article-image

Tottenham 1-2 Fulham: Wilson stunner piles more pressure on Frank

1
0
Clock Icon2 hoursFootball

Harry Wilson's sensational goal proved to be the winner as Fulham piled more misery on Tottenham with a memorable 2-1 away win on Saturday.

Thomas Frank's side were under pressure following heavy defeats to Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, but they felt the fury of their own supporters after going 2-0 down within six minutes.

Fulham went ahead in the fourth minute as Samuel Chukwueze's pass across the edge of the area fell to Kenny Tete, whose shot beat Vicario via a deflection off Destiny Udogie. 

And Spurs went 2-0 down in bizarre fashion when Guglielmo Vicario darted out of his area to sweep up a loose ball, only to slice his clearance straight to Josh King. He played a simple lay-off to Wilson, who curled into an unguarded net from the right-hand touchline. 

Fulham could have been out of sight by half-time, with Chukwueze clipping the post and drawing a goal-saving tackle from Micky van de Ven, though Spurs did improve after the break.

Randal Kolo Muani headed just wide in the 57th minute, and it was game on two minutes later as Mohammed Kudus' rasping volley beat Bernd Leno at his near post.

Raul Jimenez then nodded Lucas Bergvall's glancing header off the line and Kolo Muani backheeled into the side netting, but Spurs' pressure dissipated after those chances, with Fulham holding on to move just one point behind their hosts, who were subjected to further boos at full-time.

Data Debrief: Historically poor start costs Spurs

Having suffered two damaging defeats – and conceded nine goals – against Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain within the last six days, the last thing Spurs needed on Saturday was to fall behind early.

Frank's players clearly did not get that memo, as they conceded twice within five minutes and 43 seconds of kick-off – the earliest they have ever gone 2-0 down in a home Premier League game.

Spurs' struggles were not limited to the defensive end, either, as they failed to attempt a shot on target until Kudus' goal and produced just 0.02 expected goals (xG) in the first half.

That meant they had racked up just 0.09 xG across three consecutive halves of Premier League football, having only tallied 0.07 xG against Arsenal last week.

An improved second half saw them win the xG battle, but with a mere 0.86 (Fulham had 0.42). Only Burnley (7.0) have amassed fewer xG at home in the Premier League this season than Spurs (8.0).