Tottenham squandered an opportunity to break into the Premier League top four as Rodrigo Muniz struck twice to propel Fulham to a remarkable victory at Craven Cottage.
Brazilian Muniz showcased his scoring prowess by finding the net on two occasions, sandwiching Sasa Lukic’s first goal for the Cottagers, bringing his tally to seven goals in the last seven matches.
In the first half, the striker calmly slotted home after controlling Antonee Robinson’s delivery, before displaying quick reactions to bundle in the loose ball from a second-half corner, securing a thoroughly deserved victory for the home team.
From the outset, Tottenham appeared surprisingly lackluster. They narrowly avoided conceding early on thanks to blocks by Radu Dragusin and Cristian Romero to deny Andreas Pereira, while goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made a fine save to deny Lukic.
Despite James Maddison’s near miss in the first half and Timo Werner’s failure to convert a clear opportunity in the second, Ange Postecoglou’s side failed to replicate their impressive performances against Crystal Palace and Villa in the previous two games.
A win for Villa against West Ham on Sunday will see them reclaim their five-point lead. Meanwhile, Fulham, currently 12th in the table, are just five points behind seventh-placed West Ham.
Sorry Spurs disappoint
Tottenham’s dominant 4-0 victory at Villa Park appeared to propel them with momentum in the race for the top four and a guaranteed spot in next season’s Champions League.
However, despite the positive result in that match, their performance against Villa was equally disappointing. Spurs failed to capitalize on the opportunity to exert more pressure on Villa, who played a day later.
The visitors started slowly and conceded a sloppy goal just three minutes before halftime. Instead of seizing the initiative after the break, they came out in a similarly cautious manner, allowing Lukic to score within four minutes.
Crucially, manager Postecoglou was without centre-back Micky van de Ven due to injury. The last time van de Ven was sidelined, Spurs endured a four-game winless streak.
In his absence, January signing Dragusin was given his first start but allowed Muniz too much space for the opener and was beaten to the bouncing ball for the third goal.
Postecoglou made three changes in the second half, and his team briefly improved. However, Werner, who had scored in his previous two games, was unable to find the net. This marked the first time Spurs failed to score in a Premier League match under the Australian manager.
Their next match is a home game against Luton, where they will aim to ensure that this disappointing performance can be attributed to a bad day.
Muniz does it again
Muniz, 22, only scored twice on loan in the Championship at Middlesbrough last season. Two more goals here made him Fulham’s top scorer, despite not finding the net until the first week of February.
They were two different strikes but both showed his poacher’s instinct as became the first Fulham player to score in four consecutive Premier League home matches.
His run of form has come with a succession of starts after Raul Jimenez was injured. The Mexican is now fit again – he replaced Muniz in the second half after the match-winner took a knock in scrambling in the second – but faces a tough task to win back his place.
Fulham had lost 14 of their past 16 Premier League games against Tottenham and were winless in their past nine. This victory could not have been more deserved.
Lukic’s goal was also a fine move with Timothy Castagne charging forward from right-back to cross into the middle. The Serb’s finish was fortunate, the ball deflecting in off his knee, but he still rightly wheeled away in celebration.