Premier League

TOTTENHAM 1 (Kudus 59)
FULHAM 2 (Tete 4, Wilson 6)

TOTTENHAM’S utterly wretched home form continued this evening (Saturday) as they turned in a disaster-class opening six minutes, handing Fulham a two-goal advantage before either side had even broken sweat.

What followed from Thomas Frank’s side wasn’t much better — 82 minutes of confidence-squashing huff and puff.

An evil deflection off Destiny Udogie gave Kenny Tete an opener after Fulham strolled forward with too much ease on four minutes.

Two minutes later, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario went walkabout as he came to meet an attacking ball. His miscued pass forward – when hitting row z would have been wiser – gave Harry Wilson an undefended goal to aim for from distance. Wilson’s execution was perfect.

The manager’s dugout at Spurs has been an unhappy dwelling place since Maurico Pochettino was given the shove. And Frank’s tenure has unraveled in remarkably quick time. His current standing in the eyes of some supporters is turning into something akin to Nuno Espirito Santo’s three-month spell.

It has been said Frank has started other managerial positions slowly, and that time to build is vital. But such a disjointed display in a season that has so far yielded just one home win means patience is already thin.

Speaking after the game, the under-pressure manager said: “When you’re in a bad spell, everything seems to go against you.”

And his attempt to issue a rallying call came over as a criticism of the fans, who vented their anger after Vicario’s error. He said: “I didn’t like that our fans booed straight after and a few times after that. They can’t be true Tottenham fans, because everyone supports each other when you’re on the pitch. I’m fine with them booing after the match. No problem, but not during.”

The idea that Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani might build on a midweek display that saw them both score in the 5-3 defeat at Paris St Germain was wishful thinking. Spurs offered little in the first 45, and the mountain they had created for themselves was not only unscalable, but looked like it had crashed down on top of them.

The second half could hardly have been worse, and on the hour-mark Tottenham found a lifeline following their first taste of serious pressure. A Kolo Muani header went narrowly wide, and the ball was eventually recycled to Mohammed Kudus, who took an evening of utter frustration out on the ball: his powerful volley was hit with real venom. Fulham keeper Bernd Leno was close enough, but not strong enough to stop the rocket.

Frank switched things up with a three-player substitution which gave the home side more attacking intent via Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Rodrigo Bentancur. They had 30 minutes to claw something back, but the lack of wit was worrying.

Fulham only needed to have a modicum of streetwise savvy to see the match out, and they didn’t fluster — and Spurs didn’t find a sudden burst of composure, despite having plenty of the ball.

Instead, Fulham — who came with the worst away record in the Premier League so far this season — took home three points; gift wrapped with early seasonal greetings from the most generous hosts in the division.

Tottenham: Vicario, Porro, Danso, van de Ven, Udogie (Tel, 84), Palhinha (Simons, 59), Gray (Odobert, 59), Kudus, Bergvall (Sarr, 78), Richarlison (Bentancur, 59), Muani
Substitutes not used: Kinsky, Johnson, Spence, Davies

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Iwobi (Castagne, 86), Berge, Wilson (Lukic, 67), King (Smith Rowe, 67), Chukwueze (Kevin, 79), Jimenez
Substitutes not used: Lecomte, Cairney, Traore, Cuenca, Kusi-Asare