Harry Kane scored twice in five minutes shortly after half-time on his 300th Premier League appearance. Matt Doherty scored his first goal of the season, while Heung-Min Son broke an eight-game goal drought in the Premier League with Spurs' fourth.
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| Image: Harry Kane is the Premier League's second top scorer this season behind Erling Haaland |
Heung-Min Son broke his goal drought and Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham easily beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
It was a game of two halves for Spurs. Antonio Conte was looking for a reaction from his side after a draw against Brentford and defeat to Aston Villa since the league restarted after the World Cup.
They were run ragged by an impressive Palace in the opening 45 minutes, who themselves were looking to atone for an abysmal 3-0 defeat to Fulham in their last home outing.
But as has often been the story for the Eagles, they failed to take their chances as Tottenham's quality began to shine through in the second half. Kane, on his 300th Premier League appearance, nodded Spurs ahead in the 48th minute.
He swept home his second five minutes later, taking him to within two goals of Jimmy Greaves' all-time scoring record for Tottenham (266).
Harry Kane is just the second Premier League player to score on his 100th, 200th and 300th appearance in the competition after Teddy Sheringham. Milestones.
The pressure had been on Son too as he continued to struggle in front of goal. He thought he had nabbed an assist for Matt Doherty's goal (68), but his cross took a deflection off Nathaniel Clyne on the way through.
The South Korea forward soon broke his eight-game barren run in the 72nd minute, linking up with his strike partner Kane for yet another Spurs goal. It was a fine volley too, rounding off an excellent evening for Spurs.
"I hope today was the turning point, getting back the confidence and I will continue to help the team," said Son.
The result takes them to within two points of the Champions League places, although they have played a game more than Manchester United in fourth.
While Crystal Palace's performance was an improvement on the Fulham defeat, they have now lost two successive Premier League games at Selhurst Park, dropping down a place into 12th.
Team news
Crystal Palace named an unchanged XI from their 2-0 win at Bournemouth. James Tomkins returned from suspension and was named among the substitutes.
Tottenham made two changes after a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa. Oliver Skipp and Eric Dier came into the XI, replacing Yves Bissouma - who was suspended - and Ben Davies, who started as a substitute.
There was also no Dejan Kulusevski in Spurs' matchday squad. A minor muscle injury prevented him from featuring in Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa and also kept him out at Selhurst Park.
Player ratings
Crystal Palace: Guaita (6), Ward (6), Guehi (6), Olise (7), Ayew (7), Eze (7), Zaha (7), Schlupp (6), Andersen (6), Clyne (6), Doucoure (6).
Subs: Mateta (6), Edouard (5), Hughes (5).
Tottenham: Lloris (7), Doherty (7), Skipp (6), Hojbjerg (7), Son (7), Kane (8), Gil (7), Perisic (7), Dier (7), Romero (6), Lenglet (6).
Subs: Sarr (7), Sessegnon (6), Emerson Royal (6), Davies (n/a), White (n/a)
Player of the match: Harry Kane.
'Fantastic night for Tottenham' - Alan Smith at Selhurst Park:
"It didn't look good at half time. You wondered how the second half, and Tottenham's season, would pan out. But when you've got a player like Harry Kane, who can do what he did, it makes the world of difference.
"Conte will just be hoping his centre forward can stay fit and the same applies to Son, because they can lead the charge against any quality of opposition. It's been a fantastic night for Tottenham and much needed."
Vieira: We were brave, but weren't clinical enough | 'Experience the difference'
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira claims the 4-0 score line in the defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League doesn't reflect the quality his side showed during the game.
"It was a tough night in the end. Conceding four goals is not something pleasant at all, but again, it doesn't reflect the quality of the game we played today. We deserved more, especially from the first half with those chance we created.
"Of course, when they scored that first goal, it became really difficult for us. When those players have a little bit of space, they can hurt any team, but the way they managed the game and those difficult periods they had shows a huge difference between the two teams. The experience was a massive factor on the game today.
"We weren't clinical enough, we didn't take our chance well enough. We had a couple of passes to put players in a better position to score. Our last ball in the final third wasn't good enough and Lloris makes a couple of important saves.
"But we were brave, we showed quality and at the same time, the fact we concede four goals shows there are a lot of things we need to improve.
"We have young players in our squad and that kind of game have to be managed better. The experience allowed them to be strong and to score those goals in a period where they were dominant. There are a lot of things to take from that game.
"But you have to give credit to Tottenham because they looked solid, in control and they're waiting for their moment to take these chances. With the quality they have, they don't need to create a lot to score.
"But I believe that the 4-0 is hard for my players, is hard for the club. But we still have a lot to take from that."
Opta stats
Crystal Palace have lost consecutive Premier League games at Selhurst Park for the first time since February 2022 (run of three), while they've lost three consecutive home London derbies in the top-flight for the first time since December 2016 (run of six).
Tottenham scored first in a Premier League game for the first time since October against Everton, ending a run of seven successive games in the competition conceding the opening goal.
Crystal Palace became the sixth different side Harry Kane has now scored at least 10 Premier League goals against following his brace, only Alan Shearer (12) and Wayne Rooney (7) have done so against more different opponents in the competition's history.
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