Tottenham Hotspur have missed out on a Champions League place. The north Londoners lost 3-0 to Fulham FC on Saturday evening and may now have to let Aston Villa pull away. But things could have turned out very differently
Who knows how the game would have gone if Tottenham had taken the lead in one of these scenes. First Son missed with a flick (25′), then Willian (26′) and Maddison (32′) also failed to score. The Spurs had some good chances to score – the only thing they failed to do was score. And so, after 90 minutes, coach Ange Postecoglou’s side strolled off the Craven Cottage pitch with their heads hung low.
Tottenham had lost 3-0 and failed to score in an away game at Fulham for the first time since 2008. A setback in the race for Champions League qualification that left Spurs wondering what if.
However, it was also true on this evening that Fulham’s victory was no accident – on the contrary. The hosts had played furiously at times and had already carved out one or two goalscoring opportunities before going 1-0 up. Shortly before the break, it was Rodrigo Muniz who scored the opening goal after Robinson’s assist (42′).
Lukic and Rodrigo Muniz increase the lead
After the break, the hosts got into the game better and added to their lead after a low cross from Lukic (49′), before Rodrigo Muniz even made it 3-0 with a tap-in following a corner (61′). Spurs had too little to counter Fulham’s momentum in this phase – and so the game was decided early on.
Postecoglou left no stone unturned, making a triple substitution in the 66th minute and sending Werner and others onto the pitch – but the score was not to change. Spurs suffered a serious blow in the race for the top flight and must now hope that Aston Villa also stumble against West Ham on Sunday