PAT ATTACK!
Vieira triumphs over Spurs again as Tanganga sees red
HE always did enjoy giving Tottenham a good kicking, Patrick Vieira. And this was a good kicking. The sort of kicking that wrecked a perfect run for one club, got the music going for another, and threw up a few questions for both.
For Crystal Palace and Vieira, they centre on what speeds might be reached now they have shed the weight of not winning any of his first three games in charge.
That they did so in this manner was quite something. They grabbed nothing; they took everything. That applies to when they clattered three past the 10 men of Spurs in the latter stages, but it ought to be recognised they were also the better side when this was 0-0 and 11 on 11. Even in those scrappy 58 minutes of parity, 60 per cent of the ball belonged to Palace.
Of course, the red card shortly before the hour helped them turn possession into points, and for that Nuno Espirito Santo will likely have a chat of some intensity with Japhet Tanganga, whose foggy wisdom led him to sandwich a scuffle with Wilfried Zaha with two stupid challenges in the space of three minutes.
His dismissal left Spurs in a hole for more than half an hour and Zaha capitalised with a penalty before Odsonne Edouard scored with his first touch for the club. His second goal followed in stoppage time.
A perfect debut for him after his move from Celtic, and a perfect day for Vieira, who faced Spurs 19 times in boots and won 10 for the loss of just two. His first in trainers went really rather well, a victory built on the balance of a tight defence and the strengths of some very good attackers.
‘I’m really pleased,’ he said. ‘It was a dream start for him [Edouard]. For him to come on and score those two goals is really good for him because it will give him the belief and confidence to do well for the team. I’m really happy for him and for the team.’
Now for the Tottenham questions. Nuno was hardly in the mood for talking, saying he didn’t see the sending-off, but he saw enough of his team’s wider performance to be worried. Across the game, they had 38 per cent possession and two shots, neither of which was memorable. Within that mess, Harry Kane didn’t get close to a chance and Tottenham didn’t get close to a fourth win in four.
They have excelled in the opening weeks of this season by maximising their output from few chances, but the lack of creativity was a nagging issue and here it caught them. They were hindered by absences, but this was a woeful performance on deeper levels.
Nuno said: ‘It is a big concern, we had enough quality and talent to play better. We didn’t do it, credit to Palace they were aggressive and they didn’t allow too much time on the ball. We lost duels and many, many situations that I think we should do much better. Much improvement is required.’
He didn’t have a huge amount more to say on the back of a difficult week that left him without a number of players for this game.
Namely he was missing his three red-list wanderers — Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez and Giovani Lo Celso — and there were also fitness issues around Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn. Harry Winks and Lucas Moura came into the side and Emerson
Royal, the right back signed from Barcelona, was given his debut with Tanganga nudged inland to centre back.
Of all that, the absence of Sanchez from the unit that kept three clean sheets in three games was the biggest worry, and as it happened his central partner, Eric Dier, was struck down 12 minutes into this
one. He suffered a heavy knock in a challenge with Jordan Ayew.
That was a bad sign, and likewise the early involvements of Royal. His first assignment was Wilfried Zaha, so no easy gig there, but he was regularly caught in possession or beaten outright on the run.
After a dull first half, the game ignited 10 minutes into the second
when Zaha and Tanganga squared off. It started with Tanganga fouling Zaha and in return Zaha swiped back — both escaped with yellows. If that was fortunate, then it was followed by an act of pure idiocy, as Tanganga lunged off his feet almost immediately into a challenge with Ayew. A second yellow was shown and he was done.
Soon Spurs were too.
A Ben Davies handball was rightly penalised, allowing Zaha to convert from the spot for 1-0, and a pair of close-range finishes from Edouard after entering as a substitute made for an exceptional debut.
Vieira punched the air after each of those three goals, and Tottenham dropped at his feet once again.