Crystal Palace had the worst inception in Premier League history under Dutchman Frank De Boer who was eventually sacked after 5 straight league defeats without even scoring a single goal. He was replaced by veteran Englishman Roy Hodgson who made an early impression defeating defending Champions Chelsea and the Eagles have shown signs of improvement lately. But they had an extremely tough task at Wembley this afternoon against mighty Tottenham Hotspur who clinched a sensational 3-1 win against Real Madrid in their midweek Champions League tie and were clear favourites to beat the Eagles in order to close the gap with second-placed Manchester United who defeated the North Londoners at Old Trafford last weekend.
The game, however, proved to be a close encounter and the visitors must be lamenting due to the missed opportunities which cost them big and Spurs grabbed a narrow 1-0 win at Wembley.
Crystal Palace Players Rated And Slated
Julian Speroni: 6
The 38-year-old Argentine custodian could have done little to stop Son’s sensational strike but should have done better with his distribution.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah: 6.5
The Manchester United loanee struggled against pacy Danny Rose and mostly concentrated on his defensive duties. Was good at tackling, impressed with his passing skills and fought hard for an optimistic result.
Scott Dann: 7
Was unlucky as his header was sensationally denied by Gazzaniga in the first-half. Struggled due to lack of pace at times and his passing should have been better, but managed some crucial clearances and made his aerial presence known while defending.
Mamadou Sakho: 7.5
The ex-Liverpool centre-back did well to contain Harry Kane and pulled off massive blocks, tackles, clearances and interceptions to keep his side in the game.
Joel Ward: 6.5
Ward was alert defensively against Sissoko and Aurier. Also made some forward runs in order to create opportunities up front. Was taken off to be replaced by Bakary Sako in search of an equalizer.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 6
The Chelsea loanee impressed with his physicality and helped his defence for the majority of the game. But he did not offer much offensively and played only a few passes which, however, were not enough to build the game from the middle of the park.
Yohan Cabaye: 6.5
The veteran Frenchman should have done better to clear the ball which was eventually converted by Heung-min Son. Impressed with his tackling traits and played some crucial long balls forward though for the likes of Zaha and Townsend.
Luka Milivojevic: 6.5
Was unlucky as his effort was spectacularly denied by Gazzaniga in the second half. Controlled the game from the middle of the park during a second-half spell where the Eagles were dominating the game before conceding the goal.
Jeffrey Schlupp: 6
Mostly concentrated on his defensive duties and impressed with his passing skills down the left-hand flank. Did not offer much offensively though.
Wilfried Zaha: 8
The best Crystal Palace player of the afternoon yet his failure to put the ball into an empty net proved costly for the visitors. Zaha terrorized the Spurs backline with his pace, runs, and dribbles but lacked finishing.
Substitutes:
Andros Townsend: 5.5
Was denied by Gazzaniga early in the second half. Did not offer much otherwise.
Substitutes
Bakary Sako: 5
Did not see the ball much and lacked passing accuracy as his only long-range delivery could not find Wilfried Zaha.
