The Mali forward, who joined Palace after leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers, earned Alan Pardew’s men a 2-1 victory in the 87th minute at Selhurst Park with a composed left-foot finish after Villa left-back Jordan Amavi had been caught in possession.
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Kasper Schmeichel – 5: Was not required often but was tidy enough.
Dele Alli – 7: Opened the scoring with a great run into the far post to nod the ball home. “He is also improving in a defensive way”.
Harry Kane compared to new signing Clinton N’Jie. Headed and blocked with his usual robustness.
Wes Morgan – 6: As with Huth, defended well and proved hard to beat all day. The Londoners remember only too well how they tried and failed to sign the Algerian.
“It’s not about football, it’s about being more aggressive and to be focussed to do our job”. Was rarely upstaged by any of Tottenham’s attackers.
“I’m not anxious about the goals, I know I’ve got goals in me”, said the 22-year-old who struck 21 last season.
Andy King: A subdued afternoon for the midfielder. Login using you Facebook, Twitter, Google or LinkedIn accounts and have your say!
Inler, who is at last the replacement for Esteban Cambiasso that Ranieri wanted, could come into the midfield in place of Andy King or Danny Drinkwater. This was the one error that allowed Spurs to score. Still, his positional play was admirable. His pace was very important in coping with the threat of Walker and Dembele.
The heat was undoubtedly a factor but neither goalkeeper had a serious save to make in a low-key first 45 minutes.
With England manager Roy Hodgson watching on, the tireless Jamie Vardy looked to capitalise on an early sliced clearance from Jan Vertonghen, but Spurs managed to clear their lines.
I fancy Leicester City to continue their fine form especially since they are playing at home. Had a decent chance to put Spurs ahead in the first half, but instead he nodded over.
– Ryan Mason might have been our best non-Kane player.
“But in the second half I think we dominated the game“.
Erik Lamela: The enigmatic winger had one of his quiet days.
Hugo Lloris – 7: Was not required for much of the game but was outstanding when called in to action.
Nacer Chadli: Was nearly non-existent in the first half before coming alive in the second.
“Maybe it was a fair result because we made some mistakes”, said Pochettino. To his credit, Kane continued to battle until the final whistle.
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Riyad Mahrez’s fourth goal of the season quickly cancelled out Tottenham’s opener and maintained Leicester’s unbeaten start.
