Of Tottenham’s three damaging results in seven days, this will go down as the worst for Thomas Frank.
Another failure in front of home fans, against a Fulham team without an away win since May. More points squandered in the Premier League, nudging them towards the bottom half.
Worse than the four-goal debacle at Arsenal. Another slip backward after grains of positivity in a five-goal defeat at Paris Saint- Germain.
They were booed off at half-time and again at the final whistle and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was a target for jeers and ironic cheers after his mistake led to Fulham’s second.
Spurs have won only three Premier League home games in the first 11 months of 2025. Next weekend, they will have another go against Brentford, the team Frank left to cross London.
First, they have a daunting trip to Newcastle, with pressure mounting and the doubts swirling around the Dane’s suitability for the job sure to increase after this.
His team made the worst possible start to a vital game, two goals down within six minutes.
First, a heavy slice of fortune for Fulham when Kenny Tete took aim from the edge of the penalty area and found the net via a huge deflection off Destiny Udogie, completely wrong-footing Vicario.
If the Spurs keeper was helpless for the first, he was culpable for the second. Racing from his goal to foil Raul Jimenez, he ended up in a left-back position from where he tried to play a pass down the flank.
He scuffed it to Josh King, the Fulham teenager with a quick mind and quicker feet who rolled the ball on to the left foot of Harry Wilson, and from there it was duly swerved into the open goal with sweet precision.
Spurs were shellshocked. In the stands, the mood shifted uneasily. Discontent rumbled down from the South Stand. Ironic cheers followed Vicario thereafter every time he caught a cross or kicked one clear.
On the pitch, with confidence damaged, natives restless and captain Cristian Romero serving a one-match ban for five yellow cards, Frank’s team creaked and nearly fell further behind.
Samuel Chukwueze hit a post with a curling left-footer from the edge of the box. Chukwueze, on loan from AC Milan and making his first Premier League start after a match-changing cameo as a substitute against Sunderland in the previous game, tormented Pedro Porro in the first half.
Tottenham’s formation, a 4-4-2 shape with the wide midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus tucking in behind Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison to make it 4-2-2-2, had been positively received in Paris on Wednesday, but it did not work here.
Porro was badly exposed and Chukwueze went close again before the interval speeding clear and dancing around Vicario only to be denied his first Fulham goal by a sensational sliding recovery tackle from Micky van de Ven.
There were times when Van de Ven, captain in Romero’s absence, seemed to be keeping the visitors at bay on his own. Another crucial header beat Jimenez to a cross.
Frank resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time, and his team had more urgency upon their return. They found a quicker tempo and got further up the pitch. They got Kudus and Porro on to the ball in better areas. Fulham, however, will reflect on how they dropped too deep and lost impetus.
Kolo Muani has improved Tottenham’s goal threat as he has recaptured his full sharpness. He went close with a header from a Porro cross before Kudus pulled one back, a ferocious strike from a pass by Bergvall.
Frank had three changes already lined up when the goal flew in. He sent them all on and the momentum was theirs, but they could not find the second goal.
Jimenez cleared a Bergvall header off the line before Fulham boss Marco Silva made changes. The fresh legs and defensive reinforcements secured victory. Spurs slide towards another crisis.
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS:
Spurs 442: Vicario 5; Porro 5.5, Danso 5.5, Van de Ven 7, Udogie 6 (Tel 85); Kudus 6.5, Palhinha 5 (Bentancur 60), Gray 6 (Odobert 60), Bergvall 6 (Sarr 77); Richarlison 5 (Simons 60), Kolo Muani 6.5.
Subs: Kinsky, Davies, Johnson, Spence
Goals: Kudus,
Bookings: Van de Ven, Udogie, Kolo Muani
Manager: Thomas Frank 5.5
Fulham 4231: Leno 6; Tete 7, Andersen 7.5, Bassey 7, Sessegnon 7; Iwobi 7 (Castagne 87), Berge 6.5; Wilson 6.5 (Lukic 68, 6), King 7 (Smith Rowe 68, 6), Chukwueze 8 (Kevin 80); Jimenez 6.5.
Subs: Lecomte, Traore, Cuenca, Cairney
Goals: Tete 4, Wilson 6,
Bookings: Jimenez
Manager: Marco Silva 7
Ref: Stuart Attwell 6
Att: 60,546
Porro was badly exposed and tormented by Chukwueze, who went close again in the first half, speeding clear and dancing around Vicario only to be denied his first Fulham goal by a sensational sliding recovery tackle from Micky van de Ven.
There were times when Van de Ven, captain in Romero's absence, seemed to be keeping the visitors at bay single-handedly. Another crucial header to beat Jimenez to a cross.
Booed off at half-time, Frank resisted the temptation to make changes, but his team returned with more urgency.
They found a quicker tempo and got further up the pitch.
They got Kudus and Porro onto the ball in better areas. Although Fulham will reflect on how they dropped too deep and lost impetus.
Kolo Muani has improved Tottenham’s goal threat as he has recaptured his full sharpness.
He went close with a header from a Porro cross before Kudus pulled one back, a ferocious strike from a pass by Bergvall.
Frank had three changes already lined up when the goal went in.
He threw them on and suddenly the momentum was theirs until Marco Silva responded with changes to restore an element of control, giving Fulham fresh legs and defensive reinforcements. And, ultimately, victory.