Tottenham 3 Crystal Palace 1: Romero, Werner and Son deliver comeback win – The Briefing
Tottenham Hotspur came back despite finding things difficult against a tenacious Crystal Palace.
Eberechi Eze scored a fantastic free kick early in the second half to put the visitors ahead, but Timo Werner made up for a mistake by scoring his first Spurs goal after excellent work from Brennan Johnson.
Minutes later, Cristian Romero headed in to put Spurs ahead, before Son Heung-min added a third in the final moments.
Here are the key talking points from the 3-1 win that puts Spurs six points clear of Manchester United.
What did we learn about the Spurs?
Not much.
Much of what we saw from Tottenham was consistent with what we've seen from them in recent weeks. As in the home wins over Brighton and Brentford, Spurs battled through the first half and then came into their own in the second half to take the three points, showing superior energy and quality in decisive moments and making the most of their best options. the bank.
The first half today was not much better than on those two occasions, although on this occasion it was 0-0 at half-time.
Werner scores his goal (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
They were still down 1-0 with 13 minutes left. So the patience and character required for that comeback, just as it was against Brentford and Brighton, must be applauded. But just like those games, people will wonder why Tottenham need to rely on the stirring second-half comeback rather than taking control of the match from the start.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace match boardshowing threat timeline, territory, match statistics, shot maps and passing networks.
Why did Spurs struggle to topple Palace for so long?
Nobody wants to object to a 3-1 victory, and Spurs will be delighted to get back to winning ways.
But the story of this match was that Tottenham struggled for 77 minutes before finally breaking through. Before that, it looked like it could be a second straight home loss, one that would have raised some tough questions for Ange Postecoglou.
Eze celebrates his goal (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Oliver Glasner set Palace up in a deep 3-4-3 and Spurs had very little space to exploit. Apart from Werner's one-on-one, Spurs had no other opportunities in the first half. At times it seemed like Spurs were working too hard to create the perfect opportunity, and fans' frustration with their unwillingness to shoot early was very evident.
They needed to pick up the pace and have fresh legs to take advantage of Palace's fatigue and they finally did. Johnson is becoming a regular off the bench, and the extra energy from him was too much for Joachim Anderson and Jefferson Lerma when he set up Werner's equalizer. Then James Maddison produced a magical moment for Romero's goal.
Werner's redemption
The most impressive thing about Werner's hard work and tying goal was that he had missed such a big opportunity in the first half. That opportunity felt like a moment created for Werner to exploit.
It was the only time in a quiet first half that Spurs got behind Palace after Rodrigo Bentancur won the ball from Eze and Son turned and played a perfect forward pass for the first time.
Werner fails to beat Johnstone (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Werner was running towards it, away from Adam Wharton, with only Sam Johnstone in his path. It was the kind of opportunity that Son himself has built his career on scoring. But while Son typically fired early from the edge of the area, Werner pressed on, as if lacking the confidence to shoot at anything other than an open goal. He tried to use his pace to deflect past Johnstone, but when he shot late it was a comfortable save for the goalkeeper.
But Werner was unfazed. He made some good crosses and finally got the reward from him; His relief was palpable when he finally opened his Tottenham account and scored the equalizer with 13 minutes left, initiating the turnaround that gave Spurs victory.
What did the manager say?
“I'm satisfied with the whole game,” Spurs coach Postecoglou said. “The first half was difficult for us, against a team that sits far behind. We had to start the play and be very patient and make sure we worked against the opponent. And we did it. We didn't create much, but we had a couple of great chances and we needed the goal to open the door for a team that feels so deep.
“We felt like we were working on them enough, at some point to be able to break them. We conceded that it was disappointing and we were looking for a reaction. And the reaction was spectacular. “We had real faith in our processes and our football.”
What's next for Tottenham Hotspur?
Sunday March 10: Aston Villa (A), Premier League, 13:00 GMT, 8:00 Eastern Time
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(Top photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
