Was it such a comfortable start for Spurs?
At a time when the speculation is rife that we are about to break our transfer record for the third time this window, with another ace Brazilian - Willian, in town, it hardly seems relevant to hark back to our opening game of the season at Selhurst Park.
In a game where we had three outfield debutants in the starting line-up, and a further debutant who came off the bench, all of whom made good impressions, it is surprising to report that Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was voted man of the match by nearly 250 Spurs Odyssey voters.
Lloris of course made important saves, in particular very late in the game from Dikgacoi, and also came to our rescue with his "sweeper keeper" style of taking on advancing opponents on the edge, or even outside of his area. This he did when one of Palace's debutants Dwight Gayle threatened, and then Hugo stole the ball off Kevin Phillips with a great defender's tackle and clearance.
Hence, Lloris beat Roberto Soldado to the man of the match vote. Soldado became the fourteenth Spurs player to score on his debut in a Premier League game, when he confidently slotted home Spurs' first Premier League penalty since May 2012. Roberto joins some elusive names, which include Jurgen Klinsmann, and current team-mates Jermain Defoe, Danny Rose, Emmanuel Adebayor and Mousa Dembele.
Nacer Chadli really should have scored with that late first half header, and perhaps as a result, he did not catch the eye to the same degree as did Paulinho and substitute Etienne Capoue.
At the time of writing, further transfer talk is just speculation, but even if none of the remaining rumoured signings take place, I am genuinely excited about the season to come, whatever happens to Gareth Bale.
Obviously, the scoreline on Sunday was narrow, and therefore the recognition of Hugo Lloris is understandable and justifiable.
Thanks as always to those who contributed to the grading of the team. The full results can be viewed by following the link below:-
· Spursometer results for Crystal Palace (A)
P.S - Spurs are now unbeaten in 9 Premier League games.
Results 17-21.08.13
Liverpool 1-0 Stoke
Arsenal 1-3 A. Villa
Norwich 2-2 Everton
S'derland 0-1 Fulham
West Brom 0-1 S'hampton
West Ham 2-0 Cardiff
Swansea 1-4 Man Utd
C. Palace 0-1 Spurs
Chelsea 2-0 Hull
Man City 4-0 Newcastle
Chelsea 2-1 A. Villa
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Chelsea 2 2 0 0 4-1 3 6
2. Man City 1 1 0 0 4-0 4 3
3. Man Utd 1 1 0 0 4-1 3 3
4. West Ham 1 1 0 0 2-0 2 3
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5. A. Villa 2 1 0 1 4-3 1 3
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6. Fulham 1 1 0 0 1-0 1 3
7. Liverpool 1 1 0 0 1-0 1 3
8. S'hampton 1 1 0 0 1-0 1 3
9. Spurs 1 1 0 0 1-0 1 3
10. Everton 1 0 1 0 2-2 0 1
11. Norwich 1 0 1 0 2-2 0 1
12. C. Palace 1 0 0 1 0-1 -1 0
13. Stoke 1 0 0 1 0-1 -1 0
14. S'derland 1 0 0 1 0-1 -1 0
15. West Brom 1 0 0 1 0-1 -1 0
16. Arsenal 1 0 0 1 1-3 -2 0
17. Cardiff 1 0 0 1 0-2 -2 0
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18. Hull 1 0 0 1 0-2 -2 0
19. Swansea 1 0 0 1 1-4 -3 0
20. Newcastle 1 0 0 1 0-4 -4 0
