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Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Crystal Palace
- Goals: Gareth Bale (£ 9.4 million) x2, Harry Kane (£ 11.3 million) x2 | Christian Benteke (£ 5.5 million)
- Attend: Kane x2, Matt Doherty (£ 5.6 million), Son Heung-min (£ 9.6 million) | Luka Milivojevic (£ 5.6 million)
- Cousin: Kane x3, Bale x2, Benteke x1
GAZ TOP
Free from the shackles of Fulham’s vastly underrated bottom line, Gareth Bale (£ 9.4 million) made a brilliant comeback in North London on Sunday.
Two goals contributed by Harry kane (£ 11.3 million) led the loaned Real Madrid player to six attacking returns in the last three weeks of the match, two more than They are Heung-min (£ 9.6 million) has managed in his 11 most recent appearances.
The Korean claimed an assist for Kane’s second goal in Spurs’ 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, and the England international had earlier huddled in a sensational shot from a distance.
Bale and Kane are first and second in the ‘transfers in’ column before Gameweek 28, with Lilywhites’ premium picks set for a higher investment beyond that given that they have a fix on Blank Gameweek 29.
It goes without saying that the Spurs have faced three lower half clubs in weeks 26 and 27 of the games.
Next up is a much more complicated race to a blank spot at Gameweek 33, with four of the next five on the way.
A GOOD BATTLE ROUND
There were concerns about whether Bale would even start against Palace, given his injury history and the rapid turnaround in this week’s matches.
The physical condition of the Wales international was discussed after the match, with manager José Mourinho saying:
All the credit goes to him. We simply rely on him to mentally analyze his own body and feelings.
We never want you to reach high levels of fatigue. Minute 55, 60 we are in eye contact. The plan is to remove it when the first signs of muscle fatigue arrive.
We have to take care of ourselves because we need it, it’s that simple.
The player himself was asked if he had returned to full speed and replied:
Time will tell, I am no longer 21 years old. I will continue to work hard, I will take each game as it comes and we will go from there.
Your body changes over time; You don’t have that youth where you can recover quickly where you can go and run for 90 minutes. You learn your body as you age and that is what I have to do.
VOLUNTARY OMISSION
Between the salvo of attacks from Kane and Bale, Christian benteke (£ 5.5 million) had given Palace a life preserver with a 45-minute leveler.
But the headline of Gameweek 27 from the Eagles’ perspective was the return of their own wing wizard, with Wilfried zaha (£ 7.1m) as a half-time substitute for Eberechi Eze (£ 5.8 million) in what Roy Hodgson later confirmed was a tactical change.
When asked why the Ivory Coast international didn’t show up early on, Hodgson said:
Well, first I thought, I thought we played really well against three tough teams (Brighton, Fulham and then Man United) and I think the team has done very well, so I don’t think it would have been the time to necessarily change that with everyone in fit, ready and eager to play, especially with Wilf after being away for so long and having done so few training sessions …
So I guess the goal has always been to make it easier for him and get him some minutes in tonight’s game. But I thought the right time to do it was at halftime to give him 45 minutes because he knows that we are going to need him in all 10 games in the future to get the results we want. So the sooner we get it back into action, the better.
Zaha is among the FPL’s top ten midfielders for goals by 90 minutes this season, although Palace’s streak of matches after the 28th week of play and the memories of his spectacular finish when safety was effectively secured last season probably they will keep interest silent.
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Doherty, Sánchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Hojbjerg, Winks (Sissoko 70); Lucas, Bale (Lamela 70), son; Kane (Vinicius 80).
Crystal Palace XI (4-2-3-1): Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Cahill, Van Aanholt; Milivojevic, Riedewald; Eze (Zaha 46), Ayew, Townsend (Schlupp 65); Benteke (Mateta 74).
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