Fulham made a losing return to action following the international break, as costly errors saw them unable to prevent Tottenham from going two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Calvin Bassey — starting just his second league game for the club — lost the ball and then collided with centre-back partner Tim Ream as Son Heung-min opened the scoring.
Then Bassey again played an inaccurate pass which led to Son assisting James Maddison as Ange Postecoglou's side put daylight between themselves and Fulham.
Dom Smith was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium taking in the action…
Bernd Leno — 7
Excellent save with his legs to deny Son Heung-min inside two minutes, and then to deny Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Timothy Castagne — 7
Always mobile down either the left or right flank. Showed his athleticism as ever, this time at left-back.
Calvin Bassey — 3
His poor pass and collision with teammate Tim Ream handed Tottenham the lead on a plate. Then another lax pass gave Spurs their second. To cap it all off, he lost the ball in the box again and Spurs so nearly profited again. Shocker.
WHAT A SEASON JAMES MADDISON IS HAVING! 👏
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 23, 2023
His first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6GkHNpuDeg
Tim Ream — 5
Composed on the ball, as ever, but the way he clashed with Bassey for the opener was like something out of a comedy show.
Antonee Robinson — 6
Defended diligently, which could not be said of Fulham's two centre-backs.
Sasa Lukic — 6
Responsible in possession without ever looking like having much influence here.
Joao Palhinha — 7
So nearly gave Spurs a shock lead, but for Vicario's outstanding full-stretch save from the Portuguese midfielder's bullet-header. His usual self in other respects, crunching into every tackle with interest.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid — 6
Struggled to get into the game, and found Spurs' press too intense when looking for forward passes.
Andreas Pereira — 6
A silky nutmeg on Dejan Kulusevski was about as good as it got on a quiet night for the Brazilian.
Willian — 7
Booed throughout by Tottenham fans who disliked him at Chelsea and really disliked him when he moved to Arsenal. Tried to get Fulham moving, with his evergreen ability to keep the ball in tight spaces.
Carlos Vinicius — 6
The conventional school of thought seems to be that, among Fulham's strikers, Raul Jimenez holds the ball up while Vinicius scores the goals. The opposite was true here, at least from Vinicius' perspective.
Subs:
Raul Jimenez (Vinicius, 46') — 6
Denied by Vicario as he looked set to get Fulham back into the contest late on.
Alex Iwobi (Pereira, 46') — 5
Pretty much anonymous here. Unlucky not to start, though.
Harry Wilson (De Cordova-Reid, 62') — 5
Didn't see much of the ball.
Harrison Reed (Lukic, 72') — 5
Did OK in the time he had.
Tom Cairney (Palhinha, 82') — N/A
