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Crystal Palace logo
Premier League | Gameweek 10
Oct 27, 2023 at 8pm UK
Selhurst Park
Spurs logo

Crystal Palace
1 - 2
Spurs

Ayew (90+4')
Andersen (90+9'), Ayew (90+10')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Ward (53' og.), Heung-min (66')
Johnson (90+9')

Ange Postecoglou "living the dream" as Tottenham Hotspur extend lead at top

Ange Postecoglou
© Reuters
Ange Postecoglou claims that he is "living the dream" as Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou believes that he is "living the dream" as the Lilywhites went five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

The Australian had already set an outright Premier League managerial record against Fulham on Monday night, where a 2-0 success saw him earn an unrivalled 23 points from his first nine matches at the helm.

Tottenham only had four days' worth of recuperation before meeting Roy Hodgson's Palace in another London derby at Selhurst Park, a ground where the Eagles have been notoriously tough to break down.

Postecoglou's side struggled to click into gear during a goalless first half, but they took the lead in fortuitous circumstances in the 53rd minute, as James Maddison's low cross cannoned off Joel Ward's leg into the back of the net.

Thirteen minutes later, the Premier League leaders doubled their advantage thanks to a silky combination between Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min down the left, which ended with the latter calmly tapping in from a few yards out.

Tottenham Hotspur players celebrate an own goal from Crystal Palace's Joel Ward on October 27, 2023© Reuters

However, the Eagles cut the deficit down to one through a pinpoint Jordan Ayew volley four minutes into injury time, with the goal eventually being given after a lengthy VAR check for handball.

Tottenham had their backs against the wall as Palace huffed and puffed for a leveller in the closing stages, but the North London giants held out for an eighth top-flight win of the season, opening up an unassailable lead over Manchester City and Arsenal in the process.

Not since their double-winning campaign of 1960-61 have Tottenham held such an advantage over the second-placed team, but as ever, Postecoglou refused to read too much into the fledgling rankings.

"I think I said in the press conference I don't think you would see me any different. I enjoy every day of it and I want the players to enjoy every day of it. Not because we're top-of-the-table, but because we're living the dream, mate," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying in his post-match press conference.

"We're playing for a fantastic football club, we get to do what we love and the rest of it is about honouring that responsibility that has been bestowed on us.

Tottenham Hotspur's Micky van de Ven in action with Crystal Palace's Will Hughes on October 27, 2023© Reuters

"For me what is important is we are giving our supporters some joy, some belief and some hope. That is what football clubs are there for. We need to keep feeding into that."

Tottenham travelled to Selhurst Park without the injured Destiny Udogie, offering Ben Davies a chance to strut his stuff at left-back, but the Welshman was withdrawn for Emerson Royal during the break.

Johnson and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg also made key contributions off the bench, while fit-again duo Bryan Gil and Rodrigo Bentancur came on for their first appearances of the season in the dying embers, and Postecoglou did not have a bad word to say about any of his replacements.

"Brennan was great. He's had to be patient as he's had a couple of setbacks obviously so we haven't really seen him in any consistent game time or training time but the last couple of weeks he's worked hard at training," Postecoglou added.

"I thought all the subs who came on... I thought Pierre helped us get control of midfield, I thought Emerson at left-back was outstanding. Those kind of things are helping us at the moment, the guys coming on and helping us see out games."

With no EFL Cup match to concern themselves with next week owing to their second-round exit to Fulham, Tottenham have over a week to recover before yet another capital showdown with Chelsea on November 6.

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Tottenham Hotspur's Pape Sarr pictured in August 2023
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