Tottenham made the most of two Fulham errors to claim a comfortable 2-0 win in north London on Monday night.
Heung-min Son and James Maddison made the most of opportunities gifted by wayward passes from Calvin Bassey as Spurs showed their opportunistic edge to reclaim top spot in the Premier League, this time by two points.
The first half was nudging into 'frustrating' territory for Spurs after chances in the opening five minutes for Son and Micky van de Ven fell by the wayside, and were followed by a period of resolute Fulham defending.
In fact, the Cottagers were able to cause problems of their own via counter-attacks and set plays, where Joao Palhinha popped up to fire a header that Guglielmo Vicario saved well.
As Fulham grew into the game, more space opened up for Tottenham to exploit and Richarlison shot wide after a great run from Dejan Kulusevski on the break.
WHAT A FINISH FROM SON! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/riPZNwGX6U
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 23, 2023
On 36 minutes, Spurs led through Son after Bassey's pass out from the back was snaffled up by Van de Ven operating high up the pitch. Richarlison niftily nudged the ball towards his captain, who span and shot past Bernd Leno expertly.
Fulham made two changes at the break but didn't come out with a huge amount more intent, and fell behind to a carbon copy goal on 54 minutes.
WHAT A SEASON JAMES MADDISON IS HAVING! 👏
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 23, 2023
His first goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6GkHNpuDeg
Bassey's loose pass from his own corner this time found Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who sent a first-time pass into Son. A neat turn dragged Tim Ream one way before he slid Maddison in on the other, and the midfielder made no mistake for his first goal at Tottenham Stadium.
A third major Bassey error saw Maddison and Son trip over each other in their eagerness to make it three, before they departed with ten minutes left for a well-earned rest on a fruitful, if actually fairly easy night for Spurs.
