, despite the result, this game definitely was one of those) usually involves a strong performance from the Serbian. He was the rock in front of defence, keeping Dele Alli relatively quiet and helping shape a really disciplined bank of four in front of the back men. His set pieces looked more like they’d lead to a goal than many of Cabaye’s half recently too; it would be good to see him take some more of them over permanently.

Jairo Riedewald - 7

It does look like Palace are stronger at the back with Riedewald starts and so it’s a surprise that he is still Hodgson’s back-up plan considering that the manager’s ethos is based on defensive discipline. The last two games he started the Eagles kept a clean sheet, so clearly his quiet but effective play does help. He was fairly anonymous going forward in the first half, but he made some effective runs into the box in the second half, although chances were few and far between.

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James McArthur - 6

McArthur had a tough afternoon against a dominant Spurs midfield. He had some tussles with Alli early on and did well to stop him doing any damage. As the game progressed he seemed to have a freer role to get forward, but he had precious few chances to inflict any damage, apart from a promising shot in the box that he failed to put enough power on. He was lucky not to gift Harry Kane a goal before he did actually score, clearing a ball tamely into the striker’s path on the edge of the box.

Andros Townsend - 7

The outlet for Palace breaks was Townsend throughout the game and, in the first half in particular, he caused a lot of problems. His tireless work efforts down the right saw him work well with Wan-Bissaka, allowing him to make runs himself when need be and when some height was needed. In the second half, he played more of a free role, often running down the left, although he needed to switch feet each time and it became a little telegraphed, meaning he got less crosses in. He had his fair share of shots too, including one where he found himself in space on the edge of the box after a run, but he hit it straight at Hugo Lloris.

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Alexander Sorloth - 6

Sorloth had a baptism of fire at Selhurst on his home debut, finding himself isolated out on the left and, at times, being double marked. Despite this, he showed signs of the link ups with Benteke that everyone is hoping for and he looked a threat at the far post for crosses. He didn’t get the opportunity to cross as often as he did against Everton, but he did his defensive duties when Palace were penned back.

Christian Benteke - 6

Little service of note came in for the Belgian, who tried more to be the provider than the recipient. He linked up well with Sorloth, offering the Norwegian some promising balls in the box, but both of them looked too isolated to profit from the opportunities. His knockdowns were the catalyst for some of Palace’s better breaks, but he didn’t have a great deal of chances to add to his tally of two for the season.