London Evening Standard

Spurs went into Saturday’s London derby on the back of successive defeats in the past week to Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, conceding nine goals in the process.

Tottenham found themselves behind after just four minutes against their London rivals when Kenny Tete’s effort deflected in off Destiny Udogie at the near post.

Things went from bad to worse for Tottenham two minutes later when Guglielmo Vicario rushed off his line and made a complete mess of a clearance which resulted in Harry Wilson, spectacularly, doubling Fulham’s lead.

However, there was to be no late drama in north London on the pitch - instead it was saved for after the full-time whistle.

Sky Sports’ cameras picked up the right-back screaming ‘Lucas’ several times as the 19-year-old started to walk around the pitch and show his appreciation to the home supporters that had stayed behind.

Porro then stormed down the tunnel, presumably frustrated that he and his team-mates could not find an equaliser to prevent a third straight defeat across two competitions.

Thomas Frank was asked about the incident afterwards and told Sky Sports: "I didn't see the incident so I don't know exactly.

“We are in a tough spell right now and for my players it is about being as calm as possible and doing everything we can to work through it."

Spurs went two goals down inside six minutes and never recovered, even if Mohammed Kudus' strike on the hour mark raised hope of a late charge.

Guglielmo Vicario had charged out of his goal to sweep up a long ball in behind, but he declined two opportunities to send it out of play and instead played a terrible ball down the line.

That allowed Fulham straight back on the attack and Wilson to fire in with Vicario still out of position.

There were loud boos when Vicario had his next two touches of the ball and then ironic cheers when the Italian did send a clearance straight out of play later in the half.

Vicario after the match said he was a "big man" and could deal with the boos, but Frank was far angrier in his reaction.

"I think they booed at him straight after and also three or four times when he was on the ball. For me that's acceptable. They can't be true Tottenham fans.

"Booing after [the match], fair. No problem. But winning is winning together. If we need to turn this around, we need to do this together. That's hugely important to me."

It was put to Frank that the frustration of Spurs fans is perhaps understandable considering it is now a run of three wins from the last 21 Premier League matches at home.

"Yeah but I think we need to be clear on what I talked about," Frank said.

"I talked about after Vic. That I didn't like, I think that's unacceptable. It can't be after one thing. That's very important because if you want anyone to perform, you need to be behind them in my opinion.

"I think that's when you get people to perform in the best possible way. After, no problem."

However, Frank hit back at the suggestion his players were confused and not responding to his instructions, as also appeared to be the case a week ago against Arsenal.

"I think we've seen clearly other times it worked much better. Maybe we haven't been absolutely free-flowing but it looks much better.

"It's isolated, two different games. The Arsenal game was hopefully a big one-off in terms of the overall performance.

"I think PSG it looks like they took on board my messages, that's fair to say? The second half [against Fulham] it looks like they took on my messages.

"I think this game we are behind 2-0 after six minutes with all the nice good questions we get about we want to do so well to get back on track. There's so many things into this."

Tottenham’s nightmare week continues with another London derby defeat as Micky van de Ven saves Spurs from further embarrassment

Guglielmo Vicario had a night to forget as Tottenham were beaten by Fulham at home

AFP via Getty Images

Matt Verri

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Tottenham fell to their third defeat in a week as they were beaten 2-1 by Fulham on home soil.

Thomas Frank’s side were two goals down inside six minutes as Kenny Tete opened the scoring and Harry Wilson pounced on a massive error from Guglielmo Vicario.

It could have got worse before the break for Spurs, but they then pulled one back on the hour mark through Mohammed Kudus.

The late push for an equaliser came up short, making it three wins in 13 matches for Spurs in all competitions.

Guglielmo Vicario 2

Had a shocker. Awful mistake for Wilson’s goal, for some reason playing a pass down the line rather than kicking it out. Then rounded by Samuel Chukwueze and bailed out by Van de Ven.

Pedro Porro 4

Delivery was shocking for most of the match but did pick out Kolo Muani and Simons for big chances and grew into the game. Looked a nervous wreck at the back early on.

Kevin Danso 4

Ragged in the opening stages. Poor headed clearance led to opening goal and he was dominated by Raul Jimenez throughout. Not comfortable pushing out of defence with the ball.

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Micky van de Ven 7

Singley-handedly stopped a full implosion in the first half with two sensational last-ditch clearances. His pace on the cover stopped this being really embarrassing.

Destiny Udogie 4

Had to man the left wing by himself in the first half and unsurprisingly struggled. Cautious when he did get into promising positions, turning back and taking safe option.

Joao Palhinha 4

Snapped into a couple of challenges but off his usual standards. Fulham found it far too easy to get through the Spurs midfield and Palhinha was not there to cover as he should.

Archie Gray 5

Game passed him by in the first half but far from the only player to look lost in that system. Better on the ball after the break but replaced on the hourmark.

Lucas Bergvall 6

A rare source of energy, mounting a one-man press at times. There was not huge quality on the ball but he worked so hard off it, sliding into challenges and harrying Fulham before tiring.

Lucas Bergvall had an effort cleared off the line

AFP via Getty Images

Mohammed Kudus 5

Such a frustrating display. Too often feels the need to beat a defender two or three times, crossing was poor, but produced a brilliant finish to give Spurs hope. Otherwise largely terrible.

Richarlison 3

Offered nothing. Ball bounced off him and weak when he did have the chance to get involved. Confused in his role - not central, not on the left. Lucky to stay on for an hour.

Randal Kolo Muani 7

Only one in attack who consistently threatened, holding the ball up and showing his strength and pace. Headed into the side-netting and back-heeled just wide. Deserves credit.

Substitutes:

Wilson Odobert (Gray 60’) 4

Did well to win a header at the back post but couldn’t keep it down. Shifted to left-back for the closing stages.

Xavi Simons (Richarlison 60’) 4

Shot deflected over - otherwise hardly a kick. Not enough to suggest he deserved to start.

Rodrigo Bentancur (Palhinha 60’) 5

Added much more snap to the midfield but never going to make the difference when chasing for a game.

Pape Matar Sarr (Bergvall 77’) 4

Easy to forget he even came on. Did not make an impact on the match at all.

Mathys Tel (Udogie 85’) N/A

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A London derby concludes today's action from the Premier League as Tottenham host Fulham. Having not won a domestic fixture in a month and on hot on the heels of successive defeats away from home, Spurs are in desperate need of all three points to get their season back on track.

Home form has been a massive issue for Thomas Frank's side though as their one win in the league so far came on the opening weekend of the campaign against newly-promoted Burnley. Since then, they've lost to Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Chelsea while being denied victory in the 96th minute against Manchester United last time out.

The Cottagers, meanwhile, have the joint-worst away record in the league after failing to win any of their opening six matches on the road. However, they are unbeaten against Spurs in three games and claimed a deserved point in the corresponding fixture a year ago. Follow the Tottenham vs Fulham LIVE below with Standard Sport's dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Matt Verri at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!

The centre-back picked up his fifth Premier League booking of the season last weekend against Arsenal, when he was shown a yellow card in the second half for dissent.

Kevin Danso is therefore comes in as Spurs look to win at home in the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.

With Romero out, Thomas Frank has opted for more ball-playing qualities in midfield and sees Archie Gray handed a rare league start.

The youngster shone against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night and starts, alongside Joao Palhinha after he was rested in midweek.

Mohammed Kudus also returns to the starting lineup as Frank reverts to a 4-3-3 formation which means Lucas Bergvall is selected over Pape Matar Sarr.

In attack, Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison both impressed in the Champions League and scored three goals between them.

Kolo Muani has been in better form and offers more of an all-round threat and keeps his place in the side, with Frank confirming he is fit to start again against Fulham.

The centre-back picked up his fifth Premier League booking of the season last weekend against Arsenal, when he was shown a yellow card in the second half for dissent.

Kevin Danso is therefore set to come in as Spurs look to win at home in the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.

With Romero out, Frank could look for more ball-playing qualities in midfield and that could see Archie Gray handed a rare league start.

The youngster shone against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night and will hope to start, potentially alongside Joao Palhinha after he was rested in midweek.

There could be a refreshed forward line too. Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert all started on the bench against PSG but will hope to come into the side here.

Unless Frank sticks with the same 4-2-2-2 he used in Paris, at least one of Lucas Bergvall or Pape Matar Sarr are likely to drop out.

In attack, Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison both impressed in the Champions League and scored three goals between them.

Kolo Muani has been in better form and offers more of an all-round threat and could get the nod, with Frank confirming he is fit to start again against Fulham.

Thomas Frank’s side have suffered two defeats on the bounce in the past week, heavily beaten at Arsenal in the north London derby, before throwing away two leads in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain.

Spurs were humbled 4-1 by their local rivals last weekend, and produced a stirring response at the Parc des Princes as a result, but some sloppy second-half defending and a wondrous performance from Vitinha put them to the sword in the French capital.

Now, they face another London rival in Marco Silva’s Cottagers, who arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 15th.

The west Londoners edged out Sunderland 1-0 last time out to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat at Everton, but their patchy form has them in the lower reaches of the table.

Spurs will see this as a hugely winnable game as they look to close the gap back up on the top four, with Frank’s side sitting ninth and three points off the Champions League places.

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports. Coverage begins at 7.45pm GMT on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR ahead of kick-off at 8pm.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Matt Verri at the ground.

Thomas Frank has insisted he wants Tottenham to play attacking football, hitting back at the suggestion he is a cautious coach.

Pressure on the Dane has grown in recent weeks after lifeless defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea in which his side produced the two lowest xG totals of any Premier League team this season.

The criticism of Frank is that Spurs have approached matches with a lack of ambition, concerned more about the opposition than their own strengths.

The north Londoners did show come response to their derby defeat in midweek against Paris Saint-Germain, losing 5-3 but producing a performance with far more attacking intent.

Speaking ahead of Spurs' match at home to Fulham on Saturday, when they attempt to end a three-month wait for a home win the Premier League, Frank was adamant he did not want to be viewed as a conservative manager.

"I think everyone has seen my games over all the years I've been in charge, no matter if it was when I was [with the] under-8’s team in Frederiksvaerk 30 years ago to now, or now I want to play offensive, front-footed football.

"But also in those 30 years, they could pick games from the under-8’s at Frederiksværk to Brentford, where it didn't work for whatever reason."

Contrasting the defeat to Arsenal with the loss in Paris, Frank added: "It didn't work Sunday against Arsenal. The plan was to be front front-footed. We weren't.

"It's a different kind - after Sunday I was angry, painful, hurt. [On Wednesday], I was irritated, but the feeling in the body was better because we really, really, really competed. There was more of the identity I want to show.”

“I have 100% not seen it because as I said before, I don’t read anything," Frank said.

"One thing for sure is when I walked into this club, all I knew besides [the fact that] we would lose football matches, [is that] I also knew I would be criticised. I literally don’t care what they say.

"I listen to the trusted people that know me, close to me and others. The only thing I would say, it is slightly, slightly more easy to be on the outside.”

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