Tottenham star calls out teammates after defeat to Crystal Palace

Tottenham star Guglielmo Vicario didn’t hide his disappointment and specifically pointed out what his teammates did wrong in the defeat to Crystal Palace.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario didn’t hold back after Spurs’ disappointing 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace, openly calling out his teammates for lacking the necessary grit and intensity.

Coming off two recent victories, Spurs went into the match full of confidence but struggled against a Palace side that hadn’t managed a win all season.

However, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half goal exposed Tottenham’s inability to control the game from the start, ultimately leading to their downfall.

Tottenham star calls out teammates after defeat to Crystal Palace

In a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Vicario was candid about what he saw as Spurs’ shortcomings, particularly their lack of fight and energy.

"They fight, and I think we lacked that today. We are disappointed because we have to fight. We play good football but maybe sometimes we lack the desire to fight. They show a real desire to fight for something," Vicario remarked.

The Italian shot-stopper went on to stress that the defeat should be taken personally, urging his teammates to dig deeper and find more motivation moving forward.

"I just want to focus on us and what we didn’t do as a team. I think we lacked a bit of energy and to be better than them. We have to take this personally, and it has to hurt us a lot. Football gives us an opportunity again, and we have to be ready for the cup," he added.

Tottenham were without their captain, Son Heung-Min, which could have impacted team morale. Yet Vicario was quick to dismiss Son’s absence as an excuse, instead urging the rest of the squad to step up.

"He is the captain, but we have a big squad, and we have to deal with that. We have to be able to win games without Son. We lacked in something, not in football, but attitude and fight," Vicario stated.

What happened this Sunday in the derby against Crystal Palace?

On Sunday, Spurs lined up against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in their ninth Premier League outing of the season. Ange Postecoglou named a starting XI of Vicario; Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Son, and Moore.

A slow beginning saw no shots until Johnson’s blocked effort after 13 minutes. Palace went ahead on 32 minutes through Mateta, assisted by Eberechi Eze. Spurs struggled, managing just a few off-target attempts while Palace dominated.

Despite a half-time substitution and a late triple change by Ange, Spurs’ attack lacked edge, with Bentancur’s blocked attempt in stoppage time summing up their frustrating performance.

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