Crystal Palace End Tottenham’s Unbeaten Run 3-0

Odsonne Edouard scores twice on debut. Palace grab their first win of the Patrick Viera era.

Striker Odsonne Edouard, an £18.5m signing from Celtic on Deadline Day netted twice on his debut as Crystal Palace claimed their first win under Patrick Viera to end 10-man Tottenham’s 100% Premier League start.

Wilfried Zaha got the 1st Palace goal. He calmly rolled in from the spot on 76 minutes, sending the keeper the wrong way, after Ben Davies was penalised for handling a cross from Palace’s Connor Gallagher.

Then substitute Edouard added a 2nd goal on 84 minutes, as Zaha found him inside the Spurs’ box and he finished easily. He netted a 3rd late in 2nd-half injury time, as Gallagher found him unmarked near the penalty spot, and the resulting goal sealed a hugely satisfying victory for Palace.

The hosts were well on top even before Japhet Tanganga’s dismissal, as the Spurs defender collected 2 yellow cards in the space of 5 minutes before the 60-minute mark. The 1st was a definite foul on Zaha, as the forward attempted to drive into the box and was unceremoniously hauled down by Tanganga. The 2nd was a reckless lunge on Jordan Ayew, just minutes after.

That saw a 2nd defensive reorganisation of the afternoon for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side after Eric Dier had limped off on 12 minutes after being on the receiving end of a fierce tackle by Ayew. Even so, Spurs, who hardly offered any threat of their own, had looked reasonably solid until their late capitulation.

The result moves Palace up to 11th in the table and it was no more than they deserved after a dominant display against a decent Spur’s 11. As for Spurs, they now occupy 5th position in the Premier League table. They are level on points with 3rd placed Manchester City and 4th placed Brighton & Hove Albion, but have an inferior goal difference.