Tottenham Hotspur registered a third-straight Premier League win after a 2-0 victory over London rivals Crystal Palace at home on Saturday.
The north London giants have been impressive since the international break. They recently surprised Chelsea with a 2-0 league win at Stamford Bridge and continued the good form against the Eagles.
Spurs were handed an early advantage with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s sending off in the 13th minute, but they still needed to turn up and secure three points, which they did in comfortable fashion in the end.
Archie Gray opened the scoring for Roberto De Zerbi’s side in the 25th minute. The young Englishman headed home at the back post following a brilliant Mohammed Kudus corner from the left flank.
Jan Paul van Hecke eventually scored the second goal in the 73rd minute to put the result beyond doubt. Kudus was handed the man of the match, but Gray was undoubtedly the best player in the first half.
The 20-year-old right-back broke the deadlock against Palace and he was also terrific with his distribution, completing 98% of his passes (46/47. Gray also made three recoveries, but was replaced by Pedro Porro at the break due to his early caution.
Shortly after the game, Gray celebrated the victory on Instagram and he was praised by several teammates including Porro, who described him as ‘the best’ after his fine first half performance in the London derby.
Gray has been the regular starter at right-back for Spurs this campaign, capitalising on an early season injury for Porro. His form has been brilliant since the last international break and he made his first goal contribution in the league yesterday.
The onus is now on the youngster to keep impressing the manager, given he has a World Cup winner as competition. Any slip-ups in the next few matches could see Porro reinstated. The Spaniard has been a brilliant performer for Spurs over the years.
Spurs, meanwhile, have built momentum with 10 points in their last four matches. It has been a terrific turnaround after a dismal start to the season and they will be aiming to beat Leeds United away next weekend to go into the international break on a high.
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