Gray and Van Hecke lift Tottenham past 10-man Crystal Palace

Tottenham climbed into the top half of the Premier League with victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, as Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored after Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off. According to the Guardian's match report, the result gave Roberto De Zerbi's side three consecutive league wins for the first time in 616 days and left Palace in the bottom three.

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The decisive early incident came in the 13th minute. Mateta, who had already shot straight at Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, caught Micky van de Ven on the back of the heel with his studs as the defender played a back-pass. Referee Michael Oliver initially showed a yellow card, but changed his decision following a VAR review, leaving Palace to play most of the match with 10 men.

Palace resisted for a spell before Tottenham made their advantage count from a corner. Mohammed Kudus delivered deep towards the back post, where Gray had been left unmarked and headed in. Gray had another opportunity from a similar routine, but Tottenham did not turn that opening into a further goal. De Zerbi replaced the scorer with Pedro Porro at half-time as Spurs sought to create more against the depleted visitors.

The home side applied further pressure after the interval, with Mathys Tel, Matheus Fernandes and Omar Marmoush attempting to extend the lead. Van Hecke also missed from close range following another corner. Palace manager Pierre Sage introduced Eddie Nketiah, while Dwight McNeil had a shot blocked. At the other end, Dean Henderson saved after Marmoush blocked an attempted clearance by Tyrick Mitchell.

Van Hecke eventually supplied Tottenham's second goal after Fernandes found him in the penalty area. Henderson pushed the defender's first header onto the crossbar, but Van Hecke, now on the ground, managed to head the ball over the line. Henderson later tipped over a strike from Dejan Kulusevski, preventing Tottenham from adding another goal.

The result extended Spurs' winning sequence after victories over Coventry and Chelsea. For Palace, it was a third successive league defeat, with Liverpool next at home before the international break. The Guardian reported growing uncertainty over Sage's position, but the match report did not confirm any managerial change. His team now face that next fixture from inside the relegation places.