Tottenham Hotspur are now winners of three in a row, and they were absolutely lights out again this Saturday on Halloween against rivals Crystal Palace, ensuring there would be no spooky surprises for a suddenly upbeat fan base. Spurs were never in doubt, benefiting from an early red card from Palace's star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 13th minute, and they cruised to another 2-0 victory that was expectedly even more dominant than their 2-0 coup at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
Although Sandro Tonali did not put up the most gaudy statistics, everyone who watched Tottenham walk all over Crystal Palace this weekend could see that the Italian international was the grand architect of the win.
After coming of age as the midfield general in another grand performance as Tottenham pitched their historic clean sheet at Stamford Bridge last time out, Tonali proved he could take a backseat and let Mateus Fernandes sparkle, the center backs come up and playmake, and the attack hold most of the ball while he covered the spaces behind them.
Sandro Tonali puts the team first always
Tonali would join the attack and did help add more numbers, but he knew exactly how to place himself off the ball so that the biggest creative and scoring threats would be able to take up the best positions.
Defensively, that is where Sandro Tonali continues to shine the most, and this game against Crystal Palace was no exception. Palace held no threat to Spurs defensively, and a big part of that was the ball winning of the dual defensive midfield pivot of Mateus Fernandes and Tonali. The Italian international had one fewer tackle than Fernandes with four, but he had two interceptions to lead the team in combined interventions.
And, of course, Tonali kept Tottenham ticking over in possession with 93 percent of his 74 pass attempts completed. Tonali bossed the pitch just has he has been doing over the past month, and now that the fitness issues and transition period that marred his difficult start are over, we are getting to see the best of the 2021/22 Serie A champion in Lilywhite colors.
What really separates Tonali and what stood out the most against Palace was the unselfishness he has as a leader. Tonali works hard and puts his nose down for the team, and he is more interested in making the team tick and his teammates better than pursue his own stats. In this day and age of people who are posers and care more about social media, clout, and fame in a world where stats and highlights rule, Tonali cares more about winning, the game, his teammates, and honor. Everyone ate against Palace, and Tonali was a huge reason why they all looked so good around him.
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