livescore

Key talking points as Fulham dent Spurs' top-four hopes
Copy icon

Toby Rathborne
LiveScore
Rodrigo Muniz bagged a brace for Fulham
Rodrigo Muniz bagged a brace for Fulham

Fulham put on a stunning display to beat Tottenham 3-0 and deal a massive blow to the visitors' dreams of Champions League football next season.

Rodrigo Muniz opened the scoring in the first half with a darting run to meet the end of a pin-point cross from Antonee Robinson.

Sasa Lukic doubled the lead after the break when he diverted Timothy Castagne's delivery into the back of the net before Muniz added a third.

Here are the key talking points from the match at Craven Cottage.

Rampant Muniz

Rodrigo Muniz showed great movement in his first goal
Rodrigo Muniz showed great movement in his first goal

Muniz continued his strong scoring streak, his brace making it seven goals from his last seven appearances for the Cottagers.

The Brazilian youngster showed great movement to remain onside and evade Radu Dragusin before dispatching the opener.

For his second, he again beat the Romanian defender to the ball and tapped into an open net.

After concern about a lack of goalscoring quality at Fulham following the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic last summer, Muniz is becoming a player Marco Silva can depend on.

Top four trouble

Despite a stunning 4-0 win over top-four rivals Aston Villa last time out, this defeat sees Spurs take a big step back in the race for a Champions League spot.

The visitors had a chance to move a point above the Villans and claim fourth place for their own but now they will have to rely on other results.

It comes as a big blow for Ange Postecoglou's men, who still have to face Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City after the international break.

First start to forget

January signing Dragusin made his first start for Spurs following the injury to centre-back mainstay Micky van de Ven — and it will be a match to forget for the Romania international.

The 22-year-old lost Muniz for the first goal, failed to prevent Castagne's cross for the second and was beaten on the line for Fulham's third.

He showed some promise by winning aerial duels and playing some key passes into midfield, but struggled particularly in open space to cope with Fulham's front three.

Postecoglou will hope Dragusin can recover from a disappointing start with top-four hopes hanging in the balance.

Missed chances

Son Heung-min during Tottenham's 3-0 defeat
Son Heung-min during Tottenham's 3-0 defeat

While Tottenham struggled to get into top gear going forward they still had a number of key opportunities to score but failed to punish the hosts.

Top scorer and captain Son Heung-min fired his first-half chance just over the bar, while James Maddison also struck inches wide which would have seen Spurs go ahead.

In the second half chasing the game, Timo Werner failed to convert from two yards out and then Richarlison fired just wide in the late stages of the match.

In all it was a poor showing from a usually clinical cohort.

Free-flowing Fulham

For all of the Tottenham flaws, Fulham put on a show of supreme attacking football.

Orchestrated by Alex Iwobi in midfield, the Cottagers exploited the vast amount of space and pinged passes between the Spurs defence.

In the final third, they showed their lethal side by hitting the corners of the goal to ensure the impressive Guglielmo Vicario had no chance of keeping the ball out.

Tags

FulhamPremier LeagueTottenham Hotspur
LiveScore logo

LiveScore: Live Sport Updates

Footbal Scores & Sports News

App storeGoogle play