Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace: Winners and Losers from London Derby
A 0-0 draw was the end result to a dour December derby played out between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Palace manager Neil Warnock should be pleased with notable defensive improvements from his side compared to their last couple of games. They had the better of the chances too, as Tottenham failed to match the quality or effort seen in last week's home win over Everton.
Read on for the winners and losers from this Premier League capital clash.
Winner: Warnock and Palace Get It Right Defensively
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Crystal Palace were not the first side this season to sit back at White Hart Lane and attempt to block off every route towards their goal they could. West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City similarly did so at points in their respective victories over Tottenham.
Warnock's men did not come away with the win, but the renewed confidence in their defensive work could reap greater rewards to come.
Against Swansea City last weekend, they lost their shape and allowed opposition players space to frequently pop up between their midfield and defence. The laxness led to Wilfried Bony's opener and could have seen them pegged back again after they had equalised.
This week they were rigidly organised, with the Mile Jedinak-led midfield grafting with impressive zeal to deny the home side access to their penalty area. When Spurs did get closer, the back four were far better prepared, constricting around threatening attackers across the breadth of the pitch.
Again, a sharp contrast to the space they allowed the Swans, as well as Christian Benteke, who scored Aston Villa's winner against them on Wednesday.
It was not even a case of requiring the last-ditch defending Tottenham needed down the other end. If Martin Kelly or Joel Ward did not stop them out wide (which they often did), Palace's pressure was so suffocating Spurs were rarely allowed more than hopeful long distance efforts.
Stoke at Selhurst Park are up next for the Eagles before a daunting trip to Manchester City. We will see if they can sustain such impressive discipline beyond one game.
Loser: The Kane-Soldado Partnership
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As good as Crystal Palace were at the back, Tottenham did not make it too hard for them. Particular disappointment will be reserved for a much quieter afternoon from the partnership of Harry Kane and Roberto Soldado after bright showings in wins over Hull City and Everton.
The Spaniard had a lively first-half, shooting just over from a Ben Davies cross and forcing a low save from Julian Speroni after he half-volleyed Eric Dier's knockdown. His sharpness decreased as the game progressed, though, typified by his failure to anticipate a good header across the box from Kane in the second-half.
Kane, meanwhile, huffed and puffed but could not blow this Palace [defence] down. Where he frequently got at Everton and Chelsea with his powerful, purposeful runs, here he was quickly dispossessed before he could hit his stride.
Perhaps there was a bit of tiredness about the 21-year-old. His effort of late has been bordering on monumental, so it would be harsh to criticise him too excessively.
Nonetheless, the general lack of movement from Kane and Soldado was hard to excuse, coalescing as it did with Spurs' all-round attacking problems.
Again, it was not easy to find space with Palace defending so tightly. However, that is when strikers need to be more creative in their thinking—dropping off to lure defenders out of position, shuttling into the channels to provide a pass option.
Despite their good recent work together, Pochettino will be considering whether the Kane-Soldado partnership's development is worth pursuing after another missed opportunity to beat a bottom-half side.
"Mauricio: "We lacked creativity and it wasn't easy. We wanted to get the three points but it was tough." Interview on Spurs TV shortly.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 6, 2014"
Winner: Palace's Wide Men
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Palace will consider themselves severely unlucky not to have come away with the points. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris denied them with several point-blank saves, while Jason Puncheon hit the crossbar on the 78th minute.
Despite not scoring, the Eagles' more threatening attacking performance will have pleased Warnock after his call post-Villa for them to be more creative, via the club's official Twitter page.
Particular credit must be paid to Palace's wingers Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and substitute Puncheon.
Bolasie was a thorn in Eric Dier's side nearly all game. The Spurs right-back took a while to get a handle on the Congolese wide-man's pace. When he began to do a little better at seeing him off, he was then faced with Zaha for a time, resulting in a superb bit of footwork to beat him after Bolasie had similarly duped him earlier.
The on-loan Manchester United man found things a little more difficult with Ben Davies on the opposite flank, as the two engaged in a captivating duel. He worked the left-back hard, though, and when Puncheon came on he was able to get at the tiring defender.
With their skill and speed, these three are undoubtedly the spark of this Palace side at its best.
They showed what they are capable of producing in this game. With similar application and perseverance, they will surely be rewarded with more goals for themselves and their team-mates, especially against weaker teams than Spurs
Loser: Eriksen out Wide
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The trouble with Tottenham playing two up front is that it usually means Christian Eriksen being accommodated out wide as a result.
Like Tim Sherwood before him, Pochettino does not appear to trust the playmaker to occupy a proper central midfield role with the necessary all-round diligence. That means him coming in off the flank when in possession and also pitching in to help his full-back.
In the right situation, Eriksen can still be effective out there. Against Everton last week, he still had room to operate inside, while his team benefited from being able to give the Toffees' defence more to think about up front.
Against Crystal Palace, the 22-year-old had his moments, too. In one first-half moment, he nutmegged Kelly and teed up Soldado for a header he might have done better with. After the interval, the Spaniard was set up again down the right-hand channel after Eriksen came in, but he blasted wide.
Spurs toiled for the most part, though, and the Dane was later switched to the right wing, where things did not get any better.
There will be times when the best thing for the team is for Eriksen to occupy a more peripheral starting position. They are not going to come in games against sides who defend as deep Palace did.
It was surprising Eriksen's second-half performance against Hull did not cross Pochettino's mind. In that game, he came back into the centre circle and led the fightback as he superbly directed his team's play.
Against an obstinate Palace defence, it would have been hard going. But surely it stands to reason Spurs' most creative player would have had the best chance to figure out a way through?
Winner: Federico Fazio
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""@Ryan_Mason13: This game a month ago we might have lost. A clean sheet is a positive." Interview on Spurs TV soon.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 6, 2014"
Ryan Mason is not wrong there. Tottenham lost similar games to West Brom and Stoke. Given Palace's aforementioned qualities going forward, there is some comfort in keeping a clean sheet.
That was a lot to do with the excellent Lloris, the Frenchman more than making up for his midweek mistake in the Chelsea loss. Also particularly impressive was Federico Fazio.
The Argentinian started his fifth Premier League game in a row, the fourth alongside Jan Vertonghen (incidentally making his 100th appearance for Spurs). Both the regular football and familiar partner appear to have done him good, as he has was arguably his team's most impressive outfield performer.
Statistics are not always the best measure of a defensive performance. For instance, Palace's centre-back pairing of Scott Dann and Brede Hangeland did not record particularly impressive numbers today but did great work nonetheless. However, the following statistics, via Squawka, speak of the way Fazio looked to stop Palace in their tracks and often did so successfully.
He won 91 per cent of his aerial duels, 16 clearances, six interceptions and completed a couple of tackles too. Without Fazio getting out across his side of the pitch and stifling Palace in so many of these attempts to get forward, Spurs could have found themselves under far more pressure than they were.
It would have been a shame for Fazio to lose this game after his efforts, and he will have had cause to moan given others failed to match them. Joe Ledley's 82nd-minute chance saw him isolated after Nabil Bentaleb, Paulinho and Dier neglectfully allowed the Welshman past to shoot.
Fazio finding his feet alongside Vertonghen appears to have resulted in improved stability for Tottenham. The rest of the team needs to make sure they keep up.
