Tottenham Hotspur secured a victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday, ensuring they head into 2026 with a positive result.
A single goal separated the teams in London, with Archie Gray`s first-half header securing the win for Thomas Frank`s side.
The England U21 international registered the first senior goal of his career, heading the ball into the corner after Richarlison`s flick-on inside the six-yard box.
Gray`s Rank Among Tottenham`s Top Performers vs Palace
Although Gray scored the match-winner and deserves credit, he was not the absolute standout performer for the Lilywhites on the night.
Kevin Danso delivered an imperious central defensive display, earning him the title of the team`s top performer. According to Sofascore, he won ten duels (seven more than Micky van de Ven) and effectively neutralized Jean-Philippe Mateta with his defensive efficiency.
The Austrian international may not be the most elegant ball-player (completing 63% of his passes), but his tenacious defensive effort was crucial for maintaining the clean sheet.
| Ranking Tottenham`s Top Performers vs Palace | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Kevin Danso |
| 2 | Archie Gray |
| 3 | Rodrigo Bentancur |
| 4 | Djed Spence |
| 5 | Richarlison |
As shown in the table, Richarlison is listed among the top five performers, despite having two goals disallowed for offside.
The Brazilian striker provided the assist for Gray`s winner and won nine duels (six aerial battles, according to Sofascore), demonstrating his usefulness as an outlet, despite the poorly timed runs leading to the two disallowed goals.
While several players performed admirably, others were perhaps saved from harsher criticism thanks to Gray`s decisive winning goal.
The Spurs Flop Who Must Finally Be Dropped
Despite the victory, manager Frank should now seriously consider dropping right-back Pedro Porro from the starting XI following yet another ineffective performance against Palace.
The Spanish international did deliver the corner that was flicked on by Kolo Muani and Richarlison before finding Gray, but this was a fleeting moment of quality in an otherwise lackluster display.
Spurs podcaster Seb Martin commented during the game that Porro is “having a disaster of a season,” an assessment difficult to dispute when reviewing his performance metrics.
| Vs Palace | Pedro Porro |
|---|---|
| Minutes | 90 |
| Tackles made | 0/1 |
| Ground duels won | 2/4 |
| Aerial duels won | 1/3 |
| Dribbled past | 2x |
| Pass accuracy | 56% |
| Possession lost | 25x |
| Big chances created | 0 |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
As shown in the table, the former Sporting CP star lost possession a staggering 25 times and failed to create a single `big chance` through his crossing attempts.
Defensively, he struggled significantly, being dribbled past twice without registering a single tackle, highlighting his liability to the team both in and out of possession.
This poor performance is unfortunately not an isolated incident for Porro. Sofascore statistics show that the full-back loses possession an average of 19.1 times per game this season, an increase from 17.5 times per match last term.
Last season, Porro contributed two goals and six assists in the Premier League. However, halfway through the current campaign, he has managed zero goals and only one assist.
These figures clearly demonstrate how far the Spanish international`s form has dropped in North London, with the disappointing outing against Palace being merely the latest example, confirming Seb Martin`s earlier critique.
