Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur dropped to eighth place in the Premier League standings after a defeat to Crystal Palace by a 1-0 margin on matchday nine. A first half strike from Jean-Philippe Mateta was enough to hand the Eagles their very first win of the campaign in the London Derby.
Spurs were largely outplayed in the match and displayed a lack of physicality and intensity, while Palace earned a deserved result after threatening to thwart Liverpool some time ago. Tottenham’s next game is in the EFL Cup against Manchester City.
Before that, here are the three talking points from their defeat to Palace.
1. Top four at risk for Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur made a bright start to the season but have lost twice in their last three Premier League games. Ange Postecoglou’s men have won four times and drawn once, picking up just 13 times so far in the campaign which is less than 50% of the 27 that have been at stake.
With some incredibly difficult fixtures yet to come, Spurs are already involved in a chase for a top four berth which would hand them a route back into the Champions League. To make matters worse for them, Chelsea, another contender for the spot, are exponentially better than them.
Tottenham’s only chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season would be by winning the Europa League as things stand and it remains to be seen how much ambition they can continue to show on the continental stage after a 100% start to proceedings there.
2. Werner’s chances keep fading away
Timo Werner came on in the final half hour of the match with Tottenham trailing by a goal. The German international was presented with the opportunity to make a difference when it mattered most for the team in spite of a lacklustre start to the campaign.
The €17m-rated star failed to take his chance again and is facing an uphill battle to save his career at Tottenham. He was arguably worse than the 17-year-old Mikey Moore, in whose place he came on, and that is a very worrying sign for Postecoglou as Werner has not even scored a goal this season.
The chances of his transfer to north London becoming permanent next season are decreasing at a dramatic rate and it is not ruled out that his loan is prematurely terminated.
3. Fatigue creeping into the backline
Tottenham, at one point, were the second best defence in the league behind Liverpool. However, that record is deteriorating at a rapid rate and if things continue as they are, they could end up conceding over a goal per game by the end of the season.
Ange Postecoglou has been sold short in the defensive department. Destiny Udogie has been overworked in recent weeks and the congestion of fixtures has started to take a toll on his form. The same can possibly be said about Micky van de Ven as well.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Tottenham in three-way transfer battle as Conte plans to sign Spurs target this summer
- Not Toney – Tottenham put off by €50m asking price for striker whose contract expires in less than 12 months
- Tottenham now in position to hijack Chelsea deal for Serie A ace
The blame for this issue falls on Daniel Levy, whose strategies in the transfer window have raised question marks for several years. It will be interesting to see if Big Ange asks for a defender in January.
