This is a phenomenon that even fans who have supported Tottenham for 60 years have never seen
Tottenham won 2-1 in the 10th round of the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) against Crystal Palace held at Selhurst Park in London, England at 4 a.m. on the 28th (Korean time). With this win, Tottenham, who went undefeated in the opening 10 games, gained 26 points, widening the gap with second place to 5 points.
The main characters of victory this time were Son Heung-min and James Madison. Tottenham struggled in the first half as they were unable to properly attack Palace’s defense, but began to find a solution in the second half. The first goal was lucky. 배트맨토토
The attack began with Fape Mata Sarr’s halfspace movement in the 8th minute of the second half. After Pape Sar had dug in well, he attempted a cross, but it was deflected and headed towards Maddison. Madison, who took over, sent a strong cross, but Joel Ward cleared it into his own goal.
Tottenham needed one more goal for a stable victory. At this time, Son Heung-min appeared. In the 23rd minute of the second half, Brennan Johnson, who had just come on as a substitute, headed a pass to Madison and then penetrated again. Johnson took over Madison’s exquisite pass and then passed it to Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min showed off his instinct for one shot, one kill, giving him a 2-0 lead.
Tottenham gave up a goal to Jordan Ayew just before the end of the game, but maintained their lead and won. Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool, who are in second place, have not yet played a game, but it is very unfamiliar to see Tottenham racing to first place, 5 points behind.
Soccer statistics media ‘OPTA’ highlighted Tottenham’s special first place record. The media noted, “Tottenham is 5 points behind in first place in the PL. This is the largest gap since Tottenham was 8 points away from 2nd place on the last day of the 1960-61 season, the season in which it last won the league.”
Tottenham has widened the gap from 19 teams in first place and is looking down with such ease. This is the first time in 62 years that Tottenham has the luxury of looking down. This may be a feeling that even fans who have supported Tottenham for 60 years have felt for the first time.
It is still too early to say that Tottenham can win the championship, but what is clear is that the current Tottenham is a completely different team from the Tottenham of the past. Even though not participating in European competitions is an advantage in the league race, no one expected Tottenham to show such good results.