OPINION
Tottenham Hotspur squeaked through in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the clash.
Juan Foyth opened the scoring for Tottenham in the second half when he headed home from close range after Harry Kane’s initial effort had been blocked.
This is Futbol have picked out three things we learned about Tottenham v Crystal Palace below.
Foyth bounces back
Juan Foyth was a surprise starter for Tottenham against the Eagles, and the young Argentine looked extremely nervy in the first half on Saturday. There were several misplaced passes from Foyth and a couple of unnecessary fouls, although he did look as calm and composed on the ball as ever. As the game went on he grew in confidence as he successfully cut out attack after attack for Palace, and his performance was then topped off with his first goal for the club. Foyth will hopefully now push on and quickly forget his horror show against Wolves which nearly cost Tottenham points.
Sissoko resurgence continues
Moussa Sissoko quickly become a whipping boy for Spurs fans after his £30million switch from Newcastle in 2016, but his performances of late have begun to prove he may well be worth some of that fee for Tottenham. The France international has looked a different player in recent weeks, and that continued against Palace on Saturday. Sissoko was Spurs’ standout player in the first half, getting around the pitch so well in midfield, and that carried on in the second period. Few would have seen this kind of resurgence from the 29-year-old, but he will quickly become a key squad member for Spurs if he carries on in this vein.
Lloris looks a shadow of former self
One point of concern for Tottenham is the form of captain and first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The experienced stopper has made several high-profile mistakes already this season, and nearly added to that on a couple of occasions against Palace. Lloris looked really suspect under the high ball, and flapped several times at corners and balls into the box. While it is unlikely that Pochettino would axe his captain, maybe that is what needs to happen at the moment. Back-up Paulo Gazzaniga has been in brilliant form, and does genuinely look to be a better option for Tottenham at the moment. Pochettino must now wield a shock axe on his favourite Lloris in favour of Gazzaniga, who is simply the better player at the moment.