Harry Kane’s close-range goal from Ryan Sessegnon’s cross (75) looked to have made the game safe for the dominant hosts after Pierre-Emile Hoiberg’s first-half strike (40) at Tottenham Stadium. But Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic created a tense climax when he controlled a long pass from Kenny Tetteh and curled a sumptuous finish past Hugo Lloris (83) for his sixth goal of the season. The Serb had barely threatened until then, but Spurs were almost punished for missing a number of earlier chances when his deflected strike in the penultimate minute of normal time forced a superb save from Lloris. Spurs thought they had finally wrapped up victory when Richarlison slotted the ball into the net from close range, but VAR ruled him offside in the set-up, meaning the hosts sweated for a little while longer for a moving victory. they are level on points with second placed Manchester City.
Player Ratings
Tottenham: Lloris (7), Romero (7), Dier (7), Lenglet (7), Emerson Royal (7), Bentancur (7), Hojbjerg (8), Sessegnon (8), Richarlison (8), Son (7) , Kane (8). Subs: Kulusevski (6), Perisic (6). Fulham: Leno (8), Tete (7), Adarabioyo (7), Ream (7), Robinson (6), Palhinha (6), Reed (6), Pereira (6), De Cordova-Reid (6), Kebano ( 6), Mitrovic (8). Subs: Mbabu (6), James (6), Cairney (6), Willian (6), Vinicius (6). Man of the Match: richarlison
How Spurs won despite a late scare
Tottenham enjoyed almost complete dominance from the start, creating plenty of chances and seeing the first of two goals ruled out when Heung-Min Son’s cross flew into the net with Kane offside as he tried to tap it home. Image: Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane celebrates with team-mates after scoring his side’s second goal Richarlison, a threat on his first start for Spurs, then created another chance for Son after beating Tosin Adarabioyo and cutting the ball back to him, but the South Korean’s effort went wide and flew over the bar.
Team news
Antonio Conte made five changes from Tottenham’s draw with West Ham as Christian Romero and Rodrigo Bedancourt returned from injury and Richarlison and Clement Lenglet made their first starts. Marco Silva named an unchanged side from Fulham’s 2-1 win over Brighton, with Dan James, Carlos Vinicius and Willian named on the Deadline Day bench.
Fulham then needed a last-ditch tackle from Adarabioyo on Kane to avoid going behind after more good work from Richarlison, with Son hitting the underside of the bar from Kane’s deft ball over the top, but the breakthrough came soon after. Hojbjerg exchanged passes with Richarlison as he broke into the Fulham box and, despite being surrounded by defenders, the Dane managed to slot past Bird Leno for his second goal of the season. Image: Fulham’s Joao Palhinha challenges Tottenham’s Ryan Sessegnon Spurs picked up where they left off in the second half but continued to spurn chances, with Eric Dier missing perhaps their best chance when he headed home Richarlison’s cross when he was unmarked. Ryan Sessegnon was then denied by Leno as the home side continued to open Fulham up, but the Spurs wing-back was the architect of the second goal when it finally arrived, his low cross headed home by Kane for his 188th goal in the Premier League, making him a clean sheet. of Andrew Cole in third place in all-time scoring. Richarlison hit the inside post as Spurs pressed for a third, but Mitrovic’s brilliant strike came moments later and Spurs were indebted to Lloris for denying him a second when he acrobatically tipped his effort over the bar. Richarlison was denied a goal for his performance due to a VAR review in stoppage time, but it didn’t really matter in the end. Fulham could not muster any more chances and the home fans were soon celebrating a fourth win in six games.
FPL Stats: Tottenham vs Fulham
Goals Hoiberg, Kane, Mitrovic It helps Richarlison, Sessegnon, Tete Extra points Kane (3p.), Hoiberg (2p.), Richardson (1p.)
Conte: I liked the performance, but it required patience
Spurs boss Antonio Conte: “For sure, I liked the performance. If I have to find a situation that we need to improve, it is to be clinical because when you create so many chances, you have to score. We scored, but the goals were disallowed and we hit the bar. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Antonio Conte was pleased with Tottenham’s performance and said he is not worried about Heung-Min Son’s failure to score. “I liked to see my players play the ball with personality and to see the three strikers work very hard for the team with and without the ball. They give us a lot of quality and a lot of danger for the opponent. “When I see this kind of performance from my players, [Heung-Min] Including the son, I’m not worried, I know these strikers will score a lot of goals. “It’s important to have a lot of enthusiasm and be excited for the team, but at the same time I have to be realistic. “Don’t forget last November the situation was really problematic because we lost 3-0 at home to United and then the club decided to take a different decision. [sacking Nuno Espirito Santo and appointing him]. “If anyone thinks we’ve canceled everything and are on the same level as the other top teams, I think that’s unrealistic. If I want to tell you a lie, I can tell you a lie, but I like to tell the truth. “I’m the first to say we have to play with ambition this season to be competitive, but we finished last season 20 points behind City and Liverpool. “Now I think we are doing good things, but it is too soon to give a realistic judgment in my opinion. It does not mean that we will not be ambitious and fight for something, but I have a little experience to tell you that we need time and patience.”
Analysis: ‘Warrior’ Richarlison impresses
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright: “You feel him on the side of the pitch,” Antonio Conte said with a smile. “You feel his personality. He’s a warrior, a fighter. We needed that type of player.” Richarlison is, without a doubt, his type of player. The Brazilian was excellent in his first start for Spurs, a whirlwind of energy and ferocious aggression, and no shortage of quality either. The completeness of his performance showed in the stats. Richarlison created four chances, including tipping home his assist for Pierre-Emile Hoiberg’s opener. He had 10 touches in the opposition box, three more than anyone else. He had three shots, and would have had a goal too had it not been for a marginal VAR call that ruled out his late strike for offside. Picture: Richarlison shines on full Tottenham debut against Fulham He wreaked havoc on the Fulham defence, combining Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son as if they had been there for years, but it was what he did out of possession that really excited Conte. “A lot of players with talent, they don’t want to work for the ball,” the Spurs boss added in his press conference. Richarlison is clearly not one of them. His appetite for the dirty work was on display in the moments after the VAR call that cost him his goal. Richarlison held his head in his hands, but only for a second. Then he was off again, chasing, pushing and pressing the Fulham defenders in front of him. By the end of the game, Premier League tracking data showed that no one in a Spurs shirt had recorded more high-intensity sprints (26), made more tackles (four) or won more duels (nine), with only Rodrigo Bedancourt ran longer than 11.3 km. “For me, he played in an amazing way, honestly,” Conte continued. Some have decried the £60m fee Spurs paid to sign him from Everton, but early signs suggest it will prove to be money well spent. Richarlison, the ultimate Conte player, will fight to make sure of that.
Silva: We weren’t good enough
Fulham manager Marco Silva: “It was definitely not our best performance. I think most of the time we didn’t meet our standards. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Marco Silva felt Fulham didn’t start well enough and admitted Tottenham deserved to win the game “Our first half wasn’t good enough. We knew how they were going to press us, but we weren’t good enough on the ball. We gave it away so easily. We made so many wrong decisions. We weren’t dynamic enough to create problems. “The second half, I saw a lot more courage from our team. We tried until the end. There was a very good chance for Mitro to equalise, but I have to be honest, Tottenham deserved the three points.”
Analysis: Leno proves to be a bargain for Fulham
Sky Sports’ Nick Wright: “Top, top, top keeper,” Marco Silva said when asked about Bird Leno in the wake of Fulham’s 2-1 defeat by Tottenham. “I probably repeat the same thing every week,” he added with a smile. The German, a summer signing from Arsenal, has been outstanding this season and produced arguably his best performance on Saturday, keeping Spurs almost single-handed at times, as he did against their north London rivals last weekend. In total, there were eight saves, taking his total in a Fulham…
