Marco Silva's Fulham made it four wins from their last six Premier League matches when they left it late to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
The first half started slow and the visitors had the only effort in the opening 20 minutes when Rodrigo Bentancur headed wide from an Archie Gray cross, though the Cottagers took control of the game and responded with six of their own before the interval.
Ange Postecoglou made attacking changes for the second period, bringing on Son Heung-Min for Brennan Johnson and Lucas Bergvall for Yves Bissouma, and the talismanic Son was involved immediately as he set up what was only his team's second attempt of the afternoon.
Bergvall then got in on the action and delivered a fine cross that Dominic Solanke headed wide, just one of the Englishman's missed chances that could have snatched all three points for Spurs on another day.
The striker was made to rue his missed opportunities late on when Fulham substitute striker Rodrigo Muniz netted a fine first-time effort with little over 10 minutes to play, and former Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon added a second for security on the 88-minute mark.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
© Imago
Fulham found themselves six points behind fifth-placed Manchester City prior to kick off, and three points this afternoon has boosted their outside hopes of playing European football next season.
Two substitutes came on to snatch the win late in the game, and Silva will be pleased to see that his squad found a way to win from the bench against a traditional big six club.
Meanwhile, Tottenham have endured a rough campaign and went into this weekend's clash low on confidence with just one win in their last four matches across all competitions.
Postecolgou's side had also lost their last five fixtures directly before international breaks, and after extending that unwanted record on Sunday, the boss must surely be under pressure with the team 10 points behind 10th-placed Bournemouth.
FULHAM VS. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR HIGHLIGHTS
69th min: Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur) missed chance
Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel fires a shot from outside the box towards the left-hand side of the goal that eventually falls to James Maddison, who lays the ball off to Solanke, who then misses the target.
Will poor finishing cost Spurs?
78th min: Fulham 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Rodrigo Muniz)
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W Odobert is dispossessed on the right flank and Willian drives towards the box before rolling the ball to Antonee Robinson, who plays a cross that eventually falls to Adama Traore.
Traore then pokes it through to Andreas Pereira, who in turn finds Rodrigo Muniz, and the substitute striker produces a precise finish to slot the ball into the bottom-left corner.
88th min: Fulham 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Ryan Sessegnon)
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Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno kicks long and over the top but Ben Davies struggles to deal with it in the air and allows former teammate Ryan Sessegnon to get on the end of a bouncing ball in the box.
That being said, the versatile left-flank man still has a lot to do, but he finds the top-right corner with an excellent strike to secure all three points!
MAN OF THE MATCH - RODRIGO MUNIZ
© Imago
Substitute Rodrigo Muniz came on with almost half an hour to play and seized all three points for the Cottagers with an excellent finish late on.
The striker had limited opportunities to make an impact but managed to do so in the decisive moment and left opposition striker Solanke to rue his earlier misses.
FULHAM VS. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR MATCH STATS
Possession: Fulham 57%-43% Tottenham Hotspur
Shots: Fulham 13-12 Tottenham Hotspur
Shots on target: Fulham 4-4 Tottenham Hotspur
Corners: Fulham 6-5 Tottenham Hotspur
Fouls: Fulham 13-10 Tottenham Hotspur
BEST STATS
Today's loss to Fulham is Tottenham's FIFTEENTH Premier League defeat of the season, their highest number of defeats since 08-09.
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 16, 2025
They still have 9 games to play...😬 pic.twitter.com/8rg7pTwaW2
Tottenham are closer to Southampton at the bottom of the table than they are to Liverpool at the top.
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) March 16, 2025
70 PTS — Liverpool
34 PTS — Tottenham
9 PTS — Southampton pic.twitter.com/E8BmWFqo0T
WHAT NEXT?
After the international break, Fulham will welcome Crystal Palace for an all-London FA Cup clash on March 29, while Tottenham will travel to Stamford Bridge for another derby against Chelsea on April 3.
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