Despite a request to postpone their fixture at Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day due to COVID-19 absences in the squad, Palace made the short trip across London to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A short five-minute spell effectively decided the Eagles’ fate in the encounter though, as Patrick Vieira’s men eventually fell to a 3-0 defeat in the capital.
After a quickfire double from the hosts left Palace 2-0 behind just after the half-an-hour mark, Wilfried Zaha was then sent off for a second yellow card in a needless altercation with Emerson Royal just three minutes after the second goal.
As a result, Vieira could only set his side up for damage limitation for the rest of the game, and he was perhaps a little pleased that the scoreline did not become a humiliation.
Following the defeat though, Palace have won just once in their last seven Premier League outings ahead of the visit of Norwich on Tuesday, which has seen them drop to 12th in the table at the time of writing.
Nine points still separate the Eagles from the drop zone, but Vieira will be keen for his side to turn results around in the coming weeks to ensure they are not dragged into a relegation battle come May.
With three victories and no defeats in their last five meetings with Tuesday’s opponents over the last few years, Palace will be confident of getting back on track in front of their own supporters.
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Meanwhile, Norwich’s Christmas spirit was knocked out of them on Sunday as well, with the Canaries being thrashed 5-0 by Arsenal at Carrow Road.
Dean Smith’s side were once again outclassed and looked out of place in the top flight during the game, as they struggled to lay a finger on their opponents throughout.
From the moment that Bukayo Saka had opened the scoring inside six minutes, and especially when Kieran Tierney doubled Arsenal’s advantage just before half time, Norwich did not look like they were capable of picking up any points from the match
