Tottenham's trophy chances dissolve with lifeless Palace defeat

Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of a second domestic cup competition in the space of the last four days Sunday, as a flaccid display sent Mauricio Pochettino's men out of the FA Cup at the fourth-round stage.

With Harry Kane and Dele Alli injured, Pochettino made seven changes for the clash at Selhurst Park but still saw his side go down 2-0 to Crystal Palace after goals from Connor Wickham and Andros Townsend. Kieran Trippier missed a penalty in an utterly miserable day for the visitors, who were beaten in a shootout with Chelsea in the League Cup semifinal Thursday.

The FA Cup was likely Spurs' best remaining chance of silverware this season after their defeat to the Blues, but they scuppered their own chances of progression with a lifeless start.

Wickham turned home on his first start since November 2016 as dreadful defending failed to snuff out an Eagles move, before Townsend doubled the lead from the spot against his former club after Kyle Walker-Peters' handball.

Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni made several saves to prevent a fightback but was hugely helped by Trippier, who completely missed the goal from the penalty spot.

Spurs, third in the Premier League and nine points off the summit, now have just a Champions League round-of-16 clash with Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund to distract them from their league campaign.