Jean-Philippe Mateta made the difference as Crystal Palace beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 to claim their first Premier League win of the season.
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Coming off the back of three straight defeats, the pressure was on Oliver Glasner, and his team delivered the goods for their fans at Selhurst Park.
Their winner came in the 31st minute when Mateta latched onto Eberechi Eze’s clever flick and drilled in from close range.
While Brennan Johnson saw a shot hit a post for Spurs, Palace looked most likely to get the match's second goal, and Eze saw one ruled out for offside before Adam Wharton was thwarted by Guglielmo Vicario.
Palace were not made to pay for failing to add a second, however, as they claimed a morale-boosting result that takes them up to 17th, while Spurs are eighth after two defeats from their last three league matches.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
17 | +6 | 28 |
| 6 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
17 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 |
Man City
MCI
|
17 | +4 | 27 |
| 8 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
17 | +6 | 26 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
17 | +2 | 25 |
How the match unfolded
Palace went close when Will Hughes – an early substitute for Jefferson Lerma – exchanged a one-two with Wharton from a corner on the left and whipped in a cross, but Maxence Lacroix headed over.
But Palace’s breakthrough arrived four minutes later as Daniel Munoz seized on an error from Micky van de Ven. The right-back’s delivery was flicked on by Eze, with Mateta able to take a touch and fire home.
Spurs nearly restored parity before the break as Johnson hit the post before Trevoh Chalobah cleared off the line, while Dean Henderson denied James Maddison.
Eze appeared to have doubled Palace’s lead after running onto a ball over the top from Wharton and slotting home, but the goal was disallowed after VAR confirmed the on-field offside decision.
#CRYTOT – 49’
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) October 27, 2024
The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Eze was in an offside position. pic.twitter.com/kFmLsb1iVZ
Vicario brilliantly denied Ismaila Sarr and Wharton either side of Eze volleying over, though Spurs could not make their goalkeeper’s good work count at the other end.
Eze gets Eagles soaring
Eze was once more a driving force as Glasner’s team finally secured a much-needed victory.
He was instrumental in Palace’s opener as he directed Munoz’s slightly wayward cross with a deft flick behind him to Mateta at the back post.
The dynamism instilled by Eze in the Palace attack soon saw them emerge as the team on top for much of the second half.
He saw a goal ruled out just after the restart having started his run from the halfway line marginally too soon, but the move signalled his intent, and Spurs would have done well to heed the warning.
Just minutes later, the England international sparked claims of a penalty around Selhurst Park, going down under pressure from Van de Ven after a darting run. While the referee disagreed, it would not be the last time he threatened in the box, forcing a strong save from Vicario off a set-piece shortly after.
It has not been a flying start to the season for Eze or Palace, but they will hope this game represents a corner turned.
No Son, big problems for Spurs
It was a tepid looking effort up front from Ange Postecoglou’s side despite the Australian’s liking for an all-out attacking approach.
The visitors looked like a side without ideas going forward, with defender Van de Ven arguably creating their best chance of the match when his strike was deflected onto a post by Johnson before the ricochet had to be scooped off the line by Chalobah.
Dejan Kulusevski’s effort just after the break summed up the display. Johnson found the Swede at the near post with a cross from the right before he side-footed the ball wide of goal.
While the intent was there, the outcome was short of what was desired, and all too often Spurs found themselves wanting in the final third as they managed just three shots on target all match.
It was indicative of their struggles without injured star player Son Heung-min, who was badly missed, and that will be a concern for Postecoglou.
Club reports
What managers said
Oliver Glasner: "Congratulations to team, to the players for how they played today with passion and courage. They showed it on the pitch against a good Tottenham team. we tried to be active at the end, but there were some moments but Tottenham are a great team.
"The players took it as a chance and every single phase of their body. We played great and moved the ball. A very good performance today."
Ange Postecoglou: "It was one of those games with a lot of stoppages and battles and they ended up winning a lot of them and coming out on top. There was a lot of disruption and it was hard to get any fluency. They did better than us."
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Today’s 1-0 win was only Palace’s second win across their last 19 Premier League matches against Spurs (D2 L15), though both victories in that time have come at Selhurst Park whilst keeping a clean sheet.
Spurs have failed to win any of their four away London derby matches in the Premier League in 2024 (D1 L3), failing to score in three of those matches, whilst netting just one goal in total.
Palace have won two of their last six Premier League matches against fellow sides from London (D2 L2), as many victories as across their prior 18 such matches combined (D5 L11). Each of their last four London derby successes in the top-flight have come at home, whilst this was the first alongside a clean sheet since beating Arsenal 3-0 in April 2022.
Palace’s Mateta struck the winner in this match, with his 17th Premier League goal of 2024 – only Erling Haaland (24) and Cole Palmer (21) have netted more this calendar year.
