Fortune is not favouring Pierre Sage. Just when the Crystal Palace manager needed a positive result, Jean-Philippe Mateta's early red card condemned his side to a third straight defeat in the league, leaving their manager's position hanging by a thread.

Goals from Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke ensured that Tottenham recorded a third successive victory for the first time in 616 days as they moved into the top half of the table. To put that into context, Spurs have had three full-time managers since then, so it was no wonder that Roberto De Zerbi looked so pleased at full-time.

By contrast, Sage's future is in doubt, given that there was an expectation he could be sacked if they lost this game. While Mateta's reckless red card did him no favours and Palace managed to stay in the game until Van Hecke's innovative finish 17 minutes from full time, they now find themselves in the bottom three. Only the chair, Steve Parish, will decide his fate with Liverpool up next at home before the international break. Sean Dyche and Thomas Frank are waiting in the wings.

"I told the players I want to be the first on pitch on Monday. I will do the best session I can. Now I have the rage to train more, because the game I saw this evening is not in line with my conviction," said a defiant Sage. "It's not me to decide this thing, but if I have one hour, I will give my best during one hour, and if I have 10 years, I will give my best during 10 years. I am responsible for the situation, and I am the guy who will find the solution for the situation."

Having only won twice at home in the league all year, Tottenham's supporters had reason to be optimistic after successive victories over Coventry and Chelsea. But while De Zerbi used his programme notes to urge his players not to get complacent, there is no mistaking the signs of momentum, and the Italian singled out the performance of his compatriot - £100m summer signing Sandro Tonali - in midfield. "We played with two players more," said De Zerbi. "We can't forget where we were before the last international break. But now we are playing as a team."

Tottenham's cause was certainly aided when Mateta was sent off after only 13 minutes. The France striker was never going to get to the ball before Micky van de Ven as he passed it back to Antonin Kinsky, and Mateta's studs caught the Tottenham defender on the back of his heel. The referee, Michael Oliver, initially showed a yellow card but the outcome was inevitable when the VAR directed him upstairs. Some of the home supporters gasped when they saw a slow-motion replay on the giant screens, although that made it look much worse.

Sage shook his head as Mateta trudged down the tunnel. Not for the first time this season, after Axel Disasi's red card against Ipswich last month, Palace found themselves down to 10 men with most of the game still to play. They kept Tottenham at bay for a while but played a part in their own downfall again. No one was picking up Gray - who scored his first Spurs goal against Palace in a rare win under Thomas Frank last year - at the back post from a deep Mohammed Kudus corner, and he headed in unopposed. The television cameras cut to Parish in the stand looking less than impressed.

De Zerbi replaced Gray, on a yellow card, at the break with Pedro Porro. Palace retreated even further and Van Hecke should have done better from close range after another corner but ballooned into the crowd. In an attempt to relieve some of the pressure, Sage threw on former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah to jeers from the Spurs fans. Dwight McNeil had a rare sight of goal that was blocked but Palace almost paid the price as Tottenham broke downfield.

Any hopes Palace had of snatching something ended when Fernandes picked out Van Hecke and the Dutchman, on the ground, cleverly nodded the ball over the line after Henderson had pushed his initial header onto the bar. Had Kudus scored after being set up by 18-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett,it would have rounded off the perfect afternoon for De Zerbi, who is the latest example of how quickly things can change in football.