FOOTBALL – THE spectre of Premier League relegation loomed ever larger for Tottenham Hotspur yesterday after a 3-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace left them teetering just above the drop zone.
When striker Dominic Solanke gave 16th-placed Tottenham the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute, a first league win in 2026 looked on the cards for the hosts.
But they collapsed in shambolic fashion before the interval with Palace replying three times to stun the hosts after Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven was sent off.
Van de Ven hauled back Ismaila Sarr in the area to receive a red card before Sarr slotted the home the resulting penalty.
Adam Wharton then played in Jorgen Strand Larsen to slot a low show past Guglielmo Vicario in the first minute of stoppage time and provided another classy assist for Sarr to make it 3-1.
Sarr also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside shortly before Solanke’s opener.
Ten-man Tottenham battled after the break in a subdued atmosphere but could not prevent a fifth successive league defeat which extended their winless league run to 11.
They have 29 points from 29 games, one more than Nottingham Forest and West Ham United who are in better form. Palace’s victory lifted them into 13th place with 38 points.
Tottenham have been ever-present in the Premier League and were last relegated from the top flight in 1977, but interim manager Igor Tudor will have to turn things around very quickly if they are to stay above the trap door.
Tottenham are sinking in a sea of venom. Relegation is no longer a distant prospect for the owners of the finest stadium in the country. They have rolled the dice, replacing Thomas Frank with a bewildered Igor Tudor, but their flaws are starting to look overwhelming and lie only a point above the bottom three after their complete lack of unity and cohesion was exposed in this shambolic defeat to Crystal Palace.
This is getting all too real. Tottenham have lost all three of their games since appointing Tudor as their interim manager and are not coping with the pressure. Nottingham Forest and a resurgent West Ham are hot on their heels but Tottenham have frozen. They are winless since the turn of the year and could not even kick on after going 1-0 up against Palace.
It was poisonous and yet somehow also apathetic. At half-time there were images of fans streaming away from the stadium. To his credit Tudor decided to stay for the second half. The supposed firefighter had accused Tottenham of lacking in attack, midfield, defence and the brain after losing to Fulham.
Looking at de Ven’s dismissal, he probably had a point about the stupidity. On the plus side there was at least a show of heart from Tottenham at the start of the second half, a determined run from Gray keeping Palace’s defenders on their toes.
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