Tottenham 1-1 Fulham – Five things we learned from the disappointing draw
Tottenham Hotspur once again followed up an incredible performance against Manchester City with dropped points in the Premier League this weekend, playing out a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham.
Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:
Disjointed and flat from Tottenham
Let’s start by saying that Tottenham were without Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, Mikey Moore, and Wilson Odobert in the starting XI today. The team looked flat, disjointed and fatigued – but at least there is an obvious reason for that. There was so little running off the ball and creating options for one another today. Hopefully, this was because of a lack of options, both in the XI and off the bench. But things won’t get any easier over the next two weeks.
Dominic Solanke was a big miss today
The centre-forward role is so important in this Ange Postecoglou system – even more so for the build-up play than the actual goals. Solanke does so much for Spurs in the press and the build-up, which Son really struggled with today. Every ball into his feet bounced away and the two chances he did get from turnovers, he failed to convert. The simple fact is that Sonny is not the big and strong number 9 Spurs need to thrive in this system, plus we also miss him out wide when he starts down the middle.
Dejan Kulusevski benched?
I have been thinking for a while that both Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro need more of a rest with occasional rotation. However, today was not the day. With Spurs missing so many players, Deki really should have been rested in mid-week instead. And when Solanke was sent home ill at the stadium today, it seems strange that Kulusevski was not the man chosen to take his place in the XI. Rotation is needed but benching your best player was a brave and strange call from Ange.
Fraser Forster, hold your head up high
People have been banging on about how much Spurs will struggle with Forster. Well, he’a played two games this week and been one of Tottenham’s best players in both. In fact, a couple of the stops he made today were so good that there’s no guarantee that even Guglielmo Vicario would have made them. Forster is a master at making himself big and closing down the space.
The Premier League table
Tottenham are seventh in the Premier League and just three points off the top four. It is no time to be dramatic. You might even get Champions League for fifth this season too. The way the table is shaping up, it’s going to be a topsy turvy season for a lot of teams and the tally for top four is likely to be quite low. Spurs still have every chance. For now, it’s about getting people back from injury and finding some more consistency.
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