Archie Gray scored his first senior goal three minutes before halftime to give Tottenham a narrow victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The result moves Spurs up to 11th place, one point behind ninth-placed Palace. Despite Palace's dominance, Tottenham's counter-attacks proved decisive.
Crystal Palace hosted Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on December 28, 2025, in a Premier League match that kicked off at 16:30 GMT. Palace, sitting ninth and targeting a first win in five matches across all competitions, started strongly, dominating possession and pressing Tottenham back. In the 16th minute, Tottenham nearly opened the scoring when Pedro Porro crossed from the right for Richarlison to slide home, but VAR ruled it out for offside against Lucas Bergvall in the buildup.
Jean-Philippe Mateta troubled Tottenham's defense, fizzing a shot inches wide in the 19th minute, then heading over soon after. Midfielder Will Hughes also missed the target as Palace continued to threaten. Tottenham offered little in attack until a corner in the 42nd minute: Richarlison nodded a partially cleared ball backwards, allowing Archie Gray to glance it past Dean Henderson from close range for his first senior goal.
In the second half, Palace should have equalized in the 56th minute. Yeremy Pino whipped in a cross from the left, which Nathaniel Clyne headed down to Justin Devenny, but his shot on the turn flew over. With 20 minutes remaining, Maxence Lacroix headed Jefferson Lerma's center wide. Tottenham countered effectively, almost doubling their lead in the 75th minute when Gray found Mohammed Kudus on the right; his delivery with the outside of the boot set up Richarlison to tap in, but it was again disallowed for offside.
Late on, Wilson Odobert ran onto Richarlison's header and fired a shot that beat Henderson but struck the left post. Henderson then saved a stinging effort from Rodrigo Bentancur. The win provides relief for under-pressure Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, following recent defeats to Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. Palace had won both meetings against Spurs last season.
