Son fathers Tottenham’s victory at Palace
London, Nov. 5: Son Heung-Min’s second-half goal gave Tottenham Hotspur a nervy 1-0 Premier League victory over bottom club Crystal Palace in a London derby at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s injury-ravaged side failed to hit the heights of Wednesday’s memorable 3-1 Champions League victory over Real Madrid and the titlechasers were fortunate to claim all three points.
Spurs were without two goalkeepers in Hugo Lloris (thigh) and Michel Vorm (knee) so Paulo Gazzaniga came in for his debut.
Toby Alderweireld and Dele Alli (both hamstring) were also sidelined, but Danny Rose made his first Premier League start since January.
It was Palace who put Gazzaniga under immediate pressure as the Argentine failed to collect Wilfried Zaha’s cross but Mamadou Sakho failed to capitalise.
At the other end, Harry Kane’s volley lacked the power to beat Palace keeper Julian Speroni. Harry Winks and Kane both received treatment for knocks and that disruption hampered the hosts’ bid to find their tempo.
Tottenham did have most of the possession with Rose heading wide from Serge Aurier’s cross while Kane nodded off target after a deflected Rose cross had fallen nicely to him.
Zaha’s pace caused Spurs’ defence problems but Eric Dier was equal to the task with a number of important interceptions.
Spurs had further half chances before the break as Jan Vertonghen’s deflected 20-yard strike came close to deceiving Speroni while Son’s leftfooted shot missed the target when the South Korean was well-placed.
City beat Arsenal
Premier League leaders Manchester City kept up their prolific and undefeated start to the season by beating Arsenal 3-1 on Sunday for a club recordextending 15th straight win in all competitions.
Kevin De Bruyne lashed in a 19th-minute opener for City, before second-half goals by Sergio Aguero — from the penalty spot — and substitute Gabriel Jesus took the team’s tally to 38 in 11 league games.
Arsenal recovered for 2-1 thanks to substitute Alexandre Lacazette’s strike through goalkeeper Ederson Moraes’ legs, and protested against City’s second and third goals.
Nacho Monreal only slightly nudged Raheem Sterling for the penalty, while David Silva appeared offside before squaring for Jesus to finish in the 74th. This game came four days after City’s 4-2 win over Napoli in the Champions League.
— Agencies