Crystal Palace’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ended with Tottenham rewriting two of their Premier League passing records. Spurs completed 759 accurate passes against the Eagles, surpassing their previous best of 747 set in a 3-0 win over Cardiff City in January 2019.
Tottenham also posted a club-record passing accuracy of 93.12 per cent. Their previous high had been 93.01 per cent, recorded in a goalless draw with Everton earlier this season.
The numbers reflected a difficult afternoon for Palace, who played much of the match with 10 men after Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off in the first half. Tottenham dominated possession, recording nearly 90 per cent of the ball, while Palace managed only two shots compared with Spurs’ 34. Nine of the home side’s attempts were on target, and their expected goals figure was 3.47.
Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored for Tottenham as De Zerbi’s team secured a third consecutive league victory. The hosts’ control allowed them to keep Palace pinned back for long periods and maintain pressure throughout the contest.
After the match, De Zerbi linked Tottenham’s improved form to the squad developing a stronger sense of unity. He said the team had been showing good spells of football before the international break but had since made the progress needed to perform collectively, rather than simply relying on a group of talented individuals.
