Are De Zerbi's Spurs finding elusive consistency?

Are Spurs finally finding elusive consistency under Roberto de Zerbi after a third successive Premier League win, asks chief football writer Phil McNulty? Tottenham Hotspur are finally showing signs of consistency under head coach Roberto de Zerbi The long wait is over. After almost 21 months, Tottenham Hotspur have won three Premier League games in succession again. Spurs cruised to victory on Saturday against Crystal Palace, who were reduced to 10 men after 13 minutes when striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off for an ill-judged lunge at Micky van de Ven. It means Tottenham have moved into the dizzy heights of the top half of the table. Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke scored as Spurs built on a platform established by their first league win of the season at home to Coventry City, then fortified by the outstanding victory at Chelsea – only Spurs' second league triumph at Stamford Bridge in 36 years.

But the prevailing mood inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before kick-off against Palace, undoubtedly shaped by the past, was that the visit of a struggling side represented a banana skin rather than an opportunity. Tottenham's players weren't having that, though. Not a bit of it. Instead, Spurs grasped gratefully at the helping hand offered by Mateta's recklessness to end up convincing winners. Three straight wins