Story of the Match
Spurs 2-1 Fulham

Team news

Five changes...
Antonio Conte made five changes to the team that drew at West Ham on Wednesday - Richarlison, Clement Lenglet, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ryan Sesessgnon in for Dejan Kulusevski, Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic, who were all on the bench.

First starts...
Richarlison and Clement Lenglet lined-up for their first starts after four and one substitute appearances respectively so far this season.

Fulham's familiar face
Fulham included former Spur and new signing Carlos Vinicius among their substitutes, together with deadline day arrivals Dan James and Willian. 'Vini' scored 10 goals for us on loan in 2020/21.
We recorded our 100th London derby victory in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, but had to see off a late Fulham rally to secure the three points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A goal in each half from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane gave us a deserved 2-0 lead, but Aleksandar Mitrovic curled home with seven minutes remaining to set up a frantic finish although we were able to see it through to make it six games without defeat this season.
Kane tested Bernd Leno as early as the seventh minute, hitting a right-foot shot that the Fulham keeper tipped away and we had the ball in the net four minutes later, Heung-Min Son’s cross missing everyone and curling in, but Kane’s attempt to flick the ball in from an offside position meant it was ruled out.
We were totally dominant but just couldn’t find the breakthrough. Son’s shot deflected off Tim Ream for a corner and he had a glorious chance after Kane found him with a chipped ball over the top but Son crashed the ball against the woodwork, before Clement Lenglet glanced Son’s corner into the side-netting.
The opener finally came on 40 minutes after our high press won the ball back thanks to Emerson Royal’s endeavours. Rodrigo Bentancur picked up possession and we worked it to Hojbjerg, who played a one-two with Richarlison and slid the return ball into the far corner.
After the break, we kept up the intensity in our play but found Leno hard to get past. After Eric Dier had blazed over from eight yards, the Fulham keeper kept out Richarlison’s low shot and then got the feintest of touches to divert Sessegnon’s angled drive just past the post, before pushing away Son’s deflected effort.
Fulham had come close in between, Lloris diving to his right to tip away Mitrovic’s deflected shot but we added to our tally with a breakaway goal which ended with Kane tucking home Sessegnon’s low cross.
It was almost 3-0 on 82 minutes when Richarlison volleyed Son’s cutback against the inside of the post, but instead it was 2-1. Fulham cleared their lines, hitting us on the break with the ball ending up at the feet of Mitrovic, who cut inside Cristian Romero and curled home with an excellent effort. And Lloris had to scramble to his left to tip away another deflected Mitrovic shot with two minutes left.
We thought we had the game won in the 90th minute when Richarlison poked home Sessegnon’s centre from close range, only for the latter to have been offside in the build up and VAR ruled it out. It mattered not though and we marched on with a third successive home win.




The key moment
We had control of the game when Kane tucked home for 2-0, but Mitrovic’s excellent goal in the 82nd minute changed the complexion of the match and handed renewed belief to the visitors. And, had it not been for Hugo Lloris’ superb save in the 88th minute, they might have snatched a point. Again, Mitrovic was the danger as he cut inside from the left and hit a shot which flicked off Romero. This one was heading for the top corner, but the skipper was across quickly and stuck out a big hand to push the ball away and preserve our lead.

Goal of the game
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (40) | Spurs 1-0 Fulham

Match data...
Spurs (3-4-3): Lloris (c), Royal, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Sessegnon, Bentancur, Hojbjerg, Richarlison, Son (Perisic 84), Kane (Kulusevski 78). Substitutes (not used): Forster, Doherty, Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies, Skipp, Bissouma.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno, Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream (c), Robinson (Mbabu 29), Reed, Palhinha (Vinicius 85), De Cordova-Reid (James 61), Pereira (Cairney 61), Kebano (Willian 60), Mitrovic. Substitutes (not used): Rodak, Duffy, Chalobah, Diop.
Goals: Spurs - Hojbjerg 40, Kane 75; Fulham - Mitrovic 83.
Yellow cards: Spurs - Romero, Bentancur, Richarlison; Fulham - Tete, De Cordova-Reid, Palhinha, Mitrovic.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.
Attendance: 61,641.
Weather: Sunny intervals, gentle breeze, 24 degrees.
Star of the show - Ryan Sessegnon
So many to choose from! We have to give honourable mentions to Richarlison, for his non-stop effort throughout the game - so nearly rewarded with a deserved goal - and Clement Lenglet, who came into the side and showed calmness in possession and a good range of passing. To be fair, everyone played their part, but Ryan Sessegnon was the star. Playing against his former side for the first time since leaving Craven Cottage, he was a genuine threat down our left flank, always looking to play forward and set up Kane for our second goal. A top performance.

Stats a fact

Three on the spin...
Saturday's victory means we have won three straight home games at the start of a season for the first time since 2002/03 under Glenn Hoddle. It’s also our sixth home win on the spin across two seasons, as well as our 100th London derby win in the Premier League, as previously mentioned.

Harry's latest milestones
Harry Kane is now the joint top goalscorer in Premier League London derbies. This was his 43rd goal in such matches, taking him level with Thierry Henry. He also leapfrogged Andrew Cole into third place on the all-time Premier League goalscoring list - this was Premier League goal #188.
Conte's comment...
"I liked the game, the way we played, the intensity, the intention. We created so many chances. I’m really pleased with our performance. Also, in this type of game, a good goalkeeper stays always with great attention. Hugo, you know very well, is a fantastic goalkeeper for us. I really enjoyed the performance of my players, and I told them at the end of the game, because I think we played with personality, quality and did a lot of positive things. But, at the end, you know very well that to win, you have to score. If I have to find a situation that we have to improve it’s to be more clinical, to be more killer, and to score more goals. In this way, we’d be more relaxed, and we’d enjoy the game until the end."

What it means...
The win means we have now taken 37 points from a possible 42 against Fulham in the Premier League (W12 D 1 L1) and have started the 2022/23 season with four wins and two draws from our opening six games, only the third time we have started with six unbeaten in the Premier League (2004/05 and 2016/17). We stay in third place in the table for now.
Next up...
The UEFA Champions League is up next! Wednesday night sees the return of Europe’s elite competition in N17 for the first time in two-and-a-half months, as we open up our Group D campaign with a visit from French side Olympique Marseille. Kick-off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is 8pm.
