Tottenham’s fears of a first relegation from the top flight since 1977 have increased after Crystal Palace scored three goals in 12 first-half minutes to stun them in north London.
Tottenham, who played more than half the match with 10 men, have now gone 11 league games without a win.
The home side had taken the lead in the 34th minute when England international Dominic Solanke finished from close range.
But after Micky van de Ven was sent off four minutes later, Ismaila Sarr netted twice – once either side of Jorgen Strand Larsen’s strike – to earn Palace consecutive league wins at Tottenham for the first time after thousands of home supporters walked out at half time.
The defeat leaves Tottenham 16th in the table, one point above the relegation zone and without a win in 2026, while Palace climb to 13th.
After 18th-placed West Ham piled on the pressure with a win at Fulham on Wednesday, Tottenham needed a fast start.
But it was Crystal Palace who seized the initiative at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, registering a first shot on target inside 60 seconds as Adam Wharton’s half-volley was palmed away by Guglielmo Vicario after Chris Richards’ throw-in caused chaos in the area.
Spurs responded with an attack of their own, ending with Mathys Tel cutting in from the left and firing at Dean Henderson.
Palace thought they had made the breakthrough in the 30th minute when Sarr’s strike deflected off Pedro Porro and looped over Vicario.
However, the Senegal international’s strike was ruled out after the video assistant referee judged him to have been narrowly offside after latching on to a pass from Jaydee Canvot.
The hosts responded by taking the lead four minutes later as Solanke converted Archie Gray’s cut-back after the full-back’s marauding run down the byeline.
Yet Tottenham proved to be the architects of their own downfall once more as Van de Ven conceded a penalty and was shown a red card for pulling down Sarr after misreading the flight of the ball.
A fourth red card of the season for the home side was arguably the most costly yet as it allowed Sarr to restore parity in the 40th-minute, sending Vicario the wrong way from the spot.
Under-pressure interim manager Igor Tudor responded with a double change before half-time, with Conor Gallagher and Yves Bissouma replacing Souza and Randal Kolo Muani.
But Palace turned the game on its head in the first minute of stoppage time, when January signing Strand Larsen fired low through the legs of Vicario, after a perfectly-weighted pass from Wharton, to score his third goal since joining from Wolves.
Last season’s FA Cup winners piled the misery on Tottenham – and cued a mass home supporter walkout – in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time as Sarr grabbed his second after another defence-splitting pass from Wharton.
