Jeff Graceffo - Tottenham Defeats Crystal Palace Without Gareth Bale by Jeff Graceffo

On the final day of the opening weekend, Tottenham Hotspurs defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 on a goal by the newly acquired Roberto Soldado. It was Crystal Palace's first home game in the Premiership in eight years and the crowd was electric throughout.  Although Tottenham supporters were forced to hold their breath in the final moments, the game was not as close as the score would have you believe.


From the opening whistle Tottenham was clearly the better side, and they should have been. Their roster is comprised of world class talent, and they spent over 60 million pounds during the transfer window to upgrade the squad. The world wondered how Spurs would look without their talisman Gareth Bale, and although they lacked a certain bit of flair they performed admirably for a side that has not played together for much time.

At the break Crystal Palace managed to keep the score tied at 0, but Aaron Lennon forced a hand ball on a Crystal Palace defender inside the box. This gave Soldado a penalty kick and he placed it as perfectly as one could into the corner of the net. This was all Spurs needed as they held on for a 1-0 victory.  However, Palace threatened into the final minutes forcing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to make several saves from close proximity.

In addition to Gareth Bale, Spurs missed their German midfielder Lewis Holtby. Holtby was out due to injury and without the two there was a slight gap in linking the midfield to Soldado.  Holtby will be a massive upgrade when healthy. Soldado played very well in his opening game. He moved great off of the ball and created numerous chances for his teammates.  The defense was solid throughout. Danny Rose, Jan Vertonghen, and Michael Dawson had solid performances.  In the midfield, Moussa Dembele, and Aaron Lennon were splendid, while Gylfi Sigurddson played admirably.

It will be interesting to see how they do in their Europa League game this week and next weekend's game vs. Swansea.  Their performances in each game will affect Daniel Levy's, Spurs Chairman, decision on whether or not to sell Bale to Real Madrid.

Jeff Graceffo - Going to Madrid?


By Jeff Graceffo


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