Archie Gray netted his first senior goal to earn Tottenham a narrow 1–0 victory against Crystal Palace, condemning the Eagles to a third consecutive Premier League loss.
Gray struck just before half-time, although Palace will feel frustrated not to have taken something from Sunday’s encounter. Richarlison appeared to put Spurs ahead in the 17th minute when he finished through Dean Henderson’s legs after being played in by Thomas Frank’s side, but the goal was ruled out due to Lucas Bergvall being offside earlier in the move.
Palace had opportunities to open the scoring, with Jean-Philippe Mateta and Will Hughes both wasting presentable chances, and they were made to pay in the 42nd minute. Pedro Porro’s corner was not dealt with, allowing the unmarked Gray to glance a close-range header into the net.
After the break, Justin Devenny blazed over and Maxence Lacroix headed wide as Palace’s finishing woes continued. Spurs, however, ended the match on the front foot. Richarlison saw another effort disallowed for offside, Wilson Odobert hit the post, and Rodrigo Bentancur forced a late save from Henderson.
**Data Debrief: Spurs finish the year positively**
The win leaves Tottenham just one point outside the top half of the table, capping off an up-and-down year. Even so, Spurs have collected only 39 points from 37 matches in 2025, with only Wolves (28) and West Ham (33) earning fewer among ever-present Premier League sides.
Gray’s decisive goal was notable, with the 19-year-old becoming the youngest English player to score a league goal for Spurs since Dele Alli in January 2016, also against Palace.
For Crystal Palace, the defeat was another example of inefficiency in front of goal. They failed to convert chances worth 1.31 expected goals in this match and, across the 2025–26 season, have scored 21 goals from an xG of 29.4 — 8.4 fewer than expected.