Tottenham came out victorious in their first match at the new White Hart Lane, sweeping aside Crystal Palace to grab their first league win in six matches.
Following an extravagant opening ceremony along with a thunderous hailstorm, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was finally ready to commence its inaugural match. However, despite the spectacular atmosphere inside the ground, there wasn’t a lot to report on during the first half despite all of Spurs’ dominance.
Ten minutes into the second half though Son Heung-min was able to break down the Palace defence as his shot cannoned off Milivojevic’s boot and past the wrong-footed Guaita into the bottom right-hand corner. Son’s teammates were quick to celebrate a historic goal with Son at the corner flag celebrating in front of the home crowd.
The goal didn’t seem to galvanise Roy Hodgson’s team into mounting a fight for an equaliser though, and more Tottenham domination followed. The second goal came in the 80th minute as Kane dribbled into the box before a challenge from McArthur allowed the ball to run to Eriksen whose shot could not be palmed wide by the keeper.
Neither of the goals were particularly glamorous in truth, but Pochettino won’t mind one bit – this was a crucial win for an out-of-form side as well as a distinctive one. As for Palace, the Eagles are almost certainly safe from relegation, but many fans are starting to question whether Hodgson has enough ambition to take the team forward in the future.
A long time coming for Tottenham Hotspur
Safety regulations have delayed the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by over six months on numerous occasions, forcing the team to play at Wembley for the majority of their home games this season. However, the new ground is finally fit to host games and a victory and clean sheet was the perfect way to settle in, with fans stating that the atmosphere inside was just as booming as the old White Hart Lane – if not more so.
And it’s also been a long time coming for a victory in the league – four losses and a draw in five matches meant that Spurs squandered a title race and a secure place in the top four all within the space of just over a month. Not much was going Tottenham’s way up until Wednesday night, but the Lilywhites are finally back home and will hope to use this home win as a springboard to end the season on a high.
The North London club have got five more confirmed home games to look forward to this season – an exciting Champions League match-up with Manchester City being the next one. Fans will hope that they can recover the same home form they showed during their final season at White Hart Lane to propel them to a successful end to the season.
Palace struggling to make use of the wings
Crystal Palace did not manage to create an awful lot in Wednesday’s game thanks to some sturdy defending on Tottenham’s part, but perhaps also due to a lack of ambition from the team from the other side of the Thames. Palace strive on attacking down the flanks, with Zaha and Townsend being two of their star players in this setup.
With Townsend on the bench, Schlupp was moved up the pitch to take his place and actually did a better job running forward than Zaha did on the opposite side. The Ivorian was constantly thwarted by the Spurs defence – particularly Ben Davies – and only made one successful dribble in the entire match. As a result, Batshuayi was forced to play a deeper role and barely made a touch inside the opposition’s penalty area.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was trying his best to play down the wings, a tactic that has worked effectively for much of the season for Palace, but Zaha was simply not in-sync with the English full-back and many of their attempted attacks broke down as a result.
Pochettino overseeing the gradual development of Spurs
The Spurs’ manager has been at the helm of Tottenham Hotspur since May 2014, making him the fifth longest serving manager currently in England. The club has undoubtedly grown immensely throughout this period, and the Argentinian has had a big hand in this continual improvement.
The stigma attached to this development is of course the fact that trophies have continued to evade Tottenham (the Champions League being the last chance for Spurs to grasp some unlikely silverware this season). However, with the mocking aside, Tottenham as a club have certainly grown in their domestic and European influence, even if they don’t have the evidence to show for it.
Nevertheless, with a new home stage in place, you get the impression that Pochettino may need to win something with Spurs next season. The same could have been said at the start of the 2018/19 campaign, but with Solskjaer taking over permanently at United and Real Madrid re-appointing Zidane as their manager, Pochettino shouldn’t be tempted by any job offers over the summer, and will likely be the man to attempt to steer Spurs to some success next season.
Is Roy the man to take the Eagles forward?
The manager of the away side may not have such a cemented place at his club. Roy Hodgson seems to have avoided relegation with Palace in a fairly comfortable manner but, when you look at the players at his disposal, a relegation battle shouldn’t really have been an eventuality.
On Wednesday, Hodgson failed to make any impact on his team’s playing style, even after going a goal down. Palace continued to fall short of any attacking threat until the second goal. The match was calling for Townsend to make an impact, but no substitutions were made until there was little over ten minutes of the game left. Spurs secured the win shortly after the Englishman was introduced.
Fans have started to express their frustration with the tactics employed by the 71-year-old manager this season, some even calling for him to be sacked before the end of the season. The Eagles have the attacking lineup of at least a top-half side, and many of these star players may get lured away when the summer transfer window comes around.
Heung-min Son on the scoresheet again
Son has probably been Tottenham’s best player this season, and his latest goal was his 12th of the campaign. The South Korean has the fifth best minutes per goal ratio this season and would probably be fighting for the Golden Boot if he hadn’t been absent for a large chunk of the season.
Son is a hugely integral part of Tottenham’s attacking four and should certainly be in the running for the PFA Player of the Year. The 26-year-old possesses great attacking flair and links up perfectly with Kane, Eriksen and Alli when they are all fit and in form.
Man of the Match – Christian Eriksen
The Dane grabbed a goal and an assist on Wednesday night and certainly could’ve been involved in a few more if the chances were taken. With the midfielder stalling a contract extension, fans will be worried about a Tottenham team without Eriksen, who is a crucial part of Pochettino’s squad.
