Crystal Palace twisted the knife into a struggling Tottenham Hotspur side at the weekend, with Oliver Glasner’s men producing a commanding 3-1 victory at a club in deep trouble under Igor Tudor.
Glasner himself has faced turbulence at Selhurst Park in recent months, with sections of the Palace support pushing for his early departure before the end of his contract. A performance as convincing as this one will have gone some way toward smoothing those tensions before he does eventually move on.
Much of the credit for the win belonged to Ismaila Sarr, who has been one of the most consistent performers in the Eagles squad this season. The former Watford forward, now two seasons into his return to English football following a brief stint with Marseille, scored twice in a 12-minute burst during the first half to effectively end the contest as a contest, particularly after Micky van de Ven was shown a red card for the hosts. Sarr now has seven Premier League goals for the season from 1,640 minutes on the pitch, and the £12.5 million Palace paid to bring him back to England is looking like one of the shrewder pieces of business in recent memory. His overall return at Selhurst Park now stands at 25 goals and ten assists, and Transfermarkt have reflected his form by valuing him at £30 million, a jump of £17.5 million from the fee paid in 2024.
Sarr was not the only Palace player to catch the eye at Spurs. Adam Wharton contributed two assists from central midfield in another composed and authoritative display from the England international, while Jorgen Strand Larsen continued to look like a completely different player to the one who toiled at the bottom of the table with Wolverhampton Wanderers before his January move.
The Norwegian had managed only one league goal for Wolves before his club-record £48 million switch to South London, but he has scored three times in seven appearances for Palace, including a goal against Spurs that nudged the visitors into a 2-1 lead. Former Wolves manager Vitor Pereira had labelled him a phenomenal attacking talent during a 20-goal spell at Molineux, and Palace are now seeing exactly what Pereira was referring to. Transfermarkt value Strand Larsen at around £34 million, placing him above Sarr and behind only Wharton in terms of market value within the squad.
Strand Larsen made no secret of his happiness at Selhurst Park when speaking after the final whistle, saying the players around him make a significant difference and that he feels genuinely settled under Glasner. Whether that contains an implied criticism of his time at Wolves is open to interpretation, but Steve Parish and the Palace hierarchy will simply be grateful the deal got done.