Tottenham struggled for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Fulham and may have been lucky to escape with a Tie 1-1.
The depleted hosts took the lead against the run of play through top scorer Brennan Johnson before substitute Tom Cairney grabbed a deserved equalizer for Marco Silva’s side midway through the second half.
For the second game in a row, Fulham ended the contest with ten men after Cairney was sent off with less than ten minutes remaining, but Spurs were unable to work with Bernd Leno in the closing stages and had to settle for a point
How the match unfolded
After following up the most impressive win of the Postecoglou era with a disappointing Europa League draw with Roma on Thursday, no one knew which iteration of his Lilywhites would turn up at N17 on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts were without several key names for visiting Fulham and the Cottagers enjoyed much of the first half as a result. After Son Heung-min spurned an early chance, most of the chances came at the other end of the pitch.
Fraser Forster was forced into action to deny Raul Jimenez and Alex Iwobi before James Maddison almost caught the visitors out with a clever free-kick that crept under the wall but his effort skimmed the post.
Tottenham were unable to assert control, and were the subject of a brief bombardment at the start of the second half before Johnson gave them the lead against the run of play. The Welshman barely influenced proceedings before crashing home Timo Werner’s delicate cross.
Spurs’ opener could not deter the visitors, however, and it did not take long for Silva’s substitutes to make a difference. Fulham continued to avoid Tottenham’s intensity and got in behind the hosts’ full-backs. Cairney’s brilliant equalizer came after Iwobi got into the left half space before cutting the ball back for his captain to finish from the edge of the Spurs box.
However, it was Cairney’s red card with ten minutes remaining that forced the confident Cottagers to settle for a point. After the equaliser, Fulham looked more likely to go on and win the game, but Silva chose to sit out after Cairney was dismissed following VAR intervention for a challenge on Dejan Kulusevski.
The away side had little trouble keeping Spurs at bay in the closing stages as Leno enjoyed a quiet start between the posts. Fulham will be content with their draw after last weekend’s result at Wolves, but Tottenham will rue their inability to build any sort of momentum.
This was a bit of a Brennan Johnson performance. The Wales international went through the contest without many people acknowledging his presence, but he again triumphed for the Lilywhites.
There’s something “Moneyball” about the winger, who seemingly doesn’t contribute much unless he hits home at the back post. “Because it gets on base.”
Johnson is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea and is the type of performer who will quickly become a scapegoat when the going gets tough. However, his strike against Fulham was already his 10th of the season and his fourth in as many games for club and country.
It’s hot again.
Despite last weekend’s result at the Etihad, confidence wasn’t exactly high among Tottenham’s support base heading into this game. After thrashing the champions 4-0 on their own patch, this was the type of game this The Spurs team would not show up.
And indeed, they were miles away against Fulham.
However, Postecoglou was forced to name a starting XI that did not include his starting goalkeeper, two centre-backs, preferred midfielder and main striker. Dominic Solanke missed Sunday’s clash through illness, while standout performer Kulusevski was given a breather by being dropped to the bench.
Tottenham (0.69) 1-1 (1.35) Fulham
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A couple of Spurs substitutes, namely Forster and Ben Davies, impressed, but the product as a collective was light years away from last Saturday’s utopia. Son was particularly poor trying to fill Solanke’s void, with the hosts struggling to contain Fulham’s possession dynamic throughout the contest.
Spurs’ press, usually led by Solanke, faltered in periods that ensured the visitors almost always had a foothold. On the ball, they were cautious, stuck and uninspired, even when Kulusevski entered the proceedings.
Silva named a Fulham starting XI we’ve become familiar with this season, but there was one notable omission: Andreas Pereira.
The Brazil international was left out of the Cottagers’ squad after starting every Premier League game this season. Ahead of the contest, Pereira was open to discussing a possible move away from west London, listing Marseille and Nottingham Forest as clubs who secured an interest in his services last summer.
“It would be very cool (to go to Marseille), the way (Roberto) De Zerbi plays football. I was looking at it with good eyes, but let’s see now in January or at the end of the season if there will be a transfer or if I will stay at Fulham,” said Pereira when speaking to PL Brazil (via the standard).
The midfielder has it from the accused PL Brazil of falsifying statements in an apology written on Instagram, but Silva nevertheless chose to lay down the law here and ditch the influential playmaker.
