LONDON // Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen admitted Crystal Palace were no pushovers as Roberto Soldado scored on his Spurs debut to claim a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Without Real Madrid target Gareth Bale, ruled out because of a foot injury, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas handed starts to Paulinho, Nacer Chadli and Soldado, with the latter the most impressive.
The Spain striker, signed from Valencia for a club record £26 million (Dh149.1m), troubled the Palace defence throughout with his movement and he dispatched a second-half penalty to win the match after Dean Moxey handled Aaron Lennon's cross.
Vertonghen passed a late fitness test to start in defence and was relieved to claim a win in the new-look Tottenham side.
"That's what we wanted. We couldn't get a loss here," Vertonghen told Sky Sports 1.
"Of course we want to do better but this was about getting the win for us. Next time we will score more goals."
Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway was left vexed by the referee Mark Clattenburg's decision to award Spurs their penalty that led to Soldado's winner.
"I don't understand how it was a penalty, or how Dean Moxey could have got out of the way of it. I had three players right behind him," Holloway told BBC 1.
"It's going to be a long hard season for me with these people [referees]. I had this with Blackpool. Certain clubs get fouls and others don't. Tottenham will feel that if they play Man United.
For Nacer Chadli, who made his Spurs debut following his summer transfer from Dutch side FC Twente, the first game of the season was more about settling into the English game.
He said: "I really enjoyed it. It was a nice game with plenty of chances. It's most important to get three points."
* Press Association
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