Football.London

Tottenham returned to Premier League action after their Europa League exploits on Thursday, but their league form continued with defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs actually had the better of the second period, creating a number of good chances, but it was the home side who secured all three points with two late goals.

Rodrigo Muniz swept home after Wilson Odobert had been dispossessed and Spurs failed to get the ball away from their own box. Then, substitute Ryan Sessegnon hit his old side hard with a clincher, getting the better of Ben Davies and firing into the top corner for 2-0.

But between those goals, Spurs will feel aggrieved they did not get a penalty kick. Lucas Bergvall, who came on at half-time, drifted into the Fulham box and looked to take the ball past Calvin Bassey.

Bassey stood firm, but Bergvall appeared to get to the ball first and the Fulham defender put his leg across the run of the Swede, who went down over the outstretched leg.

Bergvall screamed for a penalty, but referee Andy Madley was unmoved. replays showed Bassey not getting any of the ball and Bergvall's leading leg going over the outstretched leg of Bassey. But VAR did not call Madley to the screen to have a look.

And the reason for that was explained on commentary with the VAR Paul Tierney apparently deeming that "Bassey's foot was in front of Bergvall's and Bergvall's gone into him rather than the other way around".

Tottenham's Premier League woes continued on Sunday afternoon after they fell to a 2-0 defeat away at Fulham. Following Thursday's 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League that secured a place in the quarter-finals of the competition, Ange Postecoglou made seven changes to his team to take on Fulham.

Players such as Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson came into the team, with Archie Gray handed a rare start in midfield after his heroics in defence since December. In a first half with a real lack of opportunities on goal, it wasn't until the 34th minute when Fulham's Timothy Castagne had the first effort on target after profiting from a Ben Davies clearance.

Clearly with the words of Postecoglou ringing in their ears, Tottenham were much better at the start of the second half and threatened on a couple of occasions through Dominic Solanke. The striker then hit the ball over the crossbar from six yards out midway inside the second half after Tel had forced Bernd Leno into a good save.

Tottenham may have dominated proceedings after the break but it was Fulham who opened the scoring late on as Rodrigo Muniz finished off Andreas Pereira's pass in the 78th minute with a tidy finish in the box. It was to get even worse for the visitors just prior to full-time as ex-Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon completed the scoring with an unstoppable finish to secure all three points for the Cottagers.

Here are five things we spotted in the game at Craven Cottage:

All change

Despite not having a game next week due to the first international break of 2025 taking place, Postecoglou resisted the temptation of naming the majority of the XI that faced AZ in midweek and instead made wholesale alterations for the trip across the capital. It was seven changes in total as the boss opted to switch things about after very little time between the AZ and Fulham fixtures.

Whereas in previous months he did not have the numbers to freshen things up due to a host of injuries, Postecoglou is not in a similar boat now as the vast majority of his squad are at his disposal. Micky van de Ven's absence from the starting XI was perhaps not a shock as Spurs continue to manage his minutes after his injury frustrations this term.

The head coach's selection resulted in Johnson and Tel getting some much-needed game time in attack, something of which both would have been desperate for after Wilson Odobert's crucial double on Thursday night in the win over AZ. We may well see the same again with the team selection next month in the Wolves and Nottingham Forest fixtures directly after the Europa League quarter-final double-header against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Gray in midfield

The headline news for Tottenham fans from Postecoglou's team selection was the decision to start Gray in midfield. Viewed as his long-term position despite playing the majority of his young career as a right-back or centre-back, fans have had to wait quite some time to see the teenager in the middle of the park.

It did initially appear that the Durham-born had been given the nod in midfield at Everton back in January, only for him to end up in defence as Postecoglou uncharacteristically switched to a back three. Finally given his shot in the middle against Fulham with the boss electing to change all three of his midfielders, the 19-year-old was assured with his performance and certainly didn't look out of place in the middle of the park.

Gray was even the player tasked with taking Tottenham's set-pieces in the first half in the absence of Pedro Porro and James Maddison from the starting XI. Gray would complete the 90 minutes but he would play the final 22 minutes at centre-back following Cristian Romero's substitution.

Romero floored

Romero proved to be a frustrating figure for Fulham fans on Sunday afternoon with the Spurs man going unpunished by the referee on one particular occasion. With 28 minutes on the clock, Willian wanted a free-kick on the edge of the Tottenham box after going down under the challenge of the World Cup winner.

It was not given and it was something that didn't sit well with the player, Fulham boss Marco Silva and fans. What probably didn't help matters is that Djed Spence gave Raul Jimenez a push with both hands in the box a matter of moments earlier and no penalty was given.

Following that challenge on Willian, the Brazilian was having quite the discussion with Romero over it and he was even still debating it with the referee when Fulham had a corner not long after. Fulham fans had something to cheer about later in the half as Romero was sent flying to the ground when tussling for the ball with powerful Cottagers defender Calvin Bassey.

The Nigerian international basically used his strength to shove his opponent to the ground with one hand as they competed for the ball. After seeing their penalty and free-kick claims waved away earlier, the home fans certainly appreciated their defender getting one over Romero.

Romero and Bassey would exchange words once again in the second half after the defender caught Tel on the ankle after the referee had already sounded his whistle. The Argentina international was not happy with the challenge that left his teammate on the ground and it once again saw the duo clash.

Bournemouth repeat

It wasn't a shock at all to see Postecoglou switch things about at half-time following a really poor first half from Tottenham. Leno was not troubled at all in the Fulham goal and the visitors very rarely threatened in an attacking sense as Fulham dominated.

Yves Bissouma and Johnson were the two players who made way, with Lucas Bergvall and Son Heung-min introduced. Bissouma's substitution was no surprise going on how poor he was in possession as he misplaced a number of passes to his teammates.

Johnson could also have no complaints after failing to challenge Antonee Robinson down Fulham's left side. Tel, on the opposite flank, at least ran at Castagne on a couple of occasions, including one midway inside the first half where he got the better of him but elected to put in a wayward cross when getting a shot away on goal was the better option.

Postecoglou's half-time change was a carbon copy of seven days earlier when the duo were replaced by Son and Bergvall when trailing 1-0 at home to Bournemouth. Both players need to be offering so much more in their game time if they want to be starting matches as there is now plenty of competition for a place in the Tottenham XI.

Sessegnon reaction

It was a familiar face who had the final say on the game in west London as Sessegnon secured all three points for Fulham. Joining Tottenham in the summer of 2019 but only playing 57 games for the club due to a catalogue of different injuries, the left-sided player returned to former club Fulham in the summer.

Entering the fray in the final few minutes of the contest, the 24-year-old piled on the misery for Tottenham with a brilliant finish after capitalising on an unaware Spence before holding off Davies and firing high into the corner of the net. A moment for Sessegnon to celebrate after helping Fulham to another big win in their quest for European football, the ex-England Under-21 international opted against celebrating and instead just walked calmly towards the home fans with no emotion on his face before he was mobbed by his teammates.

It was a classy moment from Sessegnon as nobody would have blamed him for celebrating going on what he has been through over the past six years.

Wilson Odobert's starring role and how is Djed Spence not in the England squad? - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Ange Postecoglou is speaking to the media after Tottenham lost 2-0 at Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.

The first half was an uneventful one with neither goalkeeper having much to do and Postecoglou made two changes at the break with Son Heung-min and Lucas Bergvall replacing the ineffective Yves Bissouma and Brennan Johnson. Spurs duly had the better chances in the second half with Dominic Solanke sending one over from five yards but it was the hosts who scored on 78 minutes.

Substitute Wilson Odobert lost the ball among a cluster of Fulham players and the ball was put into the box where it was eventually worked to Rodrigo Muniz to hit a low shot inside the left-hand post. Fulham doubled their lead when Ben Davies got himself into a mess with a bouncing ball and former Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon curled a right-footed effort into the far corner of the net.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Postecoglou after the game. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham lost 2-0 at Fulham in the Premier League with a much-changed side on Sunday and here are our player ratings from the game.

Ange Postecoglou's made seven changes to his Spurs that managed a 3-2 aggregate victory over AZ to head into the Europa League quarter-finals. With just two days in between they made their way across the capital to Craven Cottage where Marco Silva's squad had eight days in between fixtures.

Fresh legs in Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, Archie Gray and Mathys Tel all came into the side with Micky van de Ven is on the bench alongside Thursday's matchwinner Wilson Odobert as well as Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, who suffered from cramp at the end of the game.

The first half was an uneventful affair with neither goalkeeper having anything to do and Postecoglou made two changes at the break with Son and Bergvall replacing Bissouma and Johnson.

Spurs had the better chances in the second half with Dominic Solanke sending one over from five yards but it was the hosts who scored on 78 minutes. Substitute Odobert lost the ball among a cluster of Fulham players and the ball was put into the box where it was eventually worked to Rodrigo Muniz to hit a low shot inside the left-hand post.

Fulham doubled their lead when Ben Davies got himself into a mess with a bouncing ball and former Spurs man Ryan Sessegnon curled a right-footed effort into the far corner of the net.

Here are our Tottenham player ratings from the match at Craven Cottage:

Guglielmo Vicario

Had one comfortable save to make in the first half. Didn't have much else to do other than make a few punches until Muniz rolled a clinical shot out of his reach. Couldn't do much about Sessegnon's effort either. 5

Djed Spence

Didn't get forward as much as he would have liked but defended well enough on the whole down his side. 6

Cristian Romero

His third start in a week and it looked like he picked up a little problem in the first half but was able to carry on. Came off after the hour mark having done his job at that stage. 7

Ben Davies

Back in the team and played the full 90-plus minutes and had done solidly enough until the final 15 minutes and he had a nightmare with the bouncing ball Sessegnon ended up scoring from. 4

Destiny Udogie

Got up and down the left flank but had little quality at the end of the runs. 5

Rodrigo Bentancur

Huffed and puffed but brought little to the game before coming off. 5

Yves Bissouma

His use of the ball was dreadful in the first half with too many panicked, misplaced passes that either gave it away, put it out of touch or put team-mates under pressure. Hooked again at half-time. 3

Archie Gray

Finally in his favoured midfield role and he played as the anchorman. The first half brought some good moments and some that could have been better. In the second half he switched into the defence when Romero went off and the goals came after that. 5

Brennan Johnson

Struggled to make any real impact on the first half and found himself taken off at the break as well. 3

Dominic Solanke

Didn't see much of the ball in the first half but sent a couple of headers off target in the second half. Had a big chance after the hour mark when he knocked over from a Maddison chested ball to him in front of goal. Had a late effort saved by Leno. 5

Mathys Tel

Other than one good run which needed a better ball at the end of it, the young Frenchman struggled to get into the game in the first half. Had a shot parried by Leno in the second period and put in a couple of dangerous crosses. Improved in the second half before coming off. 5

Subs

Lucas Bergvall

Brought some urgency to the play and looked like he should have earned a penalty when he was brought down in the box. 7

Son Heung-min

Curled in some dangerous free-kicks and set up a late chance for Solanke but couldn't find a breakthrough. 5

James Maddison

Couldn't change the game in the final stages. 5

Wilson Odobert

Lost the ball with three Fulham players around him which led to the opening goal. 4

Dane Scarlett

Came on late in the game and got a header on target. N/A

Wilson Odobert's starring role and how is Djed Spence not in the England squad? - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

I’m not across it. I’m pretty critical myself when people question my selections because every manager has all of the information they need.

Madders, in a really challenging season for us, has grinded his way through and his quality has really come through in the last few weeks — especially when we have been able to give him a spell (rest) every now and then. Again, last night I thought he was a real catalyst for us in an attacking sense and also worked hard for the team.

Djed has been super this year. I always feel with these things, particularly with national team selection, it’s never a kind of thing where you just draw a line through it. I have no doubt if Djed keeps performing how he is and Madders keeps working hard I’m sure Thomas will be looking across the board at his squads over the next period and I’m sure both of them will be in the frame.

Ange Postecoglou has made seven changes to his Tottenham Hotspur team to face Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs got some confidence back on Thursday night with the comeback in the Europa League that brought the 3-2 aggregate victory over AZ to fire Postecoglou's men into the quarter-finals. With just two days in between they head across the capital to Craven Cottage where Marco Silva's squad have had eight days in between fixtures.

Postecoglou has decided that a string of players can't be risked with such a short turnaround so while Cristian Romero and Djed Spence start, Micky van de Ven is on the bench alongside Thursday's matchwinner Wilson Odobert as well as Son Heung-min, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall, who suffered from cramp at the end of the game.

Fresh legs in Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, Archie Gray and Mathys Tel all come in.

Here's the Tottenham team Postecoglou has selected for the match at Craven Cottage:

Vicario; Spence, Romero, Davies, Udogie; Bentancur, Bissouma, Gray; Johnson, Solanke, Tel. Subs: Kinsky; Porro, Van de Ven, Bergvall, Sarr, Maddison, Odobert, Son, Scarlett.

Wilson Odobert's starring role and how is Djed Spence not in the England squad? - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

After booking their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night, it's back to Premier League action for Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon as they meet Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Spurs will look to start climbing up the Premier League standings - between now and the end of the season - with the aim of finishing as high as possible. Ange Postecoglou's squad currently sit in 13th place in the league and, while they won't be able to move with a win, it would see them close the gap on Brentford and Fulham.

Spurs have been hit with more than their fair share of injury problems this season, but now have players returning. Ahead of the match, there have been a few hints as to which players could be involved.

Tottenham's pre-match graphic, shared on their Instagram page, featured Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke. The fact that those players are included hints that they will at least play some part in the game, most likely in the starting line-up.

Solanke's involvement was hinted at further on Saturday, when he featured in an earlier picture shared by Spurs in building up to the match. Maddison himself also hinted at his likely involvement by sharing a pre-match graphic on his own Instagram story.

He isn't the only Spurs player to do so, either. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario also shared a pre-match graphic on his Instagram story.

Centre-back Cristian Romero has returned from injury for the last two games, and is expected to be available again vs Fulham. The World Cup winner has also shared a pre-match graphic on his story, hinting it will be the case.

It's a similar situation for fellow centre-back Micky van de Ven, too, with Postecoglou putting a slight doubt over his availability pre-match. However the defender is among the players to share a pre-match graphic via their own personal Instagram stories.

January signing Mathys Tel has been an unused substitute for the last two games, against Bournemouth in the Premier League and then the second leg of the Europa League tie vs AZ Alkmaar. He has however hinted at his involvement against Fulham by sharing a pre-match graphic, hinting that he too expects to be involved.

Wilson Odobert's starring role and how is Djed Spence not in the England squad? - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

It was a night of mixed emotions for Dele Alli as he marked his return to the football pitch after a two-year absence with a red card. Last playing a competitive game for Turkish side Besiktas in February 2023, the former Tottenham man departed Everton for Serie A club Como at the beginning of the year.

Working his way back to full fitness since making the switch to Italy, the 28-year-old, who had been an unused substitute in their previous two league games, was introduced by Cesc Fabregas for the final 10 minutes of their 2-1 defeat against AC Milan on Saturday evening. Dele would only be on the pitch for nine minutes after he was shown a red card for a challenge on former Chelsea man Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Dele caught his opponent on the back of the ankle and it initially resulted in a yellow card, before it was later upgraded to red following a VAR review. The player's Como teammates and AC Milan right-back Kyle Walker, a former teammate of the attacking midfielder at Tottenham, pleaded for the referee to show some leniency but the red card stood.

Taking to his Instagram account on Sunday, Dele broke his silence on his dismissal but claimed that it is "good to be back" on the pitch after such a lengthy absence. He penned: "I was always going to announce my return in some way after these past 2 years, would rather it had been with a goal but feels good to be back."

Speaking to the media after the game, Como boss Fabregas hit out at Dele for his "grave mistake" and mentioned that his player "perhaps didn't deserve this opportunity" after limited time on the training pitch recently.

"It was at that moment when Milan went 2-1 up and Sergi Roberto was meant to come on, but I’d prefer to give him another two weeks to train so he can be ready to start against Empoli," he explained (via Football Italia). "Dele Alli is a player who can score goals, he perhaps didn't deserve this opportunity because he has only been working with us for two weeks and has a lot to improve.

"It is a grave mistake, one that we should not see from a player of his experience. It was a clear red card, there's nothing to be said about that, he left the team down to 10 men during a crucial moment when we were pushing for 2-2. That is the most negative thing about this evening, but we keep going."

Dele will now serve a suspension for his red card and then hope to add to his solitary appearance in what remains of the season. Como are 13th in Serie A as things stand with nine games remaining in the 2024/25 campaign.

Wilson Odobert's starring role and how is Djed Spence not in the England squad? - Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur are busy getting ready for their return to Premier League action as they face Fulham on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs go into the game on the back of a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the last-16 of the Europe League. Tottenham won the game 3-2 on aggregate to book their place in the quarter-final of the competition, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt.

Ange Postecoglou and Co. will be hoping to secure three important points as they aim to climb the Premier League table. Tottenham's last top flight fixture ended in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth last weekend, where Spurs battled from two goals behind to earn a point on home soil.

Here, football.london takes a look at the TV info needed for the Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham.

What time does Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur kick off?

Tottenham's clash against Fulham is scheduled to kick off at 1.30pm on Sunday, March 16 at Craven Cottage.

Is Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur on TV?

Unfortunately, Fulham vs Tottenham is not being televised live in the UK this weekend. This is due to Sky Sports and TNT Sports not selecting the fixture as part of their coverage.

Sky Sports will instead be broadcasting Arsenal vs Chelsea in the Premier League at the same time, before focusing their coverage on the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United.

Despite this, football.london will be in attendance at Craven Cottage to provide live match updates and plenty of post-match analysis.

How to live stream Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur and watch worldwide

Even though Fulham vs Tottenham is not being televised in the UK, the match is still available to watch across the globe. In the United States, for instance, fans can watch the action on NBC Sports and USA Network, live stream the match on fuboTV and the NBC Sports app, as well as follow live audio commentary on SiriusXM FC.

In Australia, Tottenham's clash at Craven Cottage is available to watch live on Optus Sport. The fixture is also available to watch in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Fulham vs Tottenham is also available to watch in France on myCANAL. In Spain, Movistar+ and DAZN Spain have the broadcast rights, as do fuboTV in Canada.

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to keep the momentum going this week as they travel to Fulham on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.

Spurs did the job on Thursday night with the 3-2 aggregate comeback Europa League win over AZ to fire Ange Postecoglou's side into the quarter-finals of the competition. Now they have to head across London to Craven Cottage with just two days' recovery while Marco Silva's Fulham players have had eight days in between fixtures.

Postecoglou will have to decide which players can be pushed into the risk zone if they play three games in a week. That might include Cristian Romero and Thursday's matchwinner Wilson Odobert, who have started in back-to-back games after months out. The Spurs head coach could bring in fresh legs in the shape of Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur or Brennan Johnson to start as well as Archie Gray and potentially Mathys Tel.

Postecoglou spoke about Djed Spence needing a rest at some point but after missing out on the England squad, the 24-year-old will get two and a half weeks without a fixture during the upcoming international break.

Here's the Tottenham Hotspur team that we reckon Postecoglou could select for the match at Craven Cottage on Sunday: