Tottenham Round-Up, Saturday 31st October: Spurs Make It Three Wins in a Row as 10-Man Palace Are Swept Aside
Tottenham made it three Premier League wins on the bounce as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at home on Saturday evening (Sky Sports) (Evening Standard) (The Sun). Archie Gray nodded Spurs in front early on with a bullet header (Evening Standard), before Palace's night went from bad to worse when Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off for a horror challenge that took out two Tottenham players inside the first 12 minutes (The Sun). Spurs made the extra man count late on as Jan Paul van Hecke headed home at the second attempt after a fine save by the Palace goalkeeper had kept the score down (GiveMeSport), with Sky Sports noting the result leaves the Eagles sliding into the relegation zone and piles further pressure on boss Pierre Sage (Sky Sports) (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport). The Guardian and BBC Sport both felt it was a comfortable evening for the hosts as pressure intensifies on Sage, with Palace now suffering a third straight league defeat (The Guardian) (BBC Sport).
It continues a serious upturn in form for Roberto De Zerbi's side, and after the game he said the mood at the club is "totally different" following the run of results (BBC Sport). BBC Sport's Phil McNulty asked whether Spurs are finally finding elusive consistency under the Italian (BBC Sport), while Spurs Web rounded up five things learned from the win (Spurs Web). De Zerbi also credited a recent trip to Marbella with improving relationships within the squad, which he feels has helped the upturn in form (Spurs Web). In the press conference he spoke about Van Hecke's contribution, young prospect Luca Williams-Barnett and the red card incident (Football.London) (Football.London), while also playfully shutting down comparisons being made between Mateus Fernandes and Luka Modric, calling the talk "very funny" (Spurs Web). Jamie Redknapp was full of praise elsewhere for teenager Luca Williams-Barnett, labelling him a "sensational talent" (Football365).
In the player ratings, GiveMeSport felt Solanke had a poor afternoon while Fernandes continues to look undroppable (GiveMeSport), and Spurs Web's full-time and half-time ratings both highlighted a trio of Spurs players earning 8/10 as the team eased to victory (Spurs Web) (Spurs Web). Alan Shearer and Tim Sherwood were among the pundits who had predicted a positive result for Spurs before kick-off (Football.London) (Spurs Web).
On the injury front, Pedro Porro only recently returned from injury but told De Zerbi before kick-off that he did not feel ready to start, with the head coach saying afterwards he appreciated the full-back's honesty (Evening Standard). De Zerbi also gave updates on the expected returns of Savio, along with Tosin, Bergvall and Mudryk (Spurs Web) (TottenhamHotspur.com), while Spurs Web suggested Mudryk's own plans for a comeback in November could be a concern for the club given he has been out for two months (Spurs Web). Gus Poyet told Sports Mole he has "concern" over James Maddison's inability to complete a full 90 minutes in the Premier League, pointing to a shocking stat around his fitness (Sports Mole).
Away from matters on the pitch, Porro has made a transfer admission, revealing he would like to return to La Liga at some point in his career (Sports Mole), while De Zerbi previously explained Porro's animated post-match kiss after the win at Chelsea, calling him a "passionate guy" that Spurs are lucky to have (Spurs Web). Dejan Kulusevski spoke warmly about working under De Zerbi, explaining why he loves the "special" approach of his head coach following his long road back (Spurs Web). Elsewhere, Tottenham have honoured Harry Kane at Hotspur Way with a digital mural marking his Ballon d'Or triumph (Spurs Web).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
