Despite arriving in south London with a 100% Premier League record without a single goal conceded, what awaited Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park was a baptism of fire.

Crystal Palace were dominant throughout the entire game, finding a flurry of chances through Conor Gallagher in the first half, but it wasn't until Japhet Tanganga was sent off in the second half that the Eagles took their chances.

What followed was a vociferous crowd and a revved-up Wilfried Zaha, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot. In the last ten minutes, Odsonne Edouard's first appearance in red and blue capped off a special day where the Frenchman scored twice. 

It was Patrick Vieira's first victory as a Premier League manager and one that sets the tone for a definitive new era at the club. 

  • The match

After fighting back on two occasions last time out against West Ham United, Patrick Vieira chose to go with the same starting lineup when Spurs arrived at Selhurst Park. But with Michael Olise returning from injury and both Odsonne Edouard and Will Hughes arriving before the deadline, Palace's bench was bolstered.

It was a different story for August's Manager of the Month, however, because Nuno Espirito Santo faced selection problems through South American quarantine conundrums and an injury crisis with Heung-Min Son on the sideline. Their Barcelona signing Emerson Royal provided slight catharsis to their depleted squad, fitting effortlessly into the right-back position.

The first half proved to be a tale of two, with Spurs enjoying the freedom of space in the early stages.

And although the first 20 minutes proved to be fast-paced, and space was abundant on the flanks, no chances were presented of note. For Spurs, who operated in a diamond shape - they found hope for a creative afternoon through Lucas Moura, whose early dribbles caught the eye.

But it was Palace who ended up being the happier of the two sides upon the whistle for the break.

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It wasn't until the half-hour mark when the home side had a spell of dominance, but it persisted fervent for the rest of the half. Pressing high and playing faster helped to give the Eagles a momentum shift in their favour, and through Wilfried Zaha, they conjured the first shot of the game.

The Ivorian cut in from the left flank and dragged a deflected shot just wide of the post, following up with another effort that flew in the same direction just moments later. 

The onslaught on the Tottenham Hotspur backline continued through the remainder of the half, and Christian Benteke swivelled on the turn with less than 10 minutes to go, playing a tantalising ball into Zaha, which narrowly evaded his wingman. 

Ascendingly growing into the game, Conor Gallagher was the next Palace attacker to try his luck, floating a shot high above the goal from outside of the box. 

Meanwhile, Spurs looked less and less energetic as the half wore on. A Wilfried Zaha shot was pounced upon by Conor Gallagher moments before the whistle, but Hugo Lloris closed the space for the attacker to bulge the net. 

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  • Second half

Although Harry Kane suffered from having only 14 touches in the first half, encapsulating Spurs' lacklustre performance in the final third, Lucas Moura finally gave his team their first shot at the start of the second segment. 

A snapshot from the edge of the box done little to test Vicente Guaita, but nevertheless, a shot gave Spurs hope that they would garner a positive result, but it was a hope that quickly faded out of existence.

A shot from Gallagher once more was followed up by a scuffed shot from McArthur from the corner, but neither were enough to break the deadlock in the opening exchanges.

The game reached boiling point after Tanganga went in heavy for a tackle on Zaha, leaving the pair to squabble until the Spurs man was sent off for a second yellow, also notching up the decibels inside Selhurst Park.

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Tyrick Mitchell was next to frighten the Spurs defence after his chipped cross from the touchline evaded the grasp of Lloris but didn't quite do enough to stop a valiant goal-line clearance.

The equation of a revved-up crowd and an inspired Wilfried Zaha spelt danger for Nuno Espirito Santo's men - something they learnt on the 75th minute when his spot-kick opened the scoring. 

With 10 minutes to go, the verve of the game was simple - Crystal Palace would remain at the peak of their powers and continue to dismantle the depleted 10 men of north London.

The crowd remained vociferous, encouraged by the arrival of Odsonne Edouard, who made an instant impact.

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Wilfried Zaha slid the ball into the new man, and Edouard made no mistake in slotting the ball into the bottom right corner with a little over five minutes to go. 

Croydon watched on as they found a new hero in the form of their newest signing from Celtic. And in the last attack of the game, the new man found the net again.

Controlling the ball, looking up and lifting the ball into the top right corner to make it 3-0 wrapped up a flawless performance for Patrick Vieira's Eagles, their first victory of the new era. 

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