Fulham frustrated Tottenham Hotspur for the better part of 90 minutes before hitting Ange Postecoglou’s side with two goals in the final 15 minutes to secure a 2-0 victory at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
WATCH – Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur full match replay
Postecoglou made seven changes to the full-strength side that beat AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday, electing to slowly introduce standouts Heung-min Son, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Wilson Odobert over the course of the second half, and Spurs even looked likelier to break the deadlock for most of the period. Until an innocuous chance fell to Rodrigo Muniz atop the penalty area in the 78th minute, and the Brazilian slotted it through traffic and into the bottom corner.
Ryan Sessegnon put the exclamation point on another sturdy performance from Fulham in the 88th, as he held off Ben Davies and curled a beauty inside the far post to finish off his former club on the day. The result pushes Fulham (45 points) up to 8th in the Premier League table, now just three points behind Manchester City in 5th (a presumed Champions League place) with nine games left to play. Spurs (34 points) remain 13th with the Europa League their only remaining path to European football next season.
That’s Fulham football, baby
Here’s a telling stat: Just two of Fulham’s last nine PL opponents have even crossed the 1.0 xG threshold (a relatively low bar to clear). Even West Ham, who scored three goals and beat them 3-2, didn’t hit the mark as they attempted just four shots in the game. Limiting opportunities is the name of the game for Marco Silva’s side, and there aren’t many that do it better. Couple that with the pre-game stats listed below (West Ham being the only side to score three against Fulham in their last 17 PL games now, even with the Cottagers scoring three goals just once in 24 now), and you have an identity that will carry you along more often than not over the course of a 38-game season. Hats off to Silva, who improved his club-record win rate (38.1 percent) in his 200th PL game.
Player ratings - Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur
What’s next?
- Fulham vs Crystal Palace — Saturday, March 29, 8:15 am ET (FA Cup QF)
- Arsenal vs Fulham — Tuesday, April 1, 2:45 pm ET (next PL fixture)
- Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur — Thursday, April 3 (3 pm ET)
Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates - by Andy Edwads
Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 2-0
Goalscorers: Rodrigo Muniz (78'), Ryan Sessegnon (88')
GOAL! Fulham 2-0 Spurs: Sessegnon scores against his former club for his current (former) club (88')
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Spurs: Muniz puts a slow roller in after Spurs can’t clear the ball (78')
SUBS! Heung-min Son, Lucas Bergvall on to start the second half
This was likely pre-planned by Ange Postecoglou, who hasn’t been shy about resting key players in recent weeks, nor making widespread changes to the team either in game or at halftime.
Fulham starting lineup
Leno - Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson - Berge, Pereira, Smith Rowe - Iwobi, Willian, Jimenez
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicaro - Spence, Romero, Davies, Udogie - Bissouma, Bentancur, Gray - Johnson, Tel, Solanke
How to watch Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9:30am ET Sunday
Venue: Craven Cottage — London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Spurs (34 points) were a goal down to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the first leg but a rousing second-leg performance that saw Wilson Odobert (twice) and James Maddison score the goals gave the north London side a much-needed boost of confidence. All of that said, they still sit 13th in the Premier League, eight points behind Fulham and the top half of the table. Returning stars Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke all came through Thursday unscathed as they work their way back to full fitness and sharpness for the run-in. Due to injuries, none of the three were available when Spurs hosted Fulham and settled for a 1-1 draw back on Dec. 1.
As for the Cottagers (42 points - 10th place), a top-half finish is very realistic (three points between them and Crystal Palace in 11th) and European qualification is hardly a pipe dream with 10 games left to play (five points between them and Manchester City in 5th). Marco Silva’s side has been incredibly steady of late (and most of the season), having conceded three goals just once in their last 16 PL games. On the flip side, they have scored three goals just once in 23 outings in the league. Silva is set to manage his 200th PL game on Sunday and has the highest win percentage of Fulham manager in the league (37.5 percent, in 104 games).
Fulham team news
OUT: Harry Wilson (foot), Kenny Tete (knee), Reiss Nelson (hamstring), Sasa Lukic (suspension) | QUESTIONABLE: Adama Traore (ankle)
Tottenham Hotspur team news
OUT: Richarlison (lower leg), Radu Dragusin (torn ACL - out for season), Dejan Kulusevski (foot), Kevin Danso (hamstring)
Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
Fulham will be the better rested side having not played a game for an entire week, but many of the injured Spurs players haven’t played very much football and should be relatively fresh with fewer miles on their legs this season. Silva won’t like being drawn into an end-to-end game, but such an affair will breed goals — for both sides. Fulham 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur.
