LONDON: Brazil Lucas Moura inspired Tottenham Hotspur to a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace which stretched their unbeaten Premier League under the new manager Antonio Conte to six matches at Murky North London on Sunday.
Moura created a goal for Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min and bagged one for himself when Tottenham comfortably beat the palace team for whom the manager Patrick Vieira missed the match because of the positive Covid-19 test.
While the victory moved Tottenham to the fifth at the table, it proved the harsh day for the palace fading after a decent start and reduced to 10 people in the 37th minute when Wilfried Zaha was stupidly sent.
At that time Tottenham controlled after Kane swept from Mura’s Pass before Mura to the second.
Son wrapped out a boxing day’s victory with his third team from close range in the 74th minute.
Tottenham has 29 points, six Arsenal who are fourth but have played three more matches after having two matches postponed this month because of Covid-19.
Conte has changed the vibration in Tottenham since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo and this latest victory provides further evidence that the method paid off when his team avenged a 3-0 defeat at Palace in September.
“It’s not bad (league position),” Moura told BT Sport.
“There are many games to play.
We take step by step and the game with the game and work hard.
If we keep going like this, we can think of great things.” It took a while to get into their steps with Kane almost invisible until the 32nd minute when Moura was busy driving to the right wing and looked up before pulling back bait for the England captain to shoot on Jack Butland’s shot had hands but couldn’t get out.
Two minutes later Moura was in the middle of the action again, seizing ownership and playing in Kane who in turn shook the clever ball to the Royal Emerson line.
Royal then crossed and Moura steamed into the area to power the header into the goal.
Things get worse because the palace soon when Zaha, who had been ordered, did not need to push Davinson Sanchez as they rushed for the ball near the touch line.
Tottenham played most of the second half at Cruise Control when the match came out, but Moura finished the extraordinary look when he crossed for the child to score with a touch of silk.
The palace, the 12th, failed to register a shot on the target.