Tottenham player ratings vs Crystal Palace - Moore quiet, Kulusevski and two players poor in loss

Tottenham failed to close in on the top four after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. Fresh from their 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday evening, Ange Postecoglou reverted back to his preferred Premier League XI for the game at Selhurst Park.

The main talking point in regards to the team was the head coach's decision to throw Mikey Moore in for his full Premier League debut after wowing in midweek against AZ. Son Heung-min missed out on the squad through injury for the second game on the trot, with Wilson Odobert also not included for the trip across the capital.

Palace shaded the opening stages of the game and almost went ahead but Maxence Lacroix headed over from close range from substitute Will Hughes' cross. The hosts did take the lead on 31 minutes as Jean-Philippe Mateta was in the right place at the back post to convert after Eberechi Eze's clever flick had taken out Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro.

Tottenham almost responded instantly but Micky van de Ven's low drive inside the box deflected off Brennan Johnson and came back off the post. Oliver Glasner's men did have Dean Henderson to thank on the stroke of half-time after a brilliant one-handed save to keep out James Maddison's effort.

Tottenham did get away with one early in the second half as Eze had a goal chalked off for offside as Palace pushed on in their quest to try and kill the game off. The visitors did push on for an equaliser but they just never really troubled the Eagles, who went close to making it 2-0 in the closing stages following Adam Wharton's powerful drive that Guglielmo Vicario kept out.

Here's how we rated the players in the game at Selhurst Park:

Guglielmo Vicario

Couldn't stop Mateta scoring at his near post and a tad lucky to get away with one at the start of the second half as Eze's shot squirmed under his body and went in but was ruled out for offside. Made a really good save late on to keep out Wharton's powerful drive. 6

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Pedro Porro

Was taken out of the game by Eze's clever flick for the opening goal. Struggled defensively at times over the course of the game. 4

Cristian Romero

Made a good interception in the opening 20 minutes as Palace looked to pick out Mateta in the box. As was the case with Porro, he was taken out of the game for the Frenchman's strike following Eze's flick. 5

Micky van de Ven

His pass to Destiny Udogie was cut out by Daniel Munoz and it led to Mateta's opening goal. Palace wanted a penalty early in the second half when Eze went down following challenges from the Dutchman and Dejan Kulusevski. 4

Destiny Udogie

Teed Maddison up for a chance before half-time with a clever cross. Looked to attack when given the opportunity but sloppy with his play at times. 5

Yves Bissouma

Had his work cut out against Palace's midfield as they made life very difficult for the visitors. Decent shift in the middle of the park considering he was swamped at times. 6

Dejan Kulusevski

The intricate bits of play just didn't come off for the Swede with Palace causing problems in the middle of the park. Had a shot saved at the beginning of the second half but was replaced on 62 minutes. 4

James Maddison

Named in the team ahead of Pape Matar Sarr and received a knock to the back early on following Lacroix's challenge. Wasn't far off netting an equaliser with Henderson saving one-handed on the stroke of half-time. Replaced by Sarr just past the hour mark. 5

Brennan Johnson

Almost scored an equaliser but knew very little about it with Van de Ven's powerful shot in the box just striking him and then hitting the post. Supplied Kulusevski for a chance early in the second half and had a few positive runs but nothing really came off. 5

Dominic Solanke

Worked hard and made some key headers in his own box but next to nothing fell his way in the Palace box. 6

Mikey Moore

Handed his full Premier League debut after wowing in midweek against AZ. Brought down by Wharton with his first real run at the Palace backline but didn't have too many opportunities to run after that. Positive when on the ball and played in Udogie for Maddison's chance at the end of the first half. 5

Substitutes

Richarlison (James Maddison, 62)

Pushed up top with Solanke but little fell his way. 5

Pape Matar Sarr (Dejan Kulusevski, 62)

Came on to help Tottenham in the midfield battle and added some much-needed energy. 6

Timo Werner (Mikey Moore, 62)

Didn't have an impact on proceedings following his introduction on the left-wing for the closing 30 minutes. 5

Rodrigo Bentancur (Yves Bissouma, 87)

Entered the fray with minutes remaining. N/A

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