There were echoes of England’s World Cup summer as Tottenham put a bad week behind them to claim victory over Fulham. Unfortunately for Spurs, playing like a side who finished fourth in Russia is not what Mauricio Pochettino is after.
A superb free-kick from Kieran Trippier and Harry Kane’s first Premier League goal in August turned the match in Tottenham’s favour after Aleksandar Mitrovic had cancelled out Lucas Moura’s first-half strike. For Pochettino this was not good enough and he demanded his side become more clinical if they are to become winners rather than just gallant runners-up.
“In football we are here to win, not to come third or fourth,” he said. “Having a good World Cup increases your confidence and the trust in yourself. But it is important to understand that while many of our players had an excellent World Cup only Hugo Lloris won it.”
Trippier, making his first start for Spurs since starring for England in Russia, was at the heart of everything Tottenham did. If his delivery had been better, in the first half in particular, they would have won the match at a canter. Still, he managed to score the goal of the day, a sweet free-kick from 25 yards that bent inside Fabri’s right-hand post.
As for Kane, he sealed the victory with a typical goal 13 minutes from time, stepping inside Calum Chambers and firing low with his right foot into the far corner. The captain has found himself in the odd position of having won the Golden Boot in Russia while apparently struggling for form. Here he was back to something closer to his best, looking sharp in and around the box and providing a stern physical challenge for Fulham’s centre-halves.
“I am very happy for Harry,” Pochettino said. “It was important for him to feel the net in this period. If not we might have made a big trauma for him. He came up to me after the game to tell me: ‘Gaffer, I have done it!’ We have a little disadvantage in fitness and pre-season but if you have a good mentality you can compete.”
Lucas scored the opening goal, his first in the league for the club, curling home inside the far post after another cross from the right had been blocked. But Fulham came out the better side after half-time and Mitrovic had already hit the post before he equalised, stooping low to head home after a cute layoff from Ryan Sessegnon.
Pochettino responded to the goal immediately with a change of formation. Ironically, an England-style 3-3-2-2 with Lucas alongside Kane went to a 4-2-3-1 with Mousa Dembélé replacing Davinson Sánchez. Soon Spurs were on the front foot again. As Fulham tired openings began to spring up and Spurs enjoyed another period where they might have scored many more than two goals.
For Slavisa Jokanovic there were no lessons to be learned from this match that were not apparent already. “We know where we are,” the Fulham manager said. “We played a complicated away game against one of the top Champions League teams.
“They showed quality but on the other side they showed they’ve been playing for three years together. We’ve played two and a half weeks together. We are a Premier League team in a building process. We are going to need the time. We showed a few positive things but without any doubt we need to fix our problems. The only way I know how to do that is to work hard.”
There were positive signs, not just the Mitrovic goal and the Sessegnon assist but in the combination of £40m central midfield recruits Jean Michaël Seri and André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Fulham’s next match is at home to Burnley, another big challenge. Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Manchester United where a Pochettino team have yet to win in the league, or even score a goal.
“I am disappointed but I am also happy,” Pochettino said in summary. “Old Trafford will show us whether we are ready to challenge at the top or not.”
