Tottenham Hotspur had no trouble dispatching a short handed rival, taking down Crystal Palace 2-0 at home for their third straight win of the 2026/27 Premier League season. Here were the biggest stars and flops from yet another truly professional display from Roberto De Zerbi's men.
A true Rolls Royce of a defender, Jan Paul van Hecke made Crystal Palace look like a second rate side with how he bossed them on and off the ball. And he score the game sealing goal, heading off his own rebound to ensure Tottenham would win.
Just as good as his Dutch counterpart in central defense, Micky van de Ven has become a true shutdown center back in the Premier League and is just about unstoppable one on one while being elite on the ball in his own right.
Sandro Tonali made everyone else around him better in an understated but equally world class midfield general display after his coming of age game last weekend in that 2-0 victory over rivals Chelsea.
Arguably the best player on the pitch, Mateus Fernandes tied the team lead with four chances created and led the way with five tackles won. His cross to Van Hecke to produce the second goal of the game was a case of the young Portuguese international outdoing himself on a technical level. He is outstanding and, like Tonali, looks to be worth every penny.
Meanwhile, Dominic Solanke is not worth every penny, and on a day where Tottenham Hotspur dominated possession and had more than a handful of players with at least three chances created, Solanke produced very little attacking quality both for himself or his teammates. He is Spurs great liability and a black hole of a No. 9.
Mathys Tel tied Fernandes with four key passes and had the most dribbles completed of any player on the team with six. He also worked incredibly hard defensively. Tel is fully COYS through and through, and he is also a very effective left winger. Sure, he could be more clinical and more consistently, but he's still a better goal threat than the actual striker.
Probably his best game yet, Andy Robetson will struggle against the most athletic attackers of the Premier League at his age, but his technical quality and overall nous have not escaped him. And he put both to great use, teasing accurate crosses all game long.
Mohammed Kudus was impossible to stop one on one, and though he left his shooting boots at home, he brought his crossing boots with a great assist for Archie Gray on a corner to open the scoring. He is getting back to his best.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as 7 stars, 1 flop from Tottenham's dominant 2-0 win over Crystal Palace .
