Thomas Frank and Spurs slipped to another defeat at home, this one a 2-1 loss to Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday that saw the side lustily booed at halftime and the final whistle.
MORE — Thomas Frank speaks on home boos, attacking woes
Kenny Tete scored in the fourth minute and Harry Wilson feasted on a Guglielmo Vicario gaffe two minutes later as the visitors built a 2-0 halftime lead in North London.
Mohammed Kudus conjured a second-half goal for Spurs whose play improved after a trio of 60th-minute subs, but a second goal was nowhere to be found as Fulham swallowed up or blocked numerous Tottenham Hotspur crosses.
WATCH — Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham full match replay
Fulham have now won three of their last four Premier League matches and this is their first away league win of the season. The Cottagers are onto 17 points, which is good for 15th place but just three points off sixth.
Spurs stay in 10th place as the best of five teams on 18 points.
Fulham’s confident playmakers show Spurs what they’re missing
Tottenham Hotspur crafted their own demise Saturday with early errors, but their failure to come back and claim at least a point was down to their creators or lack thereof. Part of that lays at the feet of Thomas Frank, who left some bright pieces on the bench and watched as Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus struggled early. Kudus scored but was otherwise quite quiet. An energetic Randal Kolo Muani was industrious but couldn’t generate his own danger while the middle of the park was so tame that Spurs spent the first hour or so just plugging cross after cross into an expectant Fulham back line. The introductions of Xavi Simons and Pape Matar Sarr changed things as expected but it begs whether Frank knows his best XI. Dejan Kulusevski simply could not be missed more.
Fulham veteran Alex Iwobi acknowledged after the game that Samu Chukwueze’s nickname is “Chukmagic” and he was part of a forward-thinking Cottagers attack that could’ve scored four or five on another day (Micky van de Ven had at least two goal-thwarting interventions for Spurs). Josh King and Harry Wilson were lively and Raul Jimenez a heat-seeking missile at center forward, and Marco Silva got decent play from Emile Smith Rowe and Kevin off the bench. Fulham may be limited by its center forward play this season with Jimenez aged 34 and Rodrigo Muniz out for months, but it looks set to create at a mid-table or better level.
What’s next?
Spurs go to Newcastle on Tuesday, then host Brentford on Saturday.
Fulham host Manchester City at 2:30pm ET Tuesday before welcoming Crystal Palace to Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham final score: 1-2
Kenny Tete 4', Harry Wilson 6', Mohammed Kudus 59'
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham live updates — by Nick Mendola
And one more Fulham move
Timothy Castagne will bring more defense as Alex Iwobi exits the game in the 87th minute.
Spurs make one more move
Ndogie leaves in favor of a forward: Mathys Tel.
More subs
Pape Sarr replaces Bergvall for Spurs, and soon after Fulham remove Chukwueze for Kevin.
Fulham subs
Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe come into the fray for Joshua King and Harry Wilson, the latter walking with a bit of a limp.
Spurs close again!
Lucas Bergvall runs to the near post and flicks a corner kick back across goal, and it’s just pushed away from the upper 90.
Tottenham Hotspur looking their best of the day.
Tottenham Hotspur make three subs
Off go Joao Palhinha, Richarlison, and Archie Gray for Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons, and Rodrigo Bentancur in the 60th minute.
Mohammed Kudus goal — Spurs 1-2 Fulham
He had done almost nothing before this, but Mohammed Kudus has lashed Spurs back into the game with a powerful rip.
Spurs come close
A quiet first 11 minutes for Spurs comes to life as Pedro Porro’s cross from the right is nearly turned inside the post by a diving Randal Kolo Muani.
Spurs soon win a corner
Halftime — Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Fulham
Spurs have two shot attempts which account for an xG total of 0.01 despite 60% of the ball.
Fulham are in the catbird seat up two as visitors, just hanging out in their 18 heading crosses clear of the box or blocking them out of play.
To say that Thomas Frank’s attacking plan is not working is an understatement. Xavi Simons, Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel, and Wilson Odobert are among those on the bench.
Micky van de Ven yellow card
The big back drops Joachim Andersen with a flying hip, and Fulham to a man seem displeased with the Dutchman.
It’ll only be a yellow.
Unreal tackle
Chukwueze cuts past Pedro Porro and is onto the doorstep, only to see Spurs bailed out by a tremendous sliding challenge from Micky van de Ven.
Harry Wilson goal — Spurs 0-2 Fulham
What’s going on here?
Guglielmo Vicario goes for a stroll, winning the ball to seemingly avert Fulham’s danger of doubling their lead.
Somehow, he doesn’t slam the ball into the seats, Fulham recover it and Harry Wilson’s sweet left peg curls a cross inside the yawning frame.
Kenny Tete goal — Spurs 0-1 Fulham
The Fulham back runs onto a loose ball outside the 18 and hammers a low shot that skips behind the front leg of Destiny Udogie and then turns hard off the back leg to leave Guglielmo Vicario with very little hope.
Tottenham Hotspur lineup
Vicario, Udogie, Danso, Van de Ven, Porro, Palhinha, Gray, Bergvall, Kudus, Kolo Muani, Richarlison
Fulham lineup
Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon, Berge, Iwobi, King, Wilson, Chukwueze, Jimenez
Spurs vs Fulham preview — by Joe Prince-Wright
After being hammered 4-1 at bitter rivals Arsenal last Sunday, Frank’s side were better in attack in midweek but still lost 5-3 at PSG. The balance is off for Spurs and perhaps that is predictable given all of the attacking players they are missing through injury. But Frank is under pressure from Spurs fans due to the clunky play on the ball and he could really do with a big home win to calm things down after just one win in their last six games in all competitions.
Fulham won 1-0 at home against Sunderland last weekend and two home wins in a row has eased fears they will get sucked into the relegation battle this season. Marco Silva’s side have to improve away from home, as they’ve yet to win away this season and have lost five of their six games on the road.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Spurs are without Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, and Yves Bissouma, while captain and star center back Cristian Romero is suspended for this game. That means Kevin Danso will likely start alongside Micky van de Ven in defense, while Randal Kolo Muani has probably played himself into the starting lineup after two goals and an assist in the defeat at PSG in midweek. Destiny Udogie, Joao Palhinha, and Xavi Simons could all come in to start after being on the bench in midweek.
Fulham team news, focus
Rodrigo Muniz is out until February, which is a big blow, but Fulham’s captain and USMNT star left back Antonee Robinson is close to a return. Sasa Lukic is back from suspension so that is a huge bonus in midfield, too. Fulham have been in games all season long but have struggled to score goals and Silva will hope Raul Jimenez grabbing the winner last weekend against Sunderland will boost his confidence and see him go on a scoring run.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham prediction
Spurs will need to be patient but if things click they can hurt Fulham and have some attacking players finding a bit of form. Expect a narrow win for the hosts. Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Fulham.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Saturday (November 29)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
TV Channel: USA