Crystal Palace 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 talking points as Eagles secure huge win after Tanganga red card | Premier League 2021-22

Crystal Palace won for the first time this season
Crystal Palace won for the first time this season

Crystal Palace thumped 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.

A penalty from Wilfried Zaha followed by a double from debutant Odsonne Edouard gave the Eagles their first win of the league campaign.

The first-half was a cagey affair with chances being few and far between, although the home side looked more threatening than their north London counterparts.

With the clock winding down, the match seemed to end in a goalless stalemate, but after a red for Japhet Tanganga, it all went downhill for Spurs.

Ben Davies handled the ball inside the area to concede a penalty which Zaha nonchalantly converted.

With Palace amping up the pressure in the final 10 minutes, substitute Edouard joined the act with a late double to widen the scoreline.

Tottenham Hotspur's winning start to the season ended spectacularly, but it shouldn't be surprising considering how deplorable they were today.

A first defeat as Tottenham Hotspur manager for Nuno Santos, who has plenty to ponder over before their next game, while joy for Patrick Vieira, who tasted his first victory as manager in the league.

5 Talking points as Crystal Palace end Tottenham Hotspur's unbeaten Premier League start


#1 Tanganga's red card changed the course of the match

Tanganga's sending off tilted the balance in Palace's favor and condemned Tottenham Hotspur to defeat
Tanganga's sending off tilted the balance in Palace's favor and condemned Tottenham Hotspur to defeat

Tottenham Hotspur were frustrated by Crystal Palace's stoic defending. But it boiled over midway through the second-half when Japhet Tanganga was booked twice within the space of a few minutes and sent off, leaving Spurs with a numerical disadvantage for the remainder of the game.

He and Wilfried Zaha burst into an altercation which threatened to get physical, getting both penalized. But Tanganga, instead of exercising caution, proceeded to then ram his legs into Ayew, leaving the referee with no choice but to brandish a second yellow and give send him for an early bath.

That moment completely changed the course of the match as the Eagles were spurred on and looked more threatening, eventually scoring thrice to turn the tie on its head.


#2 Odsonne Edouard, remember the name!

Edouard netted twice against Tottenham Hotspur on his Premier League debut
Edouard netted twice against Tottenham Hotspur on his Premier League debut

Crystal Palace made a spate of new signings in the summer, including that of Odsonne Edouard from Celtic, a young Guinean who took the Scottish league by storm in the last three years.

Today, he made his debut, and then some! The 23-year-old came on in the 84th minute for his first Premier League match and scored just seconds later, producing a nice low-drive finish beyond Hugo Lloris.

With the hosts now leading 2-0 just six minutes from extra-time, the match seemed to be over. But the new boy was eager to add more to his tally, and fired one in in stoppage-time to add gloss to the scoreline.

What a dream debut for the man!


#3 Tottenham Hotspur's injury woes deepen

Tottenham were gutted to see their defender trudge off with an injury
Tottenham were gutted to see their defender trudge off with an injury

As if they weren't already blighted by a spate of injuries, Tottenham Hotspur dealt a new one today with Eric Dier, who hobbled off the pitch less than 10 minutes into the match.

The midfielder suffered a nasty collision with Jordan Ayew while attempting to clear the ball. He looked set to continue at first, but was eventually taken off for Joe Rodon.

With the likes of Son Heung-min, Steven Bergwijn, Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon already injured, the England international now joins them in the treatment room.

Head coach Nuno Santos had witnessed a fairly good start to life as the new Spurs manager. But if the number of casualties keeps piling up, the going will only get tougher from here.


#4 Ben Davies had an afternoon to forget

Davies (far right) was disastrous in defense today
Davies (far right) was disastrous in defense today

Another defining moment in the match was arguably Ben Davies coming on for Harry Winks after the hour mark, but for all the wrong reasons.

That's because the Welshman was an unmitigated disaster in the backline, from start to finish, with Crystal Palace running rings around the beleaguered defender.

He conceded a penalty which eventually gave the hosts a breakthrough and then in stoppage-time was caught out of possession by Gallagher, whose effort unfortunately was safely gathered by Lloris.

However, there was no such luck when he went up against Michael Olise just minutes later, who easily flicked the ball past him for Gallagher and he squared it to Edouard to finish it off.

Palace's fast tempo had Davies in sixes and sevens as he turned in arguably his worst club performance of the year.


#5 Don't take this Crystal Palace side lightly

Palace have improved since the opening day loss to Chelsea
Palace have improved since the opening day loss to Chelsea

You could argue that Crystal Palace were winless in the league so far. But a closer look at their trajectory will tell you a different story.

Going up against a highly armed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was always going to be a tough ask, but the Eagles bounced back with consecutive draws to Brentford and West Ham.

That second stalemate, in particular, was encouraging as they came back from 2-1 down to eke out a point. And today, Patrick Vieira's side ran a taut ship before pouncing on their opportunities.

The red card surely played a part here, as the match might as well have ended all square once again had Tanganga avoided the red card. But credit where it's due, and the Eagles made the most of their numerical advantage, registering their first win of the season too.

While their defense was stoic, Wilfried Zaha and Connor Gallagher were in fine form upfront once again, and now have a new attacking option in Odsonne Edouard, who's got off to life in the Premier League spectacularly.

This side has a lot of potential. Let's see how far they go.

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