Crystal Palace go into Saturday’s FA Cup final full of belief and confidence after an impressively dominant 2-0 win at Tottenham.
Eberechi Eze applied finishing touches to sweeping moves either side of half-time but there could easily have been more goals for Oliver Glasner’s side who looked in great shape for their Wembley showpiece with Manchester City, scything through wide open spaces in the Spurs defence.
Ismaila Sarr and Maxence Lacroix saw goals ruled out and the flying Daniel Munoz blasted against the bar before teeing Eze up to make the breakthrough, while Jean-Philippe Mateta had a fierce shot saved after the England international rolled in from a break.
The visitors – who have now matched their record Premier League points total – had far too much for a much-changed Tottenham team recovering from their Europa League exploits on Thursday. This was Palace’s first-ever league double over Spurs and their travelling support partied in the sunshine.
Spurs’ sights are of course set on their Europa League final with Man Utd on May 21. There was even a blast of Y viva Espana and it’s “I’m off to sunny Spain” lyric before kick-off and it felt like this was low priority for the hosts after the high of that semi-final success at Bodo/Glimt. Their line-up and performance certainly seemed to indicate as much. It was some comedown.
Regardless of the injury issues and European priorities, a 20th Premier League defeat is a shocking and unacceptable return for this club. There were boos at full-time from the Spurs fans, although many had headed for the exits well before then. When they next come here to see their team play for the Premier League closer with Brighton, will they be celebrating a European triumph or stewing on a painful defeat in that Europa League final?
This latest league loss may also have come with an injury issue. Dejan Kulusevski – one of just three starters from that Europa League semi who wasn’t rested – worryingly limped off after just 16 minutes after a collision with Marc Guehi, although Heung-min Son’s return as a sub after missing the past seven games was one positive.
Ange Postecoglou would love to take the momentum Palace now have into his own major final – but a tricky trip to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa comes on Friday. Perhaps there is comfort that Man Utd were also beaten at home to West Ham – but that was a result which leaves Spurs 17th in the Premier League, underlining their dependency on a successful trip to Bilbao.
Postecoglou: Players missed an opportunity to push for place in EL final XI
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou:
“I still felt we weren’t anywhere near the level we needed to be today despite all that stuff. It’s not helpful when you lose another player [Kulusevski]. It’s the fine line we’re trying to navigate at the moment. I think [the eight changes] explains some of it but not all of it. We should have still been better today than we were. I can’t discount the performance on the number of changes.
“Maybe some of it is psychological in terms of not being able to cope with what’s before us at the moment. In elite sport, if you’re a little bit off you pay the price. We’re trying to navigate a fine line of being prepared for a big game but also needing to perform at levels you need to in the Premier League. It’s unforgiving and we’re not navigating that well.”
On players missing opportunities to impress: “Guys had an opportunity today to put their name forward and put pressure on the guys who played the other night but there wasn’t any compelling evidence. This is what I’m trying to push with these guys, sometimes in football you’ve got to take the opportunity before you. It’s never going to be perfect. There is an opportunity there. You have to take it when its presented in you. I’m disappointed more didn’t step forward today.”
Glasner: Many good things to take into the FA Cup final
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“It’s a credit to the players. The energy level, the intensity and effort and commitment from the beginning… We kept going and were rewarded. Really good performance, especially in the first half and after the second goal we reduced this by a few percentage and it was more or less and open game. The performance was really good. A clean sheet is really good. Many good things to take to the FA Cup final.
“The best preparation is showing a good performance here. The goals we scored, the consistency in our defending. This will help us for the final, not just the result. They stay in the rhythm, that’s the most important thing. It’s more risky not to play players from Monday. Every football player knows all the fitness, confidence, tactics you get in the games.”
