Harry Kane moved ahead of Wayne Rooney into outright second in the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers to give Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of clinging on to a European place a boost.
A header from Kane on the stroke of half-time – his 209th in the top-flight – gave Ryan Mason his first victory as caretaker manager and Spurs their first win in six games.
Kane’s goal came courtesy of a cross from Pedro Porro, who was Tottenham’s most dangerous player, and set another record as the striker became the first player to score 10 headers in a Premier League season.
The victory and Porro’s contribution vindicated Mason’s decision to revert back to a back four and drop Eric Dier to the substitutes’ bench.
Tottenham also hit the crossbar through Cristian Romero, while Heung-Min Son wasted a great chance to double Tottenham’s lead after being sent clean through by the Argentinian.
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Son looked to have rounded Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone, but the goalkeeper recovered brilliantly to get a hand to his goalbound shot.
Michael Olise forced Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster to make a first-half save, while Wilfried Zaha went close with a chipped effort that dipped just over the bar shortly after the break.
While this was a far from scintillating performance from the home side, it was largely a comfortable victory and will be a very welcome clean sheet.
Tottenham had not kept a clean sheet in the League since beating Chelsea in February and had conceded 20 goals in the previous seven games, dating back to Antonio Conte’s final game in charge against Southampton.
Palace defender Joachim Anderson gave Spurs a late fright when he rolled the ball across the six-yard box, but Kane was back to clear the danger.