Tottenham Hotspur made it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time in 20 months with a comfortable 2-0 victory over 10-man Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. Roberto De Zerbi's side, buoyed by only a second triumph at Chelsea in 36 years last weekend, saw their task made more routine by a 13th-minute red card for Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta for a studs-up tackle on Micky van de Ven, after VAR intervened to assist referee Michael Oliver.

Archie Gray opened the scoring with a header after 25 minutes from Mohammed Kudus' corner, and Tottenham's dominance only grew from there: Spurs registered 34 shots to Palace's two, and their tally of 20 corners set a new Premier League record for one team in a match, according to Sofascore. Jan Paul van Hecke doubled the lead with 17 minutes left, heading in the rebound after Dean Henderson tipped his initial header onto the crossbar, following a cross from Mateus Fernandes. Dejan Kulusevski, in his third appearance since a 526-day absence, nearly added a third, only for Henderson to tip over.

Two clubs heading in opposite directions

The win lifts Spurs, who had zero wins in their first six games and zero goals in their first four, up to eighth on 12 points, a remarkable turnaround under De Zerbi. Palace, by contrast, have lost three straight league games by a combined score of 9-0 and have slipped into the relegation zone in 18th place on seven points, with Pierre Sage's side defending valiantly for long periods but ultimately overwhelmed. Both of Tottenham's goals came from corners, a reminder that set pieces, not just open play, are driving this revival.