London: Juan Foyth banished the memory of his nightmare Premier League debut to score Tottenham Hotspur’s only goal in a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, Saturday. The win moved fourth-placed Spurs level on points with Chelsea and Liverpool.
One week after the 20-year-old Argentine defender conceded two penalties in the 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, he bravely headed home a rebound in the 66th minute as Spurs registered a seventh successive league win over Palace.
The omens were not good for Palace before kickoff when Wilfried Zaha, without whom they seldom win, was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Spurs also suffered an injury when Kieran Trippier appeared to sprain his thigh early on and was replaced by Serge Aurier, who provided the brightest moment of a poor first half with a dangerous cross that Dele Alli and Lucas both failed to convert.
Spurs upped the tempo in the second half although they created few chances beyond Foyth’s winner and suffered another injury when Erik Lamela left the field streaming with blood after being accidentally kicked in the face.
Palace should have equalised in injury time when Alexander Sorloth found space in the area but could only shoot straight at Hugo Lloris.
The defeat means Palace, who have had a punishing run of fixtures, are experiencing their worst home start to a season for 21 years, with only goal difference keeping them out of the drop zone.
Goalless stalemate
It was naturally a day of high emotion at the King Power Stadium as Leicester City players and fans paid a fond tribute to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Saturday before the team were held to a goalless draw by Burnley in their first home game since the club owner’s death in a helicopter crash.
Leicester supporters and squad members, including injured England defender Harry Maguire, led a march from the city centre to the stadium where hundreds of team shirts, flags and banners were laid around the pitch.
Vichai’s son Aiyawatt and former Leicester managers Claudio Ranieri and Nigel Pearson were among the crowd, who observed a two-minute silence before kick-off.
After the match, Leicester midfielder Marc Albrighton said it had been one of the most difficult games of his career. “This week has been hard. We went to Thailand and paid our respects to Vichai and his family,” Albrighton said.
“It is something we felt we wanted to do. It is a tough time for everyone but everyone has done their part. Every single person at this club has stuck together. Today (Saturday) was one of the hardest games I have ever played. It’s hard to focus.”
