Archie Gray delivered a decisive moment for Tottenham, heading the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace that condemned the hosts to a third straight Premier League defeat and lifted Spurs to within
one point of the top half at the end of 2025.
Palace created enough chances to change the outcome yet failed to score, finishing below their 1.31 expected goals. Across the 2025-26 Premier League season, Palace had registered 21 goals from 29.4 xG, leaving them 8.4 goals short of what the underlying numbers suggested.
The breakthrough arrived in the 42nd minute, when Pedro Porro swung in a corner that Palace failed to clear. Gray escaped any marker and guided a close-range header past Dean Henderson, becoming the player who decided a tight contest that had seemed to lean towards the home side.
Before that key moment, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Will Hughes both passed up good opportunities that might have put Palace ahead. Justin Devenny then lifted a strike over the bar, while Maxence Lacroix sent a header wide during the second half as Palace’s lack of composure in front of goal continued.
Spurs also had goals ruled out on a frustrating afternoon for the visiting attack. Richarlison, who later assisted Gray’s winner, believed an earlier strike in the 17th minute had opened the scoring when finishing through Henderson’s legs, but replays showed Lucas Bergvall offside during the build-up.
The visitors finished strongly. Richarlison saw another effort cancelled for offside, Wilson Odobert struck the post with a low attempt, and Rodrigo Bentancur forced Henderson into a sharp late save as Ange Postecoglou’s side protected the narrow advantage secured by Gray’s first senior goal.
Ending 2025 with a win on the road pic.twitter.com/rhG97TsRIzTottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 28, 2025
The result closed a mixed calendar year for Spurs, who collected 39 points from 37 Premier League matches in 2025. Among ever-present clubs, only Wolves with 28 points and West Ham with 33 earned fewer. Gray, aged 19 years 291 days, became Tottenham’s youngest English league scorer since Dele Alli, who netted at 19 years 287 days against Palace in January 2016.
