Guglielmo Vicario was booed by his own supporters in a difficult first half against Fulham that saw Spurs concede twice in the first six minutes as a second-half revival was not enough to avoid a 2-1 defeat. This could have been much worse.
Less than three minutes later, after Kenny Tette’s opener, the Italian goalkeeper, in a moment of madness, ran some 25 yards from his own line and handed possession to Harry Wilson, who punished his poor clearance with a stunning strike towards the defenseless goal.
It was the first time Tottenham had conceded two goals in Premier League history, and it was enough to send Spurs fans, who have won just three of their last 21 home league games, agitated Vicario and his team-mates and booed his touches several times for the remainder of the first half.
Captain Micky van de Ven, meanwhile, anticipated the reaction of the outraged home crowd and called on his team-mates to walk alongside him and face their reactions as one.
At that point Fulham would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the actions of the home skipper. A crucial slip in Samuel Chukwueze from a seemingly impossible position denied the Cottagers a crucial third after Vicario had rounded over.
Thomas Frank clearly changed his tactics after last weekend’s insipid defeat at Arsenal and named an attacking line-up that included Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, but saw his side split at will after every Fulham attack in the first half. There was simply a feeling of how much of a victory the visitors would achieve.
It would have been bad enough if Spurs’ attacking display hadn’t proven as lethargic as ever. By the break their xG was just 0.07 and they had not had a single shot on target.
This made Frank’s decision to stick with his starting XI all the more surprising, although the same line-up looked different on the restart, with clear chances still difficult to come by.
Even their lifeline 14 minutes into the second half required a thunderous strike from Mohamed Quddus to beat Bernd Leno at his near post, but their momentum slowly waned and they reverted to a familiar story. Lack of creativity on their home pitch and another poor result to add to their collection. This time around, the heat may be starting to build for Frank himself.
More to follow…
