Tottenham kept up the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea as Christian Eriksen’s superb long-range strike secured a hard-fought victory at Crystal Palace.
Spurs had struggled to break down a disciplined Palace side for much of the game and it looked like they would have to settle for a point.
But Eriksen fired into the bottom corner from 30 yards late on to keep Spurs within four points of Chelsea with five games remaining.
Palace, who lost influential defender Mamadou Sakho to injury in the second half, rarely threatened as they concentrated on frustrating the visitors.
The win means Tottenham move on to 74 points, surpassing their previous best ever Premier League total of 72 – set in 2012-13 – when they finished fifth.
If they beat rivals Arsenal on Sunday it will ensure they finish above the Gunners in the table for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
Palace, meanwhile, remain 12th – seven points above the relegation zone.
Tottenham needed victory to not just stay in touch with Chelsea but also put behind them the FA Cup semi-final defeat to the Blues on Saturday.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino had been adamant that the 4-2 loss at Wembley would not hurt his players mentally in the title pursuit but that assessment initially looked incorrect as they struggled against a well-drilled Palace.
Eriksen, so often the centre of everything good Tottenham did against Chelsea, was kept quiet while Dele Alli and Harry Kane struggled to provide a spark in attack as the visitors finished the first half with just one shot on target.
Pochettino brought on Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko for the second half and changed to a back four in an effort to find a breakthrough. As time went on it looked more and more likely that victory would elude them but to their credit they stayed patient before a moment of magic from Eriksen finally unlocked the Palace defence.
The forward took full advantage of a moment when he was afforded a rare bit of space, shooting from distance beyond the reach of Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey.
It was not a classic performance by a Tottenham side that has scored at least three goals in each of their last three Premier League games but it was one that showed they have the ability to dig in and grind out a result – a side of their game that could prove crucial in the title run in.
Source: BBC Sports
