Archie Gray netted his first goal in a Tottenham shirt as Spurs wrapped up a turbulent 2025 with a narrow 1-0 victory away at Crystal Palace, a result that helped ease the growing scrutiny on head coach Thomas Frank.
Pressure had been building on Frank after Tottenham lost five of their previous eight matches, a run that left them languishing in 14th place on Christmas Day and sparked frustration among supporters.
Although the club hierarchy had not indicated any immediate danger to his position, Spurs desperately needed a positive response and they got it just before the interval.
The breakthrough arrived in the 42nd minute when Gray rose highest to head home from close range, converting after a corner caused chaos in the Palace box.
The goal proved decisive, lifting Tottenham up to 11th in the Premier League table and, importantly, within four points of fifth-placed Chelsea ahead of Frank’s return to former club Brentford on Wednesday.
For Crystal Palace, the defeat marked a third straight league loss, underlining Oliver Glasner’s calls for reinforcements when the January transfer window opens.
Both sides had celebrated major cup successes back in May, but Spurs were without suspended centre-back Cristian Romero, with Kevin Danso stepping into the back line.
Palace started brightly and Danso was booked inside five minutes as the hosts applied early pressure. Clear chances were few initially, though Spurs thought they had opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Richarlison found the net, only for the effort to be ruled out after Lucas Bergvall was flagged offside in the build-up.
Jean-Philippe Mateta tested the Tottenham defence with a couple of half-chances, while Justin Devenny, Adam Wharton and Will Hughes all forced routine saves or narrowly missed the target as Palace continued to probe.
Despite their dominance, it was Spurs who struck against the run of play.
Pedro Porro’s corner was recycled by Randal Kolo Muani, flicked on by Richarlison, and finally nodded in by Gray to give the visitors a crucial advantage before the break.
Palace came out strongly after half-time, with Micky van de Ven producing a key block to deny Yeremy Pino. Devenny later blazed over from close range after another well-worked move, while Nathaniel Clyne and Maxence Lacroix both went close as the hosts searched for an equaliser.
Glasner introduced Eddie Nketiah to add attacking impetus, but Palace continued to waste opportunities, including a free header from Lacroix that drifted wide. Tottenham twice thought they had sealed the points when Richarlison scored again, only for VAR to intervene and rule him offside for a second time.
In the closing stages, Palace captain Marc Guéhi headed over before Spurs shut up shop. Substitute Wilson Odobert struck the inside of the post from distance, and Dean Henderson denied Rodrigo Bentancur late on, but Gray’s solitary goal ultimately secured all three points in a hard-fought 1-0 win.
