Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Crystal Palace result: Calamitous Spurs collapse to defeat as Micky van de Ven sent off in crunch Premier League match

Crystal Palace took advantage of a Tottenham Hotspur capitulation in north London to come from a goal down and win 3-1.

The result leaves Tottenham, under the leadership of new interim head coach Igor Tudor, just one point above the relegation zone and without a win in 11 league games, and they will now be missing Micky van de Ven for three further matches after he was sent off to spark the Spurs collapse on Thursday evening.

Things had looked so much brighter for Spurs when, moments after being given a reprieve by a narrow VAR offside call to rule out a Palace opener, the home side took the lead on 34 minutes through Dominic Solanke.

But that was as good as it got for Tudor’s Tottenham, as they completely collapsed in a comically-poor conclusion to the first-half.

The Spurs nightmare started on 38 minutes when Van der Ven pulled back Ismaila Sarr inside the box, with the referee giving a penalty and, given the lack of an attempt to play the ball, also brandishing a straight red card for the centre-back.

Sarr coolly slotted home from the spot and Palace took advantage of a shell-shocked home side to take the lead in the first minute of added time when the excellent Adam Wharton fed Jorgen Strand Larsen to finish from close range.

The collapse was complete in the seventh minute of added time when a Wharton delivery from the right carved open a disjointed Spurs defence, with Sarr again the quickest to get to the ball and tucking a finish beyond the onrushing goalkeeper.

Thousands of Spurs fans left the stadium at half-time, with the rest making their feelings audibly known, and an improved second-half showing from the ten-man home side did not yield a comeback as Palace comfortably held on to a win that puts them ten points clear of the drop.

For Spurs, they are now very firmly in a relegation scrap and seem in a spiral that has to be stopped before the damage is well and truly done.

Peter Crouch told TNT Sports:

"I look at Manchester United and they looked to Michael Carrick, he has managed to get a tune out of those players straight away. Tudor is a massive gamble.

"There are no players who have come through from the youth team, players who know the club.

Spurs and Palace both have this weekend off, but coming up next on TNT Sports it’s the Men’s FA Cup fifth round weekend, with Wolves v Liverpool up first on Friday evening.

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The midweek results mean that Spurs are just one point clear of the relegation zone with nine matches to play. It looks like we’re set for a four-way tussle for that final relegation spot, with West Ham and Nottingham Forest on 28 points, Spurs on 29 and Leeds United the other team in the mix on 31.

Tottenham Hotspur are firmly in a relegation scrap. They’ve now not won in 11 Premier League matches, have failed to have any kind of manager bounce since the arrival of Igor Tudor, and will have to play without Micky Van de Ven for three pivotal matches after the centre-back’s red card this evening.

And here are some horror stats to put Tottenham's situation into context:

Three points for Crystal Palace tonight has them effectively safe in the Premier League, up to 38 points and ten clear of the drop zone with nine games left to play.

The outstanding Ismaïla Sarr was rightly named Player of the Match, and Oliver Glasner can now turn his attention towards adding more silverware to the trophy cabinet in the UEFA Conference League, safe from having to juggle a relegation scrap.

Joe Hart told TNT Sports:

"He's worked well with Strand Larsen and Wharton, he took his penalty brilliantly, and a brilliant finish to almost finish the game in the first half. A top night's work."

The final whistle goes and the few Spurs fans left in the stadium groan out in disappointment at another astonishingly poor performance and result for a team who are without a win in 2026 and in very real danger of relegation. It finishes Tottenham Hotspur 1, Crystal Palace 3.

A cross into the box is flicked on by Tel, but his header glances wide of the far post and that is surely that for ten-man Spurs. They still need two goals to rescue anything from this nightmare evening.

A cross into the box is flicked on by Tel, but his header glances wide of the far post and that is surely that for ten-man Spurs. They still need two goals to rescue anything from this nightmare evening.

A cross into the box is flicked on by Tel, but his header glances wide of the far post and that is surely that for ten-man Spurs. They still need two goals to rescue anything from this nightmare evening.

Gray surges forward and feeds Xavi, who is hacked down by Clyne. It’s a clear booking.

Canvot and Xavi clash as the players wait for a Palace corner to come in. The Palace man gets a warning, with not enough in it for VAR to intervene, and the resulting corner ricochets off him and behind for a goal-kick.

The outstanding Sarr whips in a deep cross, with Mitchell waiting to finish and seal the win for Palace, but Spurs’ Sarr does superbly to get back and deny the visitors a fourth.

Spurs win a free-kick in a dangerous area and Xavi tries to sneak a low shot underneath the wall, but it is blocked and Palace survive. The ten men of Spurs have run hard in this second half, but they are drifting towards a morale-sapping loss here.

Mitchell nicks the ball out of play and catches Danso on the thigh. The referee gives a foul to Palace, which baffles Bissouma so much that he is booked for his protests.

Palace make their changes, bringing on Hughes and Uche. Why they couldn’t do that in the lengthy spell while the referee was off the field changing his batteries is unclear.

Crystal Palace make some changes and the referee, who is having a technical issue, takes the opportunity to dart down the tunnel and get his earpiece fixed.

The only two recognizable first-team options for Spurs are introduced off the bench. Porro and the clearly exhausted Solanke make way, with Richarlison and Xavi Simons coming on. Porro is fuming, not at the decision to come off, but at some of the officiating today, and that sort of head-loss is probably why it’s wise to have taken him off. Spurs can’t afford to lose another senior player for an extended spell at this stage of the season.

Danso and Strand Larsen clash in the box and the whistle goes, with Spurs fans fearing the worst… but the referee gives the foul the other way. It doesn’t look like a penalty and VAR agrees, sticking with the on-field decision.

It’s excellent from Strand Larsen, who turns Danso and curls a dangerous shot narrowly wide of the far post. That’s nice football from the January signing.