Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 talking points as the Eagles steal a draw | Premier League 2020-21
Tottenham extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table today, but their boss Jose Mourinho probably won’t be happy with his side’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
After taking the lead at Selhurst Park in the first half through a Harry Kane goal, Tottenham allowed Palace to claw their way back into the game, and late in the second half, the pressure told. A free-kick from Eberechi Eze caught out Hugo Lloris, and his spill was prodded into the net by Jeff Schlupp.
Tottenham attempted to find a winner following the equaliser, but some excellent work from Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita ensured that honours were even.
Here are 5 talking points from Crystal Palace’s draw with Tottenham.
#1 Guaita goes from hero to villain to hero again for Palace
The biggest talking point from the match has to be the performance of Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. Early on, the Spaniard pulled out a tremendous save to prevent Tottenham from taking the lead, diving to stop a goal-bound shot from Tanguy Ndombele.
Moments later though, Tottenham did take the lead, and it wasn’t exactly a crowning moment for Guaita. A long-range strike from Harry Kane somehow caught him completely off guard and ended up squirming in despite lacking any kind of power and being in the middle of the goal.
For a long time it looked like the goal would settle the game, leaving Guaita with egg on his face, but when Jeff Schlupp equalised, he was handed a chance at redemption.
And the Spaniard took that chance with both hands. First, he made an incredible stop to deny Kane a header from close range following a miscued shot from Serge Aurier. And then even more incredibly, he dived full-length to somehow tip a goal-bound free kick from Eric Dier over the bar.
Palace largely deserved their point today, but in all honesty, they’ve got Guaita to thank for it.
#2 Tottenham drop two valuable points at the top of the table
Following Chelsea’s defeat at the hands of Everton last night, this was Tottenham’s chance to turn the early part of the Premier League title race into a two-way battle between themselves and Liverpool. Had Tottenham won today, they’d have gone five points clear of the Blues – and four clear of third-placed Southampton.
However, despite taking the lead and bossing the first half for the most part, Tottenham slipped up late in the game – just as they did against West Ham back in October.
The goal they conceded was incredibly poor, too. After defending brilliantly all day against the attacking talent of Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha, Tottenham’s defence had a momentary lapse when Eze’s free-kick was fired into the box.
The ball struck Hugo Lloris, bounced up, and was prodded home by Jeff Schlupp. And to make things worse, it was the first time Tottenham’s defence had been breached since their 2-1 win over Brighton on November 1st.
Sure, it’s still early days in terms of the Premier League title race, but this was still a big opportunity for Tottenham to miss. The big question is whether they’ll regret it come May.