EPL: Late Schlupp strike gives Palace draw with leaders Spurs
Jose Mourinho refused to blame Hugo Lloris after the keeper’s mistake denied leaders Tottenham victory at Crystal Palace before their top-of-the-table game at Liverpool on Wednesday.
Harry Kane put Spurs on course for a sixth win in seven league games with a shot from 30 yards which Vicente Guaita should have saved.
But Palace deservedly equalised when Jeffrey Schlupp bundled home after France World Cup winner Lloris could not hold Eberechi Eze’s free-kick.
“My goalkeeper is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League so I would never be critical of the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, period,” said Mourinho.
“If I have to blame anybody, I have to blame ourselves, the team. The ones that win, the ones that draw and the ones that lose.
“At half-time, I told the players exactly the opposite that we did in the second half, but if they didn’t, it was because they couldn’t do it.
“It was because they were not able to do it. I give credit to Palace for that.”
Spaniard Guaita had kept Spurs at bay with three excellent stops to deny Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon and Kane before being caught out by the England captain’s long-range swerving attempt.
But Palace, who hit the post through Eze, deservedly equalised through Schlupp before a dramatic ending which saw Spurs substitute Ben Davies hit the bar, while Guaita made a spectacular save to keep out a free-kick from Eric Dier.
Spurs frustrated by Guaita
Tottenham’s 22nd competitive game of 2020-21 looked for so long as though it was going to be a case of job done ahead of their biggest test of the season in midweek.
But Jose Mourinho’s side were frustrated by Guaita, whose action at the death to deny Dier was one of the finest saves on the Premier League stage this season.
Dier’s set-piece appeared to be heading for the net until the Palace keeper flung himself across his line to divert it away with one hand.
Despite stretching their unbeaten league run to 11 matches, this will feel like two points dropped for the visitors.
In a highly competitive London derby, they had looked every bit a team at the top of the table as Guaita got down to deny Ndombele from close range before tipping over Reguilon’s rasping attempt and then stopping Kane’s header all in the space of a few first-half minutes.
Kane’s ninth league goal, after another assist by Son Heung-min, was a gift, Guaita misjudging his shot and failing to make what should have been a routine save.
Palace responded well but looked set to end the game without any reward for their endeavour until Schlupp pounced after Lloris’ error – the first goal Spurs have conceded in the Premier League since the start of November.
Gutsy point for battling Palace
This was a thoroughly deserved point for Palace who marked the return of fans to Selhurst Park with a gutsy performance full of character.
Even before they fell behind, Wilfried Zaha forced Lloris into a good save while, shortly before half-time, the impressive Eze beat the Spurs keeper only for his attempt to hit the post.
Palace had 16 attempts in total, five of which landed on target, while boss Roy Hodgson said his side’s second-half performance “was of top-drawer quality”.
Christian Benteke, fresh from scoring two in the 5-1 demolition of West Brom in the previous game, had two headed chances before Schlupp raced away to celebrate with supporters after making it 1-1.
Guaita’s save at the end to deny Dier raised the roof. He will not want to see Kane’s goal again but the keeper bounced back to produce a string of impressive stops when Spurs threatened.
‘The fans were great’ – what they said
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson: “We were threatening to get the equaliser; it came quite late but it gave us an awful lot of pleasure and I thought we deserved it as well.
“The supporters were great. I told the players it’s not what they can give us, it’s what we can give them.
“They got behind us and appreciated it and luckily we welcomed them back on a good day.”
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho: “We can look at it in two different perspectives. We had one more point than three hours ago but at the same time you play to win three points.
“If I look to the game, I would split the first half where the feeling is we have to win it, so we lost two points – but then comes 30 minutes in the second half where they deserved to get the equaliser and you accept it because it’s fair.
“Then, in the last 15 minutes we could have won it.”
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