Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to keep their hopes of breaking into the Champions League alive as they swept Crystal Palace aside thanks to finding the back of the net three times in 11 second half minutes.

Although Eberechi Eze gave the Eagles the lead against the run of play with a free-kick which gave Guglielmo Vicario no chance, Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs hit back with goals from Timo Werner, Cristian Romero and Heung-min Son to move to within two points of fourth-placed Aston Villa.

The north Londoners’ comeback resulted in Oliver Glasner being condemned to his first defeat since taking over as Palace’s boss last month, following the departure of Roy Hodgson.

First half: Spurs struggle to put Palace on back foot as Werner lets visitors off the hook

North Londoners left frustrated by rejuvenated visitors after missing one-on-one

Tottenham should have gone in front with 18 minutes on the clock, but Werner failed to take advantage of a golden opportunity to open his Spurs account when he was put through on goal by Son.

The Germany international, who headed to north London on an initial loan from RB Leipzig, was unable to capitalise as Sam Johnstone thwarted him after attempting to go past the Palace goalkeeper.

Although Tottenham dominated the first half in terms of possession, they struggled to break down the visitors’ defence following Werner’s missed chance, with creative sparks James Maddison and Son regularly frustrated during their forays forward, while Glasner’s Eagles were unable to truly test the hosts’ Guglielmo Vicario between the sticks.

Second half: Tottenham seal victory with speedy comeback

Goals: Eberechi Eze 59′ (Crystal Palace), Timo Werner 77′ (Tottenham Hotspur), Cristian Romero 80′ (Tottenham Hotspur), Heung-min Son 88′ (Tottenham Hotspur)

Having passed up the opportunity to break the deadlock, Werner was keen to make amends and felt he should have been awarded a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Daniel Munoz, but referee John Brooks waved away the appeals and VAR opted against advising the man in the middle to have another look.

Although Spurs were left frustrated, that passage of play ignited the encounter, and Son struck the post with a clever snapshot after being found by Dejan Kulusevski.

Palace then broke the deadlock against the run of play as Eze, desperate to be included in the England squad for Euro 2024, found the top corner with an inch-perfect free-kick from 25 yards out just before the hour mark.

Tottenham went in search of an instant response and, having already seen Werner thwarted by Johnstone, substitute Brennan Johnson fired over the top from close range.

Son was the next Spurs man to go close, with him dragging a shot inches past the post after getting beyond Palace captain Joel Ward, but the home side’s pressure eventually paid off.

Johnson forced Joachim Andersen into a mistake and his teasing pass across the face of goal was dispatched by Werner, allowing him to break his duck.

Tottenham then succeeded in turning the clash on its head within three minutes as Maddison’s flicked pass was nonchalantly headed beyond Johnstone by Romero from close range.

Son wrapped up the points by pouncing on a loose ball after Andersen was dispossessed and confidently dispatching to spark wild scenes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Werner bounces back after first half miss to produce impressive performance

Spurs loanee got off the mark in a Spurs shirt to get comeback underway

Werner refused to give up after failing to break his duck during the first half, and his efforts were rewarded when he found the back of the net from close range to ignite a Tottenham comeback.

Although the former Chelsea man should have scored when he found himself one-on-one with Johnstone, he continued to cause Palace right-back Daniel Munoz problems and created plenty of openings for his teammates.

There were plenty of doubters when Postecoglou made Werner his first signing of the winter transfer window, but Werner’s performance against Palace will have pleased the Greek-Australian tactician.

Glasner wasting no time in making instant impact at Palace

Eagles show plenty of promise in Austrian’s second fixture at the helm

Although Palace were unable to hold onto their lead, and ended up travelling back to Selhurst Park without any points to show for their efforts, there were still clear signs that Glasner has made an impact since heading into the dugout as Hodgson’s replacement last month.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt chief, who won the Europa League with the Bundesliga outfit, went into the contest having got his Palace reign off to a dream start last week, when his side overcame strugglers Burnley.

But his side’s overall performance against a Champions League-chasing Tottenham will have pleased him even more. The Austrian tactician set his side up to frustrate Spurs and – but for Werner nearly catching the Eagles on the counter-attack – their attempts worked to perfection in the first half.

Although the Spurs loanee’s equaliser galvanised the home side, allowing them to overturn their narrow deficit, there is clearly plenty to build on for Glasner.