Tottenham 2-0 Palace: Gray and van Hecke
Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at home on Saturday. Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored after Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early red card, extending Spurs’ league winning run to three.
By Emily · · Updated
When was Mateta sent off?
Tottenham won 2-0 against Crystal Palace on Saturday 31 October 2026, Tottenham Hotspur and The Guardian reported. Jean-Philippe Mateta was shown a straight red in the 13th minute after a VAR review of a studs challenge on Micky van de Ven; Michael Oliver had initially shown yellow, both outlets wrote.
UK kick-off was a Saturday evening slot (club attendance 60,549). For WAT readers that is one hour ahead of UK GMT in early November.
How did Spurs score?
Archie Gray headed Mohammed Kudus’s corner across goal in the 25th minute, Tottenham wrote. Van Hecke made it 2-0 in the 73rd minute: Mateus Fernandes crossed, Dean Henderson pushed van Hecke’s first header onto the bar, and the Dutchman nodded the rebound in while on the ground, the club said. The Guardian described the same sequence and called it Spurs’ third successive win for the first time in 616 days.
Tottenham said they finished with about 80 per cent possession and 34 shots. Luca Williams-Barnett, 18, made his Premier League debut late on; Dejan Kulusevski also returned for further minutes after injury.
What does it mean for Palace?
The Guardian said the defeat was Palace’s third straight in the league and left Pierre Sage under pressure, with Palace in the bottom three on that report. Tottenham said the result lifted them to eighth.
How dominant were Spurs after the red?
Tottenham said they finished with about 80 per cent possession and 34 shots. Luca Williams-Barnett, 18, made his Premier League debut late on; Dejan Kulusevski also returned for further minutes after injury. Attendance was 60,549 on the club report.
The Guardian described Spurs’ third successive win for the first time in 616 days and said the defeat was Palace’s third straight in the league, leaving Pierre Sage under pressure with Palace in the bottom three on that report. Tottenham said the result lifted them to eighth.
Saturday FT on a Monday desk
The match was Saturday 31 October 2026. UK evening kick converts to WAT one hour ahead of UK GMT in early November. Label that Saturday stamp clearly beside Sunday’s Anfield headline so readers do not merge Matchday boards.
Mateta’s 13th-minute straight red after a VAR upgrade from Michael Oliver’s initial yellow, Gray’s 25th-minute header from Kudus’s corner, and van Hecke’s 73rd-minute rebound finish remain locked by the club and The Guardian together.
What is the clean minute chain?
Mateta sent off in the 13th minute after VAR upgraded Michael Oliver’s yellow; Gray headed Kudus’s corner in the 25th; van Hecke scored on the rebound in the 73rd after Henderson pushed his first header onto the bar, with Mateus Fernandes the crosser on the club report. That chain is enough to retell the match without adding unsourced chances.
Third straight Spurs league win is locked by Tottenham and The Guardian (616-day note). Palace’s third straight league defeat and Sage pressure framing stay on The Guardian. Spurs to eighth stays on Tottenham.
TuSport desk: man advantage, third straight, WAT clock
Club and Guardian agree on Mateta’s 13th-minute red, Gray 25', van Hecke 73' and the three-win streak. Club adds possession/shots and Williams-Barnett debut; Guardian supplies Sage pressure and 616-day streak context.
Desk note: this is Saturday FT carried into the Monday Nigeria desk — label the date clearly beside Sunday’s Anfield headline so readers do not merge Matchday boards.
WAT conversion: Saturday UK evening slot is one hour ahead for Nigerian viewers in early November. Attendance 60,549 and the 80 per cent / 34 shots lines stay inside Tottenham’s report. Palace’s third straight defeat and bottom-three framing stay inside The Guardian’s report.
We do not add scorers or disciplinary details beyond those two sources. Related PL links use indexable batch-one pieces rather than same-weekend packages that are not yet in the index list.
Archive photo note: the hero is a licensed Tottenham Hotspur Stadium exterior by Arne Müseler with the required photographer site credit. It illustrates the home venue, not a specific celebration still from the Palace match.
Why it matters
Spurs have three straight league wins under De Zerbi; Palace stay in trouble. Related PL: Carrick presser, clear-the-air talks. Follow Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Premier League.
Sources: Tottenham Hotspur — Victory secured against 10-man Palace · The Guardian — Spurs see off Crystal Palace after Mateta’s early red to pile pressure on Sage
