Tottenham Hotspur picked up all three points at home with an emphatic 4-0 victory over visiting Crystal Palace Saturday afternoon.

Spurs made one change from the Arsenal match, bringing in Serge Aurier to start at right fullback. Dele and Tanguy Ndombele both made the bench as they work towards full fitness. With Champions League starting midweek, it made sense to save them before heading to Greece to take on Olympiacos.

Spurs fired out of the gate as if they had a point to prove in this match, getting a shot on target 45 seconds into the match as Heung-Min Son tried to beat Vicente Guaita low, but didn’t have the right placement.

Crystal Palace looked happy to play eleven behind the ball and hit on the counter, which allowed them to earn a free kick ten minutes into the match after a dumb foul was committed by Moussa Sissoko. Palace’s free kick was a good one for the far post as Mamadou Sahko played the ball back in front of net, but Toby Alderweireld cleared it to end the chance.

Thirty seconds later, Spurs had their opening goal of the match. Toby played a fantastic long ball to Sonny and caught Sakho ball watching. The Korean International made a beautiful move to twist Gary Cahill into a pretzel before burying the shot off the inside of the near post. It was 1-0 and Spurs were off and running.

Tottenham controlled the flow of the match for the next ten minutes while Palace basically conceded the midfield to the home side. It would prove costly as Serge Aurier got a ball on the right flank and fired a low cross into the penalty area. Patrick Van Aanholt blocked the pass, but the deflection went into the net for an own goal to make it 2-0.

Just two minutes later, Sonny got his brace as Aurier played a brilliant cross to him on the far post. A side foot volley was the perfect choice as Guaita had no chance to stop it. Sonny peeled away to celebrate as Spurs had a 3-0 lead just 23 minutes into the match.

Palace all but looked defeated at this point, not having many opportunities on the ball as Spurs either controlled possession or forced turnovers when Palace had the ball. Spurs, however, were not done scoring before the half time whistle.

In the 42nd minute, Sonny played a gorgeous ball to Harry Kane on the right flank. Instead of trying to dribble past Van Aanholt, he picked out a magnificent cross to Erik Lamela, who was charging in from far post. Lamela one-timed his shot with power and put the ball past Guaita for a 4-0 lead.

Palace had one chance to get on the scoresheet in the 44th minute as Wilfried Zaha made a lovely move at the top of the penalty area and shoot on target, but the ball was right at Hugo Lloris for an easy save.

Second Half

Spurs almost had their fifth goal of the match just fifteen seconds in as Palace turned the ball over in their defensive third. Harry Winks got a low show off that looked headed for the corner but Guaita made a diving save to send it out to touch.

Hugo was called into action on a free kick attempt in the 50th minute. Gary Cahill got on the end of the free kick but Hugo made a two handed save to pop the ball into the air. After a Benny Hill scramble for the ball, Hugo got the ball on a half-chance for Palace to kill the opportunity for the visitors.

Spurs and Palace spent the next fifteen minutes basically sh*thousing each other as yellow cards were handed out at a steady pace, though listening to the announcer’s infatuation with Kane’s non-yellow foul got old after a couple of minutes. Tanguy Ndombele eventually made his return from a minor injury in the 66th minute, coming on for Harry Winks who had a solid match in midfield.

The rest of the second half was pretty uneventful as Palace resigned themselves to their fate while Spurs got Danny Rose and Harry Kane off late in the match. Zaha had one last attempt in the 88th minute that looked similar to the end of the first half, ending the same way as Hugo easily scooped it up. The two sides played the match out and it ended just as the second half started with a 4-0 victory.

Thoughts on the Match

• Spurs played with a purpose today and made sure Palace had no chance. This was just a fun match to watch.
• Serge Aurier kicked the rust off early and looked good at fullback. That assist was wonderful.
• Another Sonny brace! No problems with jet lag for him.
• Erik Lamela had himself a day as well. He was his usual murder-y self in pressing but had some lovely passes and that goal was great.
• Shoutout to Toby for pinging long ball after long ball like he was ordering dinner. His accuracy is unreal.
• Great to see Ndombele get 30 minutes after his thigh injury. He looked good and should be ready for mid-week.
• Stress free matches are fun! Let’s have more of them.
• Spurs head to Greece to start Champions League play mid-week, and you couldn’t ask for a better performance going into that match.