Tottenham Hotspur managed to pick up all three points against Crystal Palace on Sunday and the match became a special occasion for one player in particular.
Tottenham Hotspur had a good record away from home in the Premier League this season, but this has not been the case in recent weeks.
Thomas Frank has seen his team suffer 4-1 and 3-0 defeats against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest respectively and they were unable to get a win at Newcastle United.
However, Spurs are back in form on the road after defeating Crystal Palace by a single goal. Here are the three winners and losers from the closely contested victory.
Archie Gray was on target for Tottenham
Archie Gray has been nowhere to be seen for a large part of this season, but he has recently enjoyed a good run of matches in the first-team.
The young midfielder came under fire after his costly error against Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago, but he will remember his display against Crystal Palace for all the right reasons.
Gray scored what would go on to be Tottenham’s winning goal, heading the ball in from a corner. It was not the most difficult finish, but he got himself into the right place at the right time to become the hero for Spurs.
Kevin Danso kept a clean sheet
Cristian Romero was ruled out of the Crystal Palace fixture after his moment of madness against Liverpool saw him shown a red card. This meant Kevin Danso had to step up, as he has already done this season.
The 27-year-old did not look at all out of place in the Tottenham team. In fact, he was one of their best players during the 1-0 victory.
Danso won 11 duels and made 16 clearances in what was a fine defensive display. He also looked to help Spurs launch attacks with his long balls.
Wilson Odobert looked lively off the Tottenham bench
Even though Wilson Odobert was not selected to start against Crystal Palace, he made his presence known on the pitch.
The winger entered the pitch shortly after the hour mark and almost found the net with a very good effort which bounced out off the inside of the post.
Odobert won all his duels and always looked to get forward when the ball was at his feet. He should definitely be on the pitch from the start against Brentford on Thursday.
Now let’s look at the three losers from Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham…
Lucas Bergvall has picked up an injury
Lucas Bergvall has found himself in a more attacking role this season and he has shown a lot of promise at certain moments.
However, the Swede failed to create chances against Crystal Palace and was one of the least effective players on the pitch.
Things got worse for Bergvall as he was substituted after getting injured, so he could not be looking at a spell on the sidelines.
Randal Kolo Muani was a waste on the left wing
Frank must surely understand after Sunday that there is no use in playing Randal Kolo Muani as a winger, because he did very little for Tottenham.
The France international failed to go on any successful dribbles and did nothing notable during the 63 minutes he spent on the pitch.
Richarlison might not have added to his goals tally against Palace, but he did have two efforts disallowed and an assist which counted. It certainly seems as though he will continue to start in the striker role ahead of Muani.
Pedro Porro is struggling at Tottenham
The award for the best Spurs assist this season goes to… Pedro Porro. Or at least it would have if offside goals counted, because his cross to Richarlison in the first half was simply outstanding.
Unfortunately, the right back’s crossing for the rest of the game was below his usual standards and he struggled to help Tottenham in attack.
Porro worked hard in defence, but there were times when he was dribbled past or failed to make tackles. Also, the 26 year old’s passing was really poor throughout the game, something which needs to change when he returns to action against Brentford.
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