Tottenham 1-3 Crystal Palace: Sarr brace deepens Spurs’ relegation fears | OneFootball

Ismaïla Sarr’s brace turned Tottenham’s worst nightmares into reality as they fell to a 3–1 defeat against Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring for Spurs, but his effort was cancelled out by two goals from Sarr and another from Jørgen Strand Larsen. A red card for Micky van de Ven only compounded the misery for the home side.

Spurs came out fighting in the second half, but the damage was already done with Palace leaving North London with a vital three points.

As it happened

The away side nearly made the perfect start as Adam Wharton snatched at a good opportunity, forcing a save from Guglielmo Vicario.

Igor Tudor’s side began to grow into the game, and Mathys Tel darted in between two defenders before testing Dean Henderson, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

Then came a chaotic five-minute spell inside the stadium. Sarr looked to have opened the scoring, but VAR ruled the goal out for a very tight offside.

Moments later, Spurs did take the lead. Archie Gray made it to the byline and cut the ball back for Solanke, who tapped home past Henderson.

However, disaster struck just four minutes later for Tottenham. Micky van de Ven pulled back Sarr when the winger was through on goal, resulting in a red card and a penalty. Sarr stepped up and calmly sent Vicario the wrong way to level the score.

Eight minutes of added time then produced two quick-fire goals for the Eagles. Strand Larsen restored the hosts’ lead after being picked out by the impressive Adam Wharton. The striker shrugged off his marker and slid his finish past Vicario.

Shortly after, Wharton was involved again, sending Sarr through on goal. The winger made no mistake, sliding the ball underneath the goalkeeper to compound Tottenham’s misery with the score at 3–1 heading into the interval, some Spurs fans were already heading for the exits.

The home side came out firing in the second half in a must-win game, creating a couple of chances but failing to properly test Henderson.

A brilliant opportunity fell to Solanke in the 67th minute as he drove into the box and beat his man, but Henderson produced a fine save to preserve his side’s two-goal advantage.

Palace were still a threat on the counter, with Strand Larsen curling an effort just wide of the post. The final 15 minutes saw the visitors comfortably see out the game, with half of the stadium empty after a disappointing performance from the home side.

It means Spurs are still searching for their first Premier League win of 2026, while Palace secured a vital victory to push themselves further away from danger and closer to the 40-point mark.