This has been an incredibly topsy-turvy season for Tottenham so far and that showed no sign of changing against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
A week ago, Spurs had demolished out-of-form West Ham 4-1. They did go a goal down but Ange Postecoglou’s side responded in emphatic fashion.
The Lilywhites went and beat AZ Alkmaar in midweek too so arrived at Selhurst Park full of confidence. Alas, that does not always result in a win, particularly if you are of a Tottenham persuasion.
They were distinctly average against the Eagles this weekend, losing 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Even though there was a debut for Mikey Moore – perhaps their biggest positive of the weekend – the young 17-year-old could not inspire them to victory.
Tottenham's worst performers against Palace
Moore was handed his first Premier League start of his career on Sunday afternoon but despite being compared to Neymar in midweek by James Maddison, did not take his chance on this occasion.
He was replaced just after the hour mark having failed to register a single key pass or complete any of his three dribbles.
Dejan Kulusevski also wasn’t at the races, a rarity this season for such a strong chance creator. This time around, he was substituted early as well after a game in which he lacked much inspiration in the final third.
The Swede had just one shot and could only provide one key pass during the clash but arguably wasn’t the main culprit. That goes Micky van de Ven’s way.
The Dutchman has starred at times this term – notably supplying that wonderful assist at Old Trafford but this time he put his team in all sorts of danger, giving the ball away that led to Mateta’s goal.
While he will likely his place, colleague Maddison should be put back on the bench.
James Maddison's performance in numbers
Like Spurs’ season, this has been a topsy-turvy week for the former Leicester midfielder. Maddison was withdrawn at half-time in the 4-1 win over West Ham last week.
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The score was 1-1 at the time before the Lilywhites went on to score three goals without him on the field.
There was a show of faith in the England international in the Europa League in midweek as Postecoglou gave him the captain’s armband. He certainly led by example, selflessly handing a penalty to Richarlison rather than taking it himself.
However, he certainly didn’t lead by example too much at Selhurst Park this weekend. Alongside Kulusevski and Moore, Maddison was withdrawn on 62 minutes and he did so having had a pretty poor game truth be told.
The Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick handed the playmaker a 4/10 rating, writing that he ‘struggled to influence the game, as was ‘outshone by his England rival Eberechi Eze.’
Minutes played
62
Touches
48
Accurate passes
25/33 (76%)
Key passes
1
Crosses
1/1
Shots
2
Successful dribbles
1/2
Ground duels won
5/9
Aerial duels won
1/2
Possession lost
12x
Tackles
2
Interceptions
0
Eze – who supplied the assist for the game’s only goal – did register the same number of key passes as Maddison (1) but he was ultimately better in most facets of the game.
The 27-year-old proved why he’s been snubbed by Lee Carsley in the latest two England squads, having 48 touches of the ball, four fewer than Guglielmo Vicario in the Spurs net and ceding possession 12 times.
It was wasteful, lacked creativity and showed why he cannot be trusted to start every game. Spurs scored three without him on the pitch last weekend and should consider attempting to go without him again next time out.
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