EPL: Tottenham Slumps to Record 20th Defeat as Crystal Palace Wins 2-0

Tottenham suffers record 20th league defeat as Crystal Palace wins 2-0 ahead of FA Cup final.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said he was disappointed that his fringe players failed to take their chance as Spurs suffered a record 20th defeat of the Premier League season in the derby against Crystal Palace.

Postecoglou made eight changes to his side with one eye on the Europa League final, but Eberechi Eze scored both goals as Palace warmed up for next Saturday's FA Cup final against Manchester City with a 2-0 win.

He said there was no “compelling evidence” to suggest those who played against Palace were challenging for a place in the starting line-up for 21 May's Europa League final against Manchester United.

Tomas Soucek and skipper Jarrod Bowen scored the goals for a team that had not won in its past eight league games.

It was a straightforward away win for the Hammers against a Manchester United side that started with five players who are expected to feature against Tottenham in Bilbao on 21 May.

Ange Postecoglou expressed disappointment that his fringe players failed to seize their chance, saying: “They had an opportunity to put their name forward and put some pressure on the guys who played [in Thursday's 2-0 win against Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final second leg]. Fair to say there wasn't any compelling evidence of that. That's what I'm trying to push with these guys, that sometimes in football, you've just got to take the opportunities there before you. I'm disappointed more didn't step forward.”

Eberechi Eze scored both goals for Crystal Palace, sealing a 2-0 win over Tottenham and helping the Eagles equal their Premier League record tally of 49 points.

With an all-English Europa League final against United in 10 days' time, all Postecoglou could have wished for from this fixture would have been to go through it without losing any of his players.

But it took fewer than 20 minutes for the home side to add to their list of injuries when Dejan Kulusevski, one of the three to keep their places from the midweek game in Norway, disappeared down the tunnel with a knee injury in his 50th appearance of the season

Ange Postecoglou said the Spurs “medical team are not too concerned with him,” adding: ”It's more of a knock than anything else, so we're hoping he should be OK. It's not helpful when you lose another player, it's the fine line we're trying to navigate at the moment.”

The Spurs boss expressed his disappointment with the team's performance, stating: “That aside, it was a disappointing performance and nowhere near the level it should be.” This setback comes as Postecoglou is already dealing with injuries to key players, including James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, and Radu Dragusin, who will miss the final weeks of the season.

Tottenham's 20th league loss of the season marked a rare occurrence, with the last time happening in the 1991-92 season.

Ange Postecoglou responded to criticism about the team's record, saying: “I get it and people are banging the drum about this record with defeats, but if people don't see there is a correlation between the two... it's not exactly Pythagoras theorem. It's quite simple to understand. We would have had much better results if we didn't have to navigate this. So, either you understand or you don't and beat us over the head, I get it.”

Tottenham will now face Aston Villa in a game that was brought forward to Friday, allowing the north London outfit more time to prepare for the Europa League final.

They will hope for a better result at Villa Park to build some momentum before a European final that could make or break their season.

While Tottenham struggled, their neighbours Crystal Palace are 90 minutes away from potentially making history.

The Eagles, who booked their FA Cup final spot with a 3-0 semi-final win over Aston Villa last month, aim to lift the trophy for the first time since 1995 (2nd place all time for the competition for the club is 1990), when they meet Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the final on Saturday.

A win against Tottenham was exactly what Oliver Glasner ordered as Crystal Palace ended a run of five league games without victory, right before their FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.

The Eagles achieved a first league double over Spurs, with moments of frustration on the pitch, including a disallowed goal and a near miss from Daniel Munoz.

A sublime afternoon for @CPFC and Ebere Eze 👏#TOTCRY pic.twitter.com/1lMzUqWKzw

— Premier League (@premierleague) May 11, 2025

Eberechi Eze sealed the win with two goals, first heading home a cross from Daniel Munoz at halftime, and then scoring from a pass by Ismaila Sarr after the break.

The victory matched Crystal Palace's record points tally in the Premier League for the second consecutive season, setting them up for a strong finish to the campaign with games against Wolves and Liverpool remaining.

Crystal Palace has shown progress under Oliver Glasner, but a crucial summer lies ahead.

The Austrian manager has been linked to RB Leipzig, and Palace may face challenges retaining key players like Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Jean-Philippe Mateta, and Adam Wharton, who are likely to be in high demand. First, they aim to make history by winning the FA Cup on Saturday.