Scraping past the Fulham

Tottenham withstood Fulham’s second-half onslaught to escape Craven Cottage with a precious 1-0 victory. It is a result that rekindles the hope of Champions League football returning to North London next season. Having endured such a bleak winter, if not renewed by Spring’s onset, Jose Mourinho’s side has at least found a way to win.

The Spurs manager, at last, fielded the ‘fantastic four’ fans have longed to see in attack. Dele Alli made his first Premier League start since the opening day of the season. While Gareth Bale retained his place alongside Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

Watching Alli set about Fulham in the game’s first half, it seems absurd how little he has figured in Tottenham’s stuttering campaign. In the ninth minute, the England man’s stiff challenge on Lemina set up Spurs first meaningful attack of the match. Ndombele spread the ball wide to Son on the left-wing. The forward checked back on to his right-foot before caressing a low ball around the Fulham defence to Bale. With the ball stuck under his feet, the Welshman was delayed in dispatching his shot, allowing Areola in the Fulham goal to cut off the angle with a sharp save. Had Bale found the net, the linesman’s raised flag would have kept the score at 0-0.

Alli most exemplified the fierce intensity with which Tottenham pressed Fulham every time the home side attempted to work the ball into midfield. Just after the quarter-hour mark, Alli intercepted a pass in the centre circle, presenting Son the chance to burst forward down the flank. The Korean’s sublime cross, sculpted with the outside of his right foot, located Kane unmarked in the middle of the goal six yards out. But the striker couldn’t manufacture the power in his header needed to beat Areola.

Seconds later, Alli was again the spark as Tottenham opened the scoring. Bale collected the ball deep in his own half and threaded a cleaving pass forward that looked to have released Alli for a run on goal. The ball struck Alli’s heel, but recovering instantly, the Tottenham number 20 swept a pass wide to the storming Son. A stepover of blurring speed took the winger to the byline, where he fired a low ball across the box. There, making the sort of late dash into the penalty area that has made him such a menace to defences over the years, was Dele Alli. His attempted flick-finish was probably going wide, but a deflection off the unwitting Tosin Adarabioyo diverted the ball beyond Areola. It was a shame that the goal was not credited to Alli. It would have been a just reward for his all-action endeavour.

As Spurs continued to suffocate Fulham, the visitors had numerous chances to double their advantage. Lloris found Bale with a long diagonal to the right-wing. The winger nodded the ball infield to Kane, who immediately moved it on to Son. Mesmerised by the forward’s flashing feet, the Fulham defence allowed Son to dip inside, where his bending shot didn’t quite curl enough to find the far corner.

Ten minutes before half-time, Ndombele’s sweet reverse ball put Kane goalside of the Fulham backline. Aina naively thrust out a leg that the England captain was only too happy to tumble over. A VAR check rightly concluded that any contact was insufficient to warrant a penalty.

Shortly after, Alli rustled up possession on the edge of the Fulham box. His teasing ball to the back post found Son completely unmarked, but the forward miscued his header horribly from close range.

For all their dominance, Spurs were reminded that one-nil leads are never anything but precarious. On the stroke of half-time, Antonee Robinson skipped past two challenges to break into the Tottenham area. His pull-back found Josh Maja, who in-turn toed the ball to Lemina. With virtually the whole goal to aim at, the Gabonese midfielder blazed his shot over the bar.

The miss appeared to galvanise Fulham after the interval. It was immediately apparent that Spurs had run out of puff. No longer able to hustle and harry mistakes from The Cottagers, Tottenham began to sink ever further toward their own goal. Alli, trying to offer some protection to the vulnerable Doherty – down whose side Fulham were now making considerable inroads – felled Loftus-Cheek. Cavaleiro’s inswinging delivery was met by Joachim Andersen with a skimming header which was kept out by Hugo Lloris’s flying save.

With Ademola Lookman buzzing amongst them, the Tottenham defence looked increasingly edgy. Only a last-ditch tackle from Davinson Sanchez, when Loftus-Cheek looked nailed on to score, denied Fulham the equaliser their start to the second period merited. The home side went close again on the hour mark. Maja slipped Cavaleiro away down the right channel. The Bordeaux loanee sprinted to the near post, hopeful of a return pass. When it came, his first-time shot drew a fine reflex save from Lloris.

Seconds later, the Spurs keeper was picking the ball out of his net. Reflecting the anxiety now crescendoing throughout the Tottenham rearguard, Sanchez swiped a panicked clearance against Lemina. Maja pounced on the loose ball and buried it past Lloris at the near post. A VAR check determined that Sanchez’s punt had struck Lemina on the arm. It was a harsh judgement, but based on the arcane handball laws, a correct one.

Barely clinging on and unable to string two passes together amid this Fulham squall, Mourinho turned to his substitutes for some respite. Moura and Sissoko replaced Bale and Alli in the 66th minute. In short order, Lamela too was sent on in Ndombele’s stead. The Argentine proved the one man capable of dragging Tottenham up the pitch. With eight minutes remaining, he combined with Sissoko before steering a through ball on to Kane. On the stretch, the striker reached it before Areola but failed to lift the ball over the keeper’s smothering dive.

Kane’s uncharacteristic profligacy was almost punished in the 88th minute. Aleksandar Mitrovic drove a ball across the face of Tottenham’s goal, which the sliding Matt Doherty narrowly diverted past his own post. The look of relief on the full-backs face suggested he hadn’t been in complete control of the situation. Lloris clutched the resulting corner – and with Kane intelligently running down the clock in injury-time, Spurs clung on for the win. Just.