December 28 2025

Palace 0-1 Spurs

Crystal Palace were left frustrated at Selhurst Park as Tottenham Hotspur edged a 1-0 victory.

The Eagles were once again made to pay for wastefulness and a familiar weakness at set-pieces.

They started brightly and carried the greater threat in the first half, with Jean-Philippe Mateta at the heart of everything positive. He dragged one effort narrowly wide and then headed over from close range inside the six-yard box.

Those missed opportunities proved costly three minutes before the break. Palace failed to deal with a corner, Pedro Porro’s delivery reaching the back post where Randal Kolo Muani and then Richarlison both won aerial duels. The ball eventually fell kindly for Archie Gray, who reacted quickest to score his first senior goal from close range and give Spurs the lead against the run of play.

Tottenham threatened to put the game beyond Palace in the second half. Wilson Odobert struck the post, while Richarlison thought he had scored twice only to be denied on both occasions by the Video Assistant Referee for offside. Those let-offs kept Palace in the contest, but clear chances remained elusive.

Justin Devenny blazed over inside the Spurs box and Maxence Lacroix headed agonisingly wide as Palace pressed for an equaliser, yet the hosts failed to register a single second-half effort on target. Despite attempting 15 shots overall, Palace did not create one clear-cut chance on home soil.

Defensively, Palace were largely solid in open play, but set-pieces continue to undermine their work. Eight of the last nine goals conceded in all competitions have now come from those situations, a worrying trend that again proved decisive.

Palace: Henderson, Lacroix, Guehi, Lerma, Clyne (Nketiah 59), Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell, Devenny (Esse 85), Pino (Uche 77), Mateta.

Not used: Benitez, Canvot, Sosa, Benamar, Rodney, Drakes-Thomas.

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Van de Ven, Danso, Spence, Gray (Dragusin 85), Bentacour, Muani (Odobert 63), Bergvall (Palhinha 63), Kudos (Johnson 85), Richarlison.

Not used: Kinsky, Tel, Takai, Davies, Scarlett.