Crystal Palace Knocked Out on Boxing Day

Tottenham got the perfect revenge on the reverse fixture, flipping the score to 3-0 in Spurs' favor this time and seeing Zaha sent off

After the confusion Saturday night over whether the Boxing Day match would go on, Crystal Palace were able to play after all (though without their manager, Patrick Vieira, on the sideline), and with basically a full-strength lineup. The likes of Zaha and even star-of-the-moment Conor Gallagher were not enough to trouble Spurs, however, and we cruised to a 3-0 victory--extending our undefeated PL run under Conte.

Conte definitely had fixture congestion in mind with his man-management today, giving Davies a rest and starting Tanganga in his place, as well as making some early substitutions to keep the big guns fresh for the next game on Tuesday. Tuesday!! The festive fixture schedule is relentless.

Tanganga did a decent job, but I did find myself missing Davies on the left flank. Luckily, Sánchez and Royal picked up the slack on the other side of the pitch, with Emerson having perhaps his best performance in a Spurs shirt so far. I was thrilled for him to get an assist, and there was a clear improvement in his crosses.

The team performance as a whole was bit sloppy for the first twenty-five minutes or so (from both teams, frankly), but Spurs' attack finally started flowing and culminated in a nicely worked goal, finished expertly by Kane. Lucas got his first assist of the match on Kane's goal, and he was only getting started. Two minutes later, he scored a goal of his own with a leaping header over Palace's Joachim Andersen, assisted by Royal's perfectly-placed cross. The Brazilian connection! Lucas got the play started close to the halfway line and made his run into the box to arrive just in time. Spurs' winning result was all but secured three minutes later when Palace's Zaha picked up his second yellow for a rash, unnecessarily physical foul on Sánchez and got himself sent off. Justice for Tanganga!

Since the win was already looking wrapped up, Conte felt comfortable subbing Kane out at the normally unthinkable time of 64'. Just ten minutes later, Son put the final nail in the coffin with a positively casual chip past the keeper from Lucas' second assist of the day. When Son gets into that mind-meld with his teammates to get the timing just right (it was a close offside decision!) and starts scoring goals with that level of ease, you know he's approaching lethal form. We all know what happened against Southampton last season, and they're up next...

To stay on Son for a moment, I was listening to the Last Word on Spurs podcast whilst typing this post, and there was an interesting discussion about Son's form for this season as a whole. I find it kind of hilarious that there's an impression that Son "gets away" with poor performances by the fanbase, when lately it feels like he can't do enough to please some people. He's quite literally the joint 4th-highest scorer in the league after this matchday (a mark that Kane is nowhere near close to, just saying), and you have to wonder, what more could he do to earn praise? I think sometimes we forget that this is a game of fine margins, and missing a few chances in a game (at the highest professional level!) is not the same as having a "bad" game. He still finds a way to score a goal when it counts, like in some of those first games under Nuno when, frankly, nothing else was happening in our attack. I will never forget how he stepped up and basically carried the team as best as one individual could when the overall tactical situation was a hot mess. And while Kane is slowly getting back into my good books, I will also never forget that it was Son, a man who didn't grow up supporting the club, that recommitted his future to Tottenham Hotspur when things were looking uncertain, not Kane.

/rant

Let's lighten things up with the delightful Spiderman-themed group celebration after Sonny's goal:

Davinson is cracking me up in this photo. Maybe Marvel really is sponsoring the Spiderman content and he's reluctantly along for the ride? 😛

If I may wade into another minor fan controversy from the post-match, I recognize the impulse to want to give Man of the Match to Skipp, but really, y'all. Come on. Lucas contributed to three goals! He deserves the award for sheer output. That being said, it's kind of incredible how consistent Skipp has been, especially at his relatively young age. I've also lost count of how many times we've seen Skipp make an impossible-looking tackle, watched the replay, and realized that it was, in fact, clean. His instincts and technique are impeccable. He's definitely an early candidate for player of the season, and if Gareth Southgate doesn't at least consider him for the next round of England fixtures, he's a fool. Of course, we can secretly pray he doesn't get called up so that he won't be at risk of injury, but it would be an incredible opportunity for him. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dier get a call-up (I'm sure Southgate saw Tyrone Mings' disasterclass for Aston Villa), and Dele and Winks, while less likely due to the glut of English midfield talent, will also be campaigning for a second chance.

Mostly, I'm just grateful that the entire forward line scored, we got goals from both Kane & Son in consecutive PL matches for the first time this season, and they've all been linking up better with the wingbacks. Also of note:  this match was our best for passing accuracy so far under Conte, showing that his work in training with the team is starting to pay off.

I will also give a shoutout to the defense, who collectively prevented Crystal Palace from getting any shots on target, and gifting Hugo with a clean sheet on his birthday. Happy birthday, skipper!

No time to rest before Southampton

Less than 48 hours after the final whistle of the Boxing Day match, Spurs will be making their way down to Southampton for just the second away match under Conte, the first since the Everton draw. Yes, really. It only worked out that way due to all the postponements, of course, but this will be a big test for Conte's surging Spurs. The home ground is close to attaining full fortress standing, but can the home form be replicated in hostile grounds? Of course, with plenty of fans staying away from matches due to COVID concerns, it might not be that hostile after all.

Southampton may have earned a 2-3 win at West Ham on Boxing Day, but their form had been pretty poor before that. They also had a postponement last week, and haven't won a match since November 5.

Personnel-wise, our opponents are dealing with a goalkeeper issue. Their first-choice, Alex McCarthy, is out with a hamstring injury. They had also been missing Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong for several matches, but both were able to make short cameos in the West Ham match. (Side note:  I have just learned that Southampton has two players with the surname Armstrong, but they aren't related.)

We know that James Ward-Prowse is a master of set pieces, but since we haven't been conceding as many corners or free kicks in dangerous spots of late, I'm not as concerned about him as I would have been last season.

I'll be honest and say that I haven't watched many Southampton matches this season, but by all accounts, things are going stale under Hasenhüttl. Meanwhile, Tottenham couldn't look more refreshed and rejuvenated. This should be a straightforward three points for Spurs, and also a chance to continue rotating the squad.

Let's close things out with a photo of Rehanne Skinner's dogs by the Christmas tree:

COYS