Tottenham Hotspur had their best start to a top-flight season in more than 60 years and got even better on Monday as they beat Fulham 2-0 at home to move two points clear at the Premier League summit.
Captain Son Heung-min’s seventh league goal of the campaign and James Maddison’s first home strike for the club secured a seventh win in nine league games.
Son curled a right-foot effort into the top corner in the 36th minute, his 50th goal at Tottenham’s new stadium since it opened in 2019, and then set up playmaker Maddison to score with a cool finish early in the second half.
Unbeaten in the league under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Spurs have 23 points, two more than champions Manchester City and local rivals Arsenal. They next travel to Crystal Palace on Friday with the chance to move five ahead.
Fulham, who were disappointing despite some late chances after Tottenham eased off, are 13th on 11 points.
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The victory was especially sweet as the west London side knocked Tottenham out of the League Cup on penalties — the only hiccup so far in Postecoglou’s impressive start in north London.
Postecoglou enjoys best start by new premier league manager
Postecoglou, prised from Celtic and tasked with rejuvenating the club’s fortunes, has now enjoyed the best start by a new manager in the Premier League.
But despite another win, the Australian was not entirely happy with his team’s performance.
“It was a good result because Fulham are a tough team to break down,” he told Sky Sports. “The second half wasn’t great and we didn’t play anywhere near the levels we can, we were wasteful.
“You have to respect the game and if you are off it a little bit it can drag you down. We took a few liberties which I wasn’t very happy with. It was our worst 45 minutes with the ball.”
Positives for Postecoglou despite second-half drop-off
Despite Postecoglou’s concerns, there were plenty of positives for him to take from the game.
Tottenham’s front-foot style was in evidence again as they carved out chances in the opening stages with Son denied by Fulham’s former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Defender Micky van de Ven also volleyed a chance over the bar, and Richarlison side-footed wide after a sweeping move.
Fulham’s best chance in the opening half fell to Joao Palhinha, whose header was superbly saved by Guglielmo Vicario.
The visitors offered Spurs a helping hand to break the deadlock when a poor pass by Calvin Bassey out of defence left them exposed, and Richarlison found Son, who skipped to his right before dispatching a curling effort beyond Leno.
Maddison was again at the heart of much of Tottenham’s best work, as he has been all season since arriving from Leicester City in the close season and was soon rewarded.
Another sloppy pass from Bassey was cut out, and Son rolled the ball to England international Maddison, who opened his body and steered a silky low finish past Leno.
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With another game on Friday, Maddison, Son and Richarlison were all substituted during the second half, and Tottenham lost their focus and could have paid the price.
However, Fulham failed to make the most of several late chances, one of which fell to Harry Wilson, who delayed his shot too long.
“In the second half, we ramped the pressure up a bit, but in the end, we come away with nothing,” said Fulham boss Marco Silva, who has never enjoyed a Premier League win over Spurs.
“Maybe unfortunate to not score one or two, and then we are discussing a different result.”
Overall, it was a positive performance from Tottenham, albeit slightly tarnished by their second-half drop-off. Postecoglou will be demanding more from his players in the coming weeks, but he can be pleased with how his team is shaping up.
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