For the first time in 616 days, Tottenham have won three games in succession. If that proves Roberto De Zerbi’s prowess over at least two of his predecessors, then he will presumably reserve some thanks to the assistance of Crystal Palace.  

On a night when Palace crossed to the north of London, with their manager in grave danger of the sack, they contrived to commit an utterly ludicrous act of self-sabotage in two phases.

The first defined the match, with Jean-Philippe Mateta dismissed after only 13 minutes for a challenge that was as brainless as it was dangerous.

From there, Pierre Sage’s side quickly conceded from a set-piece with the sort of defending that explained why Palace have shipped more goals than any other team in the top flight. That no further damage was inflicted until Jan Paul van Hecke’s second-half header was less reflective of the game than the tally showing 34 Tottenham shots to Palace’s two.

Given Sage’s tenuous grip on his job, and the thunderous face in the crowd of his chairman, Steve Parish, that might prove to be the final straw. If it is, Mateta should at least have the decency to drive him to the airport.

Sage said: ‘I am responsible. I have to find solutions. They have to trust in me because I will give my life for it. If I have one hour or 10 years, I will try my best.’ 

In the recent past, such doubts were gathering around De Zerbi, but not now, and especially with a favourable run of fixtures on the horizon. Having belatedly entered the top half of the table, his side are finally aligning results with performances, even if this fourth game in an unbeaten stretch was aided so much by the opposition.

There remains an issue with chance conversion – both Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush were underwhelming here, with the slight mitigation that Palace spent the better part of 75 minutes camped on the edge of their own area. Marmoush, who started at No 10 after earlier games on the left and up front, appears no closer to revealing his best position.

De Zerbi’s solution was to direct traffic to the wings and it worked a treat. Mathys Tel, riding the isolated high of his performance against Chelsea, was again sharp. So too Mohammed Kudus. But the real gains for Tottenham in this purple patch have come from the central pairing of Sandro Tonali and Matheus Fernandes.

They cost a fortune to acquire and have taken their sweet time to gel, but that partnership has developed to strong effect. On the ball, they are the tempo setters, and off it they have shaped the press that is key to De Zerbi’s system. They controlled this game.

‘Tonali was unbelievable,’ said De Zerbi. ‘We played with two players more - Tonali (counted) double.’

He added: ‘I am very happy with the performance. (But) if we want perfection we have to be more nasty. If I am No 9 or No 10 I want to score.’

The last sentence is very much the Tottenham riddle – an inability to finish what they start. But those frustrations are now coming from an upwardly mobile situation. 

For Sage, along with whatever consequences this result brings, the regret will come from knowing his side had looked decent out of the gate.

But the red card eradicated those traces of momentum. Initially, referee Michael Oliver felt a booking was sufficient for Mateta’s studs-up lunge into Micky van de Ven’s ankle, but the VAR suggested an upgrade. On review, Oliver agreed.

Sage’s reaction? He had a look of pure deflation. The tackle was bad enough but the need to make it was non-existent – Mateta was chasing a losing cause in Tottenham’s half against one of the quickest defenders in the league. Dismal.

Naturally, it shifted the game in Tottenham’s favour, if only to the effect of a one-goal lead by the break. As with Mateta’s dismissal, the Spurs breakthrough was avoidable for Palace, with Gray left unmarked at the far post before planting his head on Kudus’s high, looping corner.

The video analysis will do Sage no favours. Kudus’s delivery was excellent, that much is true, but five Tottenham men had gathered at the far post with only three markers – even factoring for the red card, the tracking of Gray was abysmal.

At half-time, De Zerbi substituted Gray, who was carrying a yellow card, and Spurs maintained momentum by creating openings for Tel, Matheus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke and Solanke.

Palace were being pummelled but survived until Van Hecke’s finish for 2-0. As with the Chelsea win, Fernandes stood out in its creation with an excellent cross, from which Van Hecke powered a header at Dean Henderson. 

The initial save was good, but the ball returned to Van Hecke, who was sat on his backside and able to steer his second header past Henderson. Sage could use similar inspiration from the floor.