Match Report: Fulham 2-0 Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou’s job is hanging by a thread

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 2-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon. Two second-half goals from Rodrigo Muniz and former Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon saw the Cottagers move to 8th in the table while the Lilywhites slipped further down to 14th.

Tottenham’s woeful results before international fixtures continue, as another sloppy performance saw them lose three points for the sixth time before a break.

Ange Postecoglou once again rotated heavily given the short turnaround from Thursday’s clash vs AZ Alkmaar.

Mathys Tel, Brennan Johnson, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, and Archie Gray (finally in midfield) all started. Meanwhile, Heung-min Son, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, and Pape Matar Sarr dropped to the bench.

Fans were far from pleased with the midfield selection, and their concerns were justified as the lack of creativity in the first 45 was painfully obvious.

First half: Fulham 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

It was a scrappy affair from the off. Both teams struggled to hold possession, though Spurs were arguably worse, often passing backwards and inviting even more pressure.

Fulham’s game plan was simple: find their wingers or full-backs overlapping in spaces and whip crosses into the box. Spurs repeatedly lost possession in midfield, with Tel, Bentancur, and Bissouma particularly careless, allowing Fulham to create chances.

Despite Fulham’s pressure, their finishing wasn’t the best, with Guglielmo Vicario making comfortable saves or shots flying wide.

Spurs’ best moment of the half came when Mathys Tel did brilliantly to beat his man on the right flank, but he hesitated with his final ball, and there wasn’t any green shirt to meet it.

Antonee Robinson, who went on to complete the most dribbles in the game (3), caused plenty of problems.

Fulham had the best chance of the half ten minutes before the break when Ben Davies failed to clear the ball properly, allowing Timothy Castagne a shot straight at Vicario.

There was a brief injury scare for Cristian Romero, who went down looking concerned but eventually carried on. Fulham also appealed for a penalty when an attempted cross from Alex Iwobi flicked off Destiny Udogie and struck Bentancur’s trailing arm, but referee Andy Madley waved play on.

At half-time, the stats summed up Spurs’ lack of creativity; just 0.07 (xG), while Fulham had 0.36. (FotMob)

• READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Fulham – 2/10 midfielder sinks like a stone

Second half: Fulham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

There was absolutely no creativity in Tottenham’s midfield, and Ange Postecoglou had no choice but to bring on Son and Bergvall for Johnson and Bissouma.

The substitutions had an immediate impact, but Fulham also stepped up their aggression.

Spurs had two big chances to take the lead, both falling to Dominic Solanke. The first came from a pinpoint Bergvall cross, and the second from a Son free-kick. Both headers however went wide.

Mathys Tel then came closest, curling an effort on target, only for Bernd Leno to push it away. The rebound fell to Solanke, but his poor first touch sent the ball flying over the bar.

Fulham had their own chance later, as Vicario parried a cross straight to Willian. His curled shot whistled just past the post.

For a moment, it seemed like Spurs would grind out their first 0-0 draw under Postecoglou. With Romero off, Spurs reverted to a Davies-Gray centre-back pairing. Just eight minutes later, Fulham capitalised.

Odobert lost the ball under pressure from three Fulham players, and Spurs couldn’t clear their lines. Andreas Pereira teed up Rodrigo Muniz, who fired inside the left-hand post.

Tottenham pushed for an equaliser, and with five minutes to go, Bergvall was taken down in the box by Calvin Bassey. VAR decided there wasn’t enough in it, but Spurs fans will likely disagree.

With Tottenham pushing high up the pitch in search of an equaliser, Fulham doubled their lead. A long ball forward saw Davies get into a mess with Ryan Sessegnon, who muscled and curled a right-footed effort into the far corner. 2-0 and it just had to be Sessegnon, didn’t it?

Five minutes of added time amounted to nothing, and the final whistle confirmed 3rd winless league game for Ange Postecoglou’s men.

What’s next for Spurs?

Ange Postecoglou has no excuses for this one. He had his full squad available, but he chose not to start his best XI. The result speaks for itself.

This loss makes it 15 defeats for the season. The last time Spurs lost these many games in a league campaign was back in 2003-04.

Just last week, we suggested that Spurs’ European hopes were dented after the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth. Now, it’s fair to say that they are completely dead (via the Premier League).

Spurs fans have to sit through two weeks of international football before returning to yet another London derby. This time against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

• READ MORE: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Fulham

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