A zero to hero performance from Vicente Guaita in the Crystal Palace goal saw Tottenham Hotspur drop two points at the top of the Premier League in a 1-1 draw.
Zero to Hero Performance From Vicente Guaita Denies Tottenham Hotspur Maximum Points
Spurs Drop Points at Selhurst Park
Two dropped points for Spurs in South London means they remain top of the Premier League, but with Liverpool yet to play and the top two meeting later this week, they will have been frustrated not to take the maximum haul.
The standout player at Selhurst Park was undoubtedly Vicente Guaita. In the 17th minute, as Tottenham piled on the pressure, Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko interchanged passes and Tanguy Ndombele thought his strike was enough to give Spurs the lead. Guaita had different ideas, though, gettting down low to his right to keep the ball out, leaving Ndombele and his Tottenham teammates scratching their heads as to how they were not in front.
Just five minutes later and the keeper went from hero to villain. Harry Kane, dropping deep into the number ten role in which he has done so well this season, was given far too much space and unleashed a shot from distance. It looked to be a straightforward save for the Palace stopper, but somehow it crept past him to give Spurs the lead. There was a slight movement on the ball but he should have done better.
Palace Attack
Crystal Palace were in no mood to allow Tottenham to dictate the play and did plenty of their own attacking, but with little end product. Palace’s best chances looked to be from free-kicks but the Tottenham wall is well-drilled under Jose Mourinho.
On the half-hour mark, Eberechi Eze tried to curl one over the wall but Kane headed clear. It was Eze again before half-time that had Palace’s best chance as he curled the ball beyond the diving Hugo Lloris, only to see the effort bounce off the outside of the post.
Levelling the Score
Tottenham have been criticised for their style of play at times despite being top of the table. So far this season, Jose Mourinho’s style of soaking up pressure and counter-attacking has worked well but it felt a little naive at times in the second half.
Mourinho has told his players they need to be ‘clever’ in certain situations and he will not have been happy with the lack of that when Serge Aurier made a needless challenge on Wilfried Zaha, giving Palace another free-kick.
The ball was whipped in and Hugo Lloris made a hash of things, allowing Jeffrey Schlupp to pounce and score what was an undeniably deserved equaliser. Suddenly Spurs woke up again and Mourinho sent on Dele Alli and Ben Davies to try and force a winner and take his team three points clear at the top.
Davies nearly caught Guaita out with a miss-hit cross that rebounded off the woodwork to Aurier. He fired the ball back across the box to Kane who headed toward the goal only f0r the Palace keeper to make yet another superb save.
Villain Turned Hero Performance From Vicente Guaita Confirmed
Tottenham kept pushing for that winner but Vicente Guaita was ready to frustrate and deny the North Londoners once more. Eric Dier hit a lovely free-kick over the wall and it was heading for the top corner. The Spurs players and fans were just waiting for the inevitable bulge of the back of the net but instead, they witnessed what was the inevitable save from Guaita.
He got across his goal and tipped the ball over miraculously to help Palace confirm what was a deserved point.
Tottenham now head to Anfield this Wednesday in a mouth-watering top of the table clash with this 2020/21 Premier League title race well and truly lifting off.
Main Photo
