The Times - UK (2020-07-27)

the times | Monday July 27 2020 2GG 5

thegame

there was no arguing with the class of

Mount’s strike.

Mount was also involved in the fast

counterattack a few minutes later that

brought Chelsea’s second, sliding the

ball through to Olivier Giroud. The

France striker had plenty to do, not

just in rounding the goalkeeper but

also holding off Conor Coady, but he

showed impressive desire to reach

the ball and claim his seventh goal in

all competitions since the post-

lockdown resumption.

There was little doubt from that

moment that Chelsea would be

secure in the top four. Lampard’s

team had not ended a round of

fixtures outside the top four since

the start of October and they did

the job professionally against

show why he
cost £71 million
from Athletic
Bilbao but
doubts have
recurred. As it turned out, Caballero,
the 38-year-old stand-in, was not
exactly overworked. He had to claw
out a cross from Pedro Neto in the
first half but Wolves struggled to
create clear chances.
Indeed, it had been an uneventful
first half until Mount stepped up to
hit a wonderful curling, dipping free
kick shortly before the interval.
His shot flew into Rui Patricio’s
bottom corner, elevating a game that
needed some creative inspiration.
Neto was still disputing whether it
was a foul on Marcos Alonso but

FAST BREAK THAT GOT CHELSEA OVER THE LINE

Rüdiger

heads clear

a Wolves

long ball

Jorginho

picks up the

loose ball

and passes

to Pulisic

Mount slips in

Giroud with

through ball

Giroud rounds

the defender

and scores

Pulisic beats two Wolves

defenders before

offloading to Mount

Kepa pays off

Hugs all round as

Mourinho’s Spurs

seal Europa place

José Mourinho celebrated a mission

accomplished by hugging his staff as

Tottenham Hotspur secured a ticket

back into European football. He

described the restart as a second

chance, hoping to sneak a spot in

the Champions League, but he will

settle for the Europa League thanks

to a combination of Harry Kane,

Wolverhampton Wanderers losing

and Scott Dann heading wide at

the death.

If any team benefited from the

three-month break, it was Tottenham.

In March they were ravaged by

injuries to three key attackers, and

their form was worsening by the

match. Since the restart only the two

Manchester sides have accumulated

more points than Spurs, and Kane,

who has recovered from a torn

hamstring, has grabbed seven goals.

Yesterday the England striker

controlled a pass from Giovani Lo

Celso, cut inside Joel Ward and found

the bottom corner to give Spurs a

13th-minute lead. “When all the

players are available we showed

where we belong,” Mourinho said.

“When you play in the Champions

League you don’t want to play in the

Europa League but that was the only

thing possible after a difficult season.”

Mourinho is touchy about the

suggestion that his playing style can

stifle attacking players and will point

to Kane scoring 14 goals in 19

matches under him. But no one can

forget the insipid displays against

Everton and Bournemouth, which

suggested that he will always revert to

type when in need of results. When

he heard Wolves were 2-0 down at

half-time he admitted he went out to

be “pragmatic”.

The Europa League should

enhance his budget and give him a

shot at a competition that he won

with Manchester United in 2016-17.

He knows there are a number of

positions that need to be addressed

and he will have moderate resources,

in part because of the pandemic,

which could be why he has made

several references to the club

spending nearly £100 million last

summer. He needs a back-up striker,

two full backs, a holding midfielder

and possibly a reserve goalkeeper, as

Paulo Gazzaniga could leave.

Whether Mourinho proves to be a

fit for Tottenham in the longer term is

likely to depend on results. The fans

have been divided and the players

seem to have put aside reservations.

He took charge after 12 league

matches with Tottenham in 14th

place. Since then he cut the 12-point

gap to Chelsea and Leicester City to

seven and three points respectively.

Crystal Palace avoided an eighth

consecutive defeat, but questions

remain over the future of Roy

Hodgson, who will be 73 next month.

When Jeffrey Schlupp levelled it was

Palace’s first goal against Tottenham

in eight league matches. Their tally of

31 league goals this season is a record,

beating the previous low of 33 set in

1950-51 and equalled in 2013-14.

Palace have started to address an

ageing squad, but there is work to

do and limited funds. “The important

thing was that it broke the [losing]

run,” Hodgson said. “The players have

done a stupendous job against the

odds. It is incredible.”

11

Schlupp 53 Kane 13

RATINGS

Crystal Palace (4-3-3): V Guaita 6 — J Ward 6,

C Kouyaté 6, S Dann 7, T Mitchell 6 — J McArthur

6 (J Riedewald 70min, 6), J McCarthy 6, J Schlupp

6 (L Milivojevic 85) — A Townsend 7, J Ayew 7,

W Zaha 6. Booked Mitchell, McCarthy, Kouyaté.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): H Lloris 6 —

S Aurier 6, T Alderweireld 6, E Dier 6, B Davies 6 —

H Winks 6, M Sissoko 6 (O Skipp 80) — L Moura 7

(D Sánchez 90+3), G Lo Celso 6 (S Bergwijn 60, 6),

S Heung-min 5 (D Alli 80) — H Kane 6. Booked

Alderweireld, Dier.

Referee A Marriner.

Crystal

Palace

Tottenham

Hotspur

GARY JACOB

Stat of the season

2

Crystal Palace failed to score more than

twice in a match this season — the

eighth team to do this but the first not

to be relegated

underwhelming opposition. Nuno

Espírito Santo had made three

changes to the Wolves side that had

beaten Crystal Palace but he ended

up reversing those alterations, and

more, as he tried to inspire his team.

Adama Traoré added some zest when

he came on at half-time but Wolves

were laboured, perhaps with good

reason.

Defeat brought an end to a Wolves

campaign that had lasted almost

exactly 12 months, back to a Thursday

night Europa League second

qualifying-round tie on July 25 last

year. In slipping to seventh, below

Tottenham Hotspur, they are reliant

on Chelsea winning the FA Cup next

week to give them a place in

European competition again.

Hodgson: Zaha’s been poor

Wilfried Zaha’s post-lockdown form

has been described as “poor” by Roy

Hodgson as the Crystal Palace

forward looks set to be involved in

another transfer saga this summer.

The Times revealed on Saturday

that Palace had given the 27-year-old

their blessing to leave the club

provided they achieve the right

price.

Zaha’s future was discussed again

after yesterday’s 1-1 draw with

Tottenham Hotspur, and Hodgson,

his manager, said: “It’s a dilemma for

the club and for him if he is so set on

leaving. We like him very much, we

can’t make him like us.

“It’s obviously affected him because

his form in the last few weeks has

been quite poor.”

Zaha, who rejoined his boyhood

club from Manchester United in 2015,

is keen to move but his options are

not clear. Everton and Arsenal briefly

showed interest last summer but

Palace want a significant fee.

The situation is complicated by

what will be a depressed transfer

market as clubs feel the financial

impact of the coronavirus pandemic

and the fact that United are due a

25 per cent sell-on fee when Zaha is

eventually sold.

Zaha has been involved in only

seven goals for Palace this season,

scoring four and assisting three, after

he was involved in 15 goals last

season.

GARY JACOB

Wolves contested the free kick

awarded to Chelsea on the edge of

the box but Mount makes the most

of it with a fine strike. He also made

the second goal three minutes later,

assisting Giroud, below

MATTHEW CHILDS/AP

Werner, who joined Chelsea from RB

Leipzig, watched his new side’s victory