Ismaila Sarr’s brace made Tottenham Hotspur’s worst nightmare come true as they lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for Spurs but his effort was offset by two goals from Sarr and another from Jurgen Strand-Larsen. Mickey van de Veen’s red card only added to the home side’s misery.
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Spurs struggled to start the second half but the damage had been done as Crystal Palace left north London with three vital points.
as it happens
The visitors almost got off to a perfect start, with Adam Walton grabbing a good chance and forcing a save from Guglielmo Vicario.
Igor Tudor’s side began to grow into the game, with Matthias Telle sprinting between two defenders before testing Dean Henderson, but his shot went straight at the keeper.
Five minutes of chaos ensued in the stadium. Sarr seemingly opened the scoring, but VAR ruled that the goal was invalid due to a very serious offside.
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Moments later, Tottenham took the lead. Archie Gray sprinted down the line and cut the ball back to Solanke, who slotted past Henderson into the goal.
However, disaster struck for Tottenham Hotspur just four minutes later. Mickey van de Veen pulled Sarr back as the winger shot home, resulting in a red card and a penalty. Sarr stepped up and calmly sent in a Vicario error to level the score.
In eight minutes of stoppage time, the Eagles scored two goals. Strand Larsen restored the home side’s lead after being picked off by the impressive Adam Wharton. The striker broke away from his marker and fired past Vicario.
Soon after, Walton stepped in again and helped Sarr score a goal. The winger made no mistake, slipping the ball under the goalkeeper to add to Tottenham’s misery, with the score 3-1 at the break and some Spurs fans already preparing to leave.
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The home side came out firing in the second half of a must-win game, creating several chances but failing to properly test Henderson.
In the 67th minute, Solanke got a great opportunity. He rushed into the penalty area with the ball and beat his opponent, but Henderson made a wonderful save to preserve the team’s two-goal advantage.
Crystal Palace continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack, with Strand Larsson’s shot just wide of the post. The visitors finished the game comfortably in the final 15 minutes, with half the stadium empty after a disappointing performance from the home side.
It means Spurs are still looking for a first Premier League win in 2026, while Crystal Palace secured a vital win to move themselves further out of danger and closer to the 40-point mark.