Unanswered goals from Christian Eriksen and Jermain Defoe saw Tottenham Hotspur record a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane this afternoon.

The duo found the net during the second half and after Jason Puncheon had missed an early penalty for the visitors.

Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the clash to determine if the result was a fair one.

Match statistics

Tottenham
Shots: 10
On target: 4
Possession: 68%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 12

Palace
Shots: 14
On target: 2
Possession: 32%
Corners: 11
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

Palace were the better side during the first half, while Spurs dominated the second 45 minutes. Therefore, the away side could be forgiven for arguing that they deserved a share of the spoils for their efforts. They didn't take their chances, though, whereas Tottenham did and for that reason, the hosts were just about deserving victors.

Tottenham's performance

Tim Sherwood would not have been a happy manager during the break, that's for sure. His team's passing was poor to say the least and the lack of movement from Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado up front didn't help matters. The former of those improved greatly after the second half and the introduction of Defoe in place of Soldado made a big difference - all of a sudden the Palace rearguard had some defending to do! Toronto-bound Defoe's performance in particular should have Sherwood delving into the transfer market because neither of his other strikers have the pace and movement that he does.

Palace's performance

For 45 minutes, Palace won't have played better this season! They kept the ball on the floor and really took the game to Spurs. They didn't make the most of their domination, though, and once the tiredness kicked in during the second half, they were punished. Nevertheless, there were positives for Tony Pulis to take from this because they will not come up against teams with Tottenham's quality every week. Having said that, they need to take their chances if they are to stand any chance of retaining their Premier League status.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Nabil Bentaleb: He may only be 19, but the Spurs midfielder put in a mature performance this afternoon. He was the team's brightest spark during a lacklustre first half and went close to scoring when his strike from distance hit the post. After the restart he showed how comfortable he is in possession and always demanded the pass from his teammates, making a number of tackles and interceptions in the process.

Biggest gaffe

Not even a contest. Not only was Puncheon's penalty miss the biggest gaffe of this game, there won't have been a larger one committed all season. He strode up towards the ball looking full of confidence, but what followed was truly awful. The Palace winger completely skewed his effort, which went flying well over the crossbar. If you are going to be so casual with the run up, you need to make sure that you score, otherwise you'll end up with egg on your face - just ask Puncheon.

Referee performance

He may be one of the Premier League's youngest officials, but Michael Oliver is also regarded to be among the best. He proved that school of thought to be correct, largely because he was barely noticed. It wasn't until the latter stages of the second half where he had to start issuing the yellow card, all for offences that warranted it.

What next?

Tottenham: Next up for the North Londoners is a trip to Swansea City's Liberty Stadium a week tomorrow.

Palace: As for Palace, Pulis will come up against his former club Stoke City a day earlier at Selhurst Park.