Fulham finally ended their away-day drought with a superb 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.
Marco Silva deserves immense credit for devising a smart game plan to ensure his side reigned supreme. His side were organised, tactically intelligent and clinical, punishing Spurs’ mistakes before seeing out the clash with maturity in what was a textbook road performance.
Fulham arrived as one of only two Premier League teams without a win on their travels and had the fewest away points (1) in the division. But Spurs, who have won just once at home all season, proved the perfect hosts, as they produced another hugely unconvincing display.
Tottenham were two goals down inside six chaotic minutes and have now conceded first in six consecutive home league encounters – their worst run since 2003. While Mohammed Kudus’ searing blast made the scoreline look tighter, there’s no denying Fulham were deserved victors.
Fulham expose the Spurs press
The Cottagers repeatedly exposed Spurs’ man-to-man pressing, as they expertly drew them out before playing through or over their adversaries into Raul Jimenez or one of their other attackers. Taking advantage of Spurs’ central defenders being pulled out, this, in combination with Spurs not getting enough pressure on the ball, allowed Fulham to capitalise.
There’s no doubting how vital the presence of Jimenez was. He provided his team with a terrific reference point and target man to find. Fulham would duly set up to make the most of his aerial prowess and nifty link play, with the likes of Joshua King, Samuel Chukwueze, Harry Wilson, and Alex Iwobi often in close proximity to help win the second balls from headed flick-ons, knockdowns or layoffs by the Mexican.
This shape paid dividends for their first goal, where. Despite Jimenez not being directly involved, Iwobi recovered the ball from Kevin Danso’s poor clearance, which set the wheels in motion for Kenny Tete’s strike.
It was also notable how Jimenez would drift wider to these less populated areas and receive long balls, where he coalesced well with the nearby winger so they could potentially recover possession in less densely occupied zones and, at times, create favourable overloads.
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Andersen the press-breaker
Key to Fulham’s success in beating the press was Joachim Andersen, as the Dane’s elite progressive passing and range constantly saw him get his team up the field with precision.
Finding teammates to feet or pinpointing them with wicked diagonals and direct long balls, the veteran’s composure, vision, masterful repertoire and execution were a joy to watch on a night where his press-breaking qualities were crucial to bringing Silva’s plans to life and breathing momentum into many an attack.
A fine example arose in the 15th minute, when his incisive delivery removed multiple Spurs players from the equation and found the dropping Jimenez, who then received and turned to inject impetus into the sequence.
Fulham anticipated when a Spurs forward would pressure Bernd Leno, who then found Andersen with a bounce pass. This gave him the space he needed to wreak havoc, with his switches to the wingers and full-backs catching the eye, too.
Defensive issues prove costly
Tottenham’s disastrous first-half defending immediately put them on the back foot and left them with a mountain to climb, which they ultimately couldn’t. Wanting to start positively following heavy defeats against Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, where they conceded a combined nine, things got off to the worst possible start.
Fulham’s opener stemmed from a loose Danso header that was picked off in the centre circle. Chukwueze was sent through down the left, and he squared for Tete to finish. Moments later, Wilson doubled the lead after a dreadful error from Guglielmo Vicario handed him the chance to fire in a sublime effort from the touchline.
It could have been even worse for Spurs, as Chukwueze struck the post from the edge of the area, and only a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Micky van de Ven denied him after he’d glided past Pedro Porro and Vicario.
For Tottenham, this was a match they simply had to win, but yet another sluggish start proved their downfall – a recurring theme this campaign.
“When you’re down 2-0 after six minutes, there is a mountain to climb. When you’re in a bad spell, everything seems to go against you as well — the first was a deflected shot, the second is a mistake from Vic,” reflected a dejected Thomas Frank.
“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him 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, and we do everything we can to perform. I’m fine with them booing after the match, no problem, but not during. That is unacceptable in my opinion.”
Given Spurs have now lost three games in six days since returning to action from the November international break, it’s all to do for Frank in his quest to arrest the slide.