Pochettino amazed as Spurs blow away Palace in first half

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side’s “amazing” performance in Saturday’s victory over Crystal Palace is the “first step” towards rediscovering the consistency of last season.

All four Spurs goals came before the interval, with Son Heung-min the shining light in a scintillating attacking display.

The victory – Tottenham’s first since the opening weekend of the season – lifts them back into the top four of the Premier League.

Pochettino said last month that this was the most unsettled squad he has had at the club, following a summer in which the likes of Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were all heavily linked with moves abroad.

The 4-0 win was Spurs’ first game since the European transfer window closed on 2 September.

“[Today’s performance] showed when you focus and concentrate and you are on the same page, working to the same objective, the quality is there,” said Pochettino.

“This is the first step. We need to improve a lot, we need to be consistent.

“The first half was like a recovery to make our fans feel proud of us.”

South Korea forward Son capitalised on a defensive lapse from returning Palace defender Mamadou Sakho to fire the hosts into an early lead, before visiting left-back Patrick van Aanholt inadvertently directed a cross from right-back Serge Aurier into his own net.

Son connected beautifully with another Aurier cross to make it 3-0, and Erik Lamela finished off another flowing move involving Son and Harry Kane to complete the scoring.

“The attitude was amazing, and the performance,” said Pochettino. “We were very concentrated and had tremendous quality.

“I’m so happy for the team. I think it’s important for their confidence.”

Spurs hit their stride

Pochettino revealed he held an hour-long meeting with his squad this week in order to “refocus” his players’ minds following an indifferent start to the campaign.

Spurs had won only once in the league this season before today – at home to Aston Villa in their opening game of the campaign.

Whatever Pochettino told his players in the meeting, it worked.

The hosts roared out of the traps at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, overwhelming a Palace side who had conceded only two league goals before the game.

Son, who scored Spurs’ first goal at their new stadium against Palace in April, opened the scoring with a crisp finish after Sakho misjudged Toby Alderweireld’s raking cross-field pass.

Spurs, who had fallen behind in both their home games so far this season, continued to apply pressure on the Palace rearguard and doubled their lead when Aurier’s cross from the right was directed past Guaita by the unfortunate Van Aanholt.

Aurier, making his first start since February, was left in far too much space as he set up the hosts’ second goal, and Palace failed to learn their lesson as the Ivory Coast defender produced another teasing ball which Son volleyed brilliantly past Guaita at the far post.

Son was at the forefront of all that was good about Spurs’ performance, starting the move that led to Lamela prodding Kane’s low cross beyond the Palace goalkeeper three minutes before the interval.

A day to forget for Palace

Prior to the game, only Manchester City (52) and Liverpool (51) had collected more Premier League points than Roy Hodgson’s side since 2 February, when the Eagles started a good run of form with a 2-0 win at home to Fulham.

They have taken significant scalps away from Selhurst Park in that period, including a backs-to-the-wall 2-1 victory at Manchester United last month – their eighth win in 12 Premier League away matches.

However, Saturday’s defeat extends their winless league run against Spurs to nine games.

Hodgson’s side were second best from start to finish as the defensive organisation that earned them that impressive victory at Old Trafford appeared to desert them.

France defender Sakho – making his first appearance since having knee surgery – had a poor game and was at fault for Spurs’ opening goal.

There may have been an element of fortune about the hosts’ second, but Spurs cut through their opponents with embarrassing ease in the build-up to their third and fourth goals, with Son and Lamela both left unmarked at the far post.

Palace rarely threatened at the other end as Lloris made routine saves from Cahill and Kouyate in the first half, before thwarting Wilfried Zaha in the second.

Man of the match – Son Heung-min (Tottenham)