Tottenham 2-0 Crystal Palace: Mateta sent off after 13 minutes as Spurs win third straight and Sage's side drop into bottom three

Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on Saturday, October 31, 2026, after Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off in the 13th minute. Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored as Spurs won three league games in a row for the first time in 616 days. Palace fell into the relegation zone, and manager Pierre Sage is now under heavy pressure.

The VAR call that changed the afternoon

Palace had started brightly, and Mateta had already forced a save from Antonin Kinsky. Then he slid in late on Micky van de Ven as the defender passed back to his goalkeeper, and his studs caught the back of the Dutchman's heel.

Referee Michael Oliver first showed yellow. VAR sent him to the monitor and he changed it to a straight red for serious foul play. It was the second time this season Palace had been left with 10 men for most of a match, after Axel Disasi's red card against Ipswich last month.

Twelve minutes later the home side led. Nobody picked up Gray at the back post from Mohammed Kudus's deep corner, and he headed in unmarked. A similar routine nearly brought a second before the break. Even so, Roberto De Zerbi was unhappy enough with the chances his side created to replace Gray with Pedro Porro at half-time.

Palace held on until Van Hecke's scrappy finish

Sage's side stayed in the game for longer than the numbers suggested. Mathys Tel, Matheus Fernandes and Omar Marmoush all tried their luck early in the second half, and Van Hecke ballooned one chance into the crowd. Sage sent on Eddie Nketiah, to jeers from the home fans, and Dwight McNeil had a rare opening blocked.

Dean Henderson pushed Van Hecke's header onto the bar, but the Dutch defender got up from the ground to nod the rebound over the line after Fernandes's delivery. Dejan Kulusevski's strike was tipped over, and Kudus somehow missed from close range after a fine pass from Luca Williams-Barnett, the teenager making his Premier League debut.

	Tottenham	Crystal Palace
Score	2	0
Scorers	Gray (25'), Van Hecke (second half)	None
Red cards	0	1 (Mateta, 13')
Run in league	Three straight wins	Three straight defeats
League position after match	8th	18th

De Zerbi's numbers and Sage's problem

Spurs last won three straight league games in February 2025. They have had three full-time managers since then. This was also their first run of back-to-back home league wins since November 2024, following victories over Coventry and Chelsea in a row. "When you win games, the confidence grows," Van Hecke said. "When you keep a clean sheet, that also helps."

Palace's story is very different. The 5-0 defeat at Brighton was the moment concern grew about Sage's team, and set pieces have been a repeated weakness. Performances in cup games against Besiktas and Fulham offered some relief, but they do not count in the table. The team has lost Maxence Lacroix and Daniel Munoz since the summer.

The away fans chanted Sage's name for the second game running, and the players did not give up. The decision rests with chairman Steve Parish, who was seen looking unimpressed in the stand when Gray scored. Parish sacked Patrick Vieira in the past when he thought results demanded it.

Liverpool next, without the top striker

Mateta's red card brings a three-match ban, so he misses Liverpool, Coventry and Hull. The last two look like the kind of games a team in the bottom three needs to win, so losing him for them hurts.

Whoever is in charge, Palace host Liverpool at Selhurst Park next Sunday, November 8, in their last match before the international break.