Tottenham maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they beat Fulham with goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane.
A late strike from Fulham’s star man Alexander Mitrovic made for a nervy final 10 minutes as Marco Silva’s side suffered a second loss of the season.
Spurs threatened to score virtually every time they came forward and had ample opportunity to extend their lead further, firing off 23 shots, 10 of which were on target.
However, it was thanks to former Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno and a resolute Fulham defence that they were held to just two goals.
Hojbjerg’s slotted finish into the bottom corner after some nifty passing in Fulham’s box opened the scoring, before Kane headed home to double their lead after 75 minutes.
Fulham had been completely unable to get in the game for the majority of the 90 minutes with Mitrovic’s threat nullified until his 83rd minute goal – his sixth of the season.
Richarlison, making his first start for Spurs since joining from Everton in the summer, looked lively and had a goal chalked off for offside in the final minutes of the match.
Spurs in control but still no joy for Son
Tottenham lacked cutting edge in their 1-1 draw against West Ham on Wednesday and, with so many chances missed against Fulham, it was feasible that the same scenario could play out again.
They piled on the pressure in the first half with shots coming from all over the park, Son Heung-min smacked a shot off the bar, Richarlison had multiple chances to score his first Spurs goal.
Son saw an early goal chalked off when Kane was deemed to be interfering with play after going for a header from an offside position, despite the South Korea international’s looped cross finding the back of the net without his team-mate’s efforts.
But the form of last season’s joint-Golden Boot winner Son will undoubtedly be becoming a concern for manager Antonio Conte – he has not scored with any of his 17 shots this season, four of which came against Fulham.
That said, Spurs’ defence were not really threatened until Mitrovic’s late goal and Leno was called into action eight times, the most saves he has made in a Premier League game.
Tottenham are undefeated in their last 12 Premier League games and their 100% home record this season remains in tact.
Player of the match
HøjbjergPierre-Emile Højbjerg
Tottenham Hotspur
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Squad number5Player nameHøjbjergAverage rating
7.42
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Squad number9Player nameRicharlisonAverage rating
7.40
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Squad number10Player nameKaneAverage rating
7.30
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Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-MinAverage rating
7.22
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Squad number21Player nameKulusevskiAverage rating
7.17
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Squad number14Player namePerisicAverage rating
7.07
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Squad number19Player nameRyan SessegnonAverage rating
7.02
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Squad number30Player nameBentancurAverage rating
6.97
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Squad number1Player nameLlorisAverage rating
6.92
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Squad number17Player nameRomeroAverage rating
6.84
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Squad number34Player nameLengletAverage rating
6.78
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Squad number15Player nameDierAverage rating
6.75
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Squad number12Player nameEmerson RoyalAverage rating
6.67
Fulham
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Squad number9Player nameMitrovicAverage rating
6.60
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Squad number17Player nameLenoAverage rating
5.82
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Squad number21Player nameJames
Average rating5.59
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Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha
Average rating5.49
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Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira
Average rating5.47
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Squad number13Player nameReam
Average rating5.46
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Squad number2Player nameTete
Average rating5.39
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Squad number33Player nameRobinson
Average rating5.33
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Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid
Average rating5.31
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Squad number6Player nameReed
Average rating5.29
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Squad number4Player nameTosin
Average rating5.28
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Squad number30Player nameCarlos Vinícius
Average rating5.26
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Squad number7Player nameKebano
Average rating5.22
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Squad number10Player nameCairney
Average rating5.06
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Squad number27Player nameMbabu
Average rating4.77
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Squad number20Player nameWillian
Average rating4.58
Line-ups
Tottenham
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1Lloris
- 17RomeroBooked at 27mins
- 15Dier
- 34Lenglet
- 12Emerson Royal
- 30BentancurBooked at 69mins
- 5Højbjerg
- 19R Sessegnon
- 9RicharlisonBooked at 90mins
- 7Son Heung-MinSubstituted forPerisicat 84′minutes
- 10KaneSubstituted forKulusevskiat 78′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Doherty
- 4Skipp
- 6D Sánchez
- 14Perisic
- 20Forster
- 21Kulusevski
- 25Tanganga
- 33Davies
- 38Bissouma
Fulham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 17Leno
- 2TeteBooked at 36mins
- 4Tosin
- 13Ream
- 33RobinsonSubstituted forMbabuat 29′minutes
- 6Reed
- 26Lobo Alves Palhinha GonçalvesBooked at 63minsSubstituted forAlves Moraisat 85′minutes
- 14De Cordova-ReidBooked at 55minsSubstituted forJamesat 60′minutes
- 18PereiraSubstituted forCairneyat 61′minutes
- 7KebanoSubstituted forWillianat 60′minutes
- 9MitrovicBooked at 86mins
Substitutes
- 1Rodák
- 5Duffy
- 10Cairney
- 12Chalobah
- 20Willian
- 21James
- 27Mbabu
- 30Alves Morais
- 31Diop
- Referee:
- Stuart Attwell
- Attendance:
- 61,641
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Fulham 1.
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Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Fulham 1.
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Foul by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur).
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Harrison Reed (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Harrison Reed (Fulham).
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Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
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VAR Decision: No Goal Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Fulham.
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GOAL OVERTURNED BY VAR: Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur) scores but the goal is ruled out after a VAR review.
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Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg tries a through ball, but Ryan Sessegnon is caught offside.
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Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.
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Attempt saved. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Tom Cairney.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) is shown the yellow card.
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Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Kevin Mbabu (Fulham).
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Substitution, Fulham. Carlos Vinícius replaces João Palhinha.
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Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Ivan Perisic replaces Son Heung-Min.
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Attempt blocked. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
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Goal! Tottenham Hotspur 2, Fulham 1. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) right footed shot from the left side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Kenny Tete.
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Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Son Heung-Min.