Crystal Palace fell to their second defeat of the season after Victor Wanyama headed in the winner for Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
After the disappointment of the opening day loss to West Brom, Alan Pardew’s side were looking to bounce back, especially with the added excitement surrounding the arrival of Christian Benteke.
The Eagles struggled to keep hold of the ball in the first half but the introduction of Yohan Cabaye after the break led to the South London side posing a much greater threat.
Cabaye himself had a great opportunity to open the scoring for the Eagles but hit his shot high and wide from close range.
As the game drew on, it looked as though Palace would nick a point despite being the weaker side but Wanyama reacted the quickest to Kane’s header to score.
So after two games Palace are still yet to pick up a point and continue their miserable league form in the year of 2016.
Here’s five things we learnt from the match.
1) Creativity an issue
Creativity is still a major issue for this Crystal Palace side. Without Cabaye, the attack looked stilted with Tottenham successfully keeping Zaha and Townsend quiet. Pardew employed Puncheon in a deeper role to offer an attacking threat but the 30 year old looked lost in the position. Cabaye was an improvement in the second half but the Eagles are still crying out for a midfielder with an eye for a pass.
2) Poor league form continues
Palace have struggled for the whole of 2016 and the Eagles have carried this form into the new season. Despite the new additions over the summer, Palace still seem to be stuck in a slump that was only overlooked last year due to the FA Cup run. If Pardew doesn’t obtain better results in the near future, his job security could be under serious pressure.
3) Wide men still a positive
Despite the loss of Yannick Bolasie, Palace’s wingers continue to be the silver lining. Wilfred Zaha was a constant threat despite some sloppy mistakes and Andros Townsend looked sharp and could improve once Christian Benteke is integrated to the side. The Belgium striker will give the wingers a huge figure to aim for and is a proven scorer at this level.
4) Back line needs work
On the whole, Palace’s back four from last year have continued into the new season yet the seemed to lack cohesion and communication. Whether this was due to the Spurs creativity or due to the lack of protection, the back four need to be better organised. This was highlighted by Wanyama’s goal where he was able to pull away from his marker into an acre of space all too easily.
5) Benteke cannot come soon enough
Connor Wickham worked his socks off but lacks the ability to create goals out of nothing. Benteke will add international quality to this Palace side that desperately needs it. The Belgian is the prototypical striker for Palace’s counter attacking system and should fit in seamlessly. Pardew will need the former Liverpool frontman to hit the ground running in order to get his team out of this slump.