Tottenham put in perhaps their worst performance of the season so far as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to a Crystal Palace side who had previously not won a Premier League game.
The defeat leaves Spurs eighth in the table after nine games played, with just one away win five games — against Manchester United
The Athletic’s Jay Harris picks apart some of the key talking points…
A bad habit of making like difficult on the road
Tottenham seem to almost revel in making life difficult for themselves, particularly in away games. It happened in the opening game of the season when they dominated possession against Leicester City but contrived to draw 1-1. They came from behind to equalise against Newcastle United before one through-ball from Joelinton split them wide open, then lost to Brighton & Hove Albion after throwing away a 2-0 lead.
On Sunday afternoon at Selhurst Park they created their own problems again. The signs were there to see from early on that Guglielmo Vicario was struggling to play the ball under pressure from Jean Philippe Mateta, Ismaila Sarr and Eberechi Eze. There were multiple occasions where Vicario played a risky pass to Maddison in the middle of the pitch, or put Micky van de Ven under pressure right by the touchline.
It was no surprise then that Crystal Palace scored from winning the ball high up the pitch. Pedro Porro floated the ball over one of Palace’s forwards in his own box towards Van de Ven. The Netherlands international slipped, Munoz recovered the ball and his cross found its way to the unmarked Mateta at the back post.
Postecoglou wants his teams to play out from the back and pull other teams out of shape but this was a perfect example of where they just needed to clear the danger. It is important to remember that this is a young team and they are still growing, but they need to handle moments of adversity better.
Spurs struggled to contain Palace stars like Eze (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
Wrong substitutions at the right time…?
When Tottenham lost to Brighton, Postecoglou was accused of leaving his substitutions too late. He waited until the 80th minute to make any changes but at that stage they had completely lost control of the game, as well as a two-goal advantage.
He was proactive against Palace by making a triple substitution on the hour mark. He took off Mikey Moore, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski and replaced them with Richarlison, Timo Werner and Pape Matar Sarr. This prompted a change in formation and an opportunity to see how Solanke and Richarlison would work together as a pair.
They barely interacted with each other though in the experimental 4-2-2-2 system.
Sarr’s introduction did at least help Yves Bissouma control the midfield a little bit more, but they also lost any type of creativity. Kulusevski has been the team’s best player this season while Maddison has the passing range to unlock deep defences. Taking them both off when Oliver Glasner’s side were dropping into a back five out of possession seemed strange. It could have been a good opportunity to see what Lucas Bergvall is capable of. Bergvall’s skill in tight spaces and ability to take the ball on the half turn could have dragged defenders out of position but he was left on the bench.
Rodrigo Bentancur replaced Bissouma with 10 minutes to go but he was unable to positively influence the game either. The variety of options on Spurs’ bench meant they should have been able to find a solution against a Palace side which had not won a single game yet this season but instead they failed to give Dean Henderson any major problems.
Moore learns plenty from first league start
When the line-ups were announced, there was a lot of excitement at Mikey Moore being handed his first start in the Premier League. With captain Son Heung-Min and Wilson Odobert unavailable through injury, Postecoglou had to choose between 17-year-old Moore and out-of-form Timo Werner.
Moore’s electric performance against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday, one which saw James Maddison compare him to Neymar, clearly convinced Postecoglou it was time to throw him in at the deep end.
Moore did not play badly against Crystal Palace but this was a reality check. There has been a huge amount of hype around the England Under-19 international due to his sensational form for Tottenham’s Under-21s last season and exciting cameos in pre-season. He only turned 17 in August and will need time to fulfil his potential.
The winger’s first involvement in the game was to receive a push in the back from Daniel Munoz and then he was fouled by Adam Wharton. In the second-half, he jumped up for a header and Wharton fell on his right leg. Playing in the top-flight will be a completely different physical challenge to what he has faced before and patience will be required as he adjusts.
Moore likes to cut inside from the left wing onto his stronger right foot and drive into pockets of space. Palace’s 3-4-2-1 formation under Oliver Glasner meant that space was limited. If Moore managed to dribble around Munoz he would be quickly confronted by right-sided centre-back Trevoh Chalobah.
There were a couple of glimpses of Moore’s talent but it was no surprise when he was taken off in the 61st minute for Werner. This will have been an important lesson for the talented teenager, if not a headline-grabbing performance.
Mikey Moore made his first league start – but struggled for impact (Warren Little/Getty Images)
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Spurs?
Wednesday, October 30: Manchester City (H), Carabao Cup round of 16, 8.15pm UK, 4.15pm ET
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(Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)
