LONDON: Harry Kane scored their fifth goal of the campaign as Tottenham Hotspur maintained their impressive start to the season premier league season with a 2-1 victory over Fulham which did not do justice to their best attacking performance so far on Saturday.
Goals in each half by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Kane earned Tottenham a fourth victory in six games, but they should have been out of sight of their London rivals by the time in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic’s efforts set up a nervy final.
Son Heung-min suffered more bad luck in his bid to emerge from the pack this season with the South Korean denied by the woodwork while Richarlison was denied his first Tottenham goal despite a sensational display from the number nine.
Tottenham’s fourth unbeaten victory in six games took them to 14 points, one behind leaders Arsenal who play on Sunday.
Fulham remain mid-table with eight points.
For the first time, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte unleashed Richarlison early on to form an attacking trident with Kane and Son and it proved an exciting formula.
With Tottenham full-backs Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal attacking at every opportunity, Fulham were all out to shield themselves from the waves of attack from Spurs.
Son had a deflected effort over the bar after Richarlison cut, then stabbed a shot against the crossbar after being picked off by Kane’s clever chipped pass.
In the end, it took a fine finish from defensive midfielder Hojbjerg to break the deadlock after 40 minutes.
Again Richarlison was heavily involved, trading passes with the Dane who slipped a shot past Bernd Leno.
The pattern continued after the break with Richarlison driving a ball into the goal for Eric Dier to ignite.
Sessegnon’s low shot then went on target before Leno clawed him around the post.
Eventually, Kane hit Sessegnon’s pass in the 75th minute to double Tottenham’s lead before Son’s pass saw Richarlison volley against the post.
Mitrovic had already given Tottenham a warning when his deflected shot was acrobatically saved by Hugo Lloris and he maintained his purple spot with a superb goal.
Receiving the ball on the left side of the penalty area, he clipped his right foot and curled in an unstoppable effort to take his season total to six from six.
Richarlison thought he had scored his first goal when he swept a low cross from close range, but his joy turned to despair as a VAR check ruled him out for offside.
Lloris then had to make a superb save to prevent Mitrovic’s deflected shot from curling into the corner.
Goals in each half by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Kane earned Tottenham a fourth victory in six games, but they should have been out of sight of their London rivals by the time in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic’s efforts set up a nervy final.
Son Heung-min suffered more bad luck in his bid to emerge from the pack this season with the South Korean denied by the woodwork while Richarlison was denied his first Tottenham goal despite a sensational display from the number nine.
Tottenham’s fourth unbeaten victory in six games took them to 14 points, one behind leaders Arsenal who play on Sunday.
Fulham remain mid-table with eight points.
For the first time, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte unleashed Richarlison early on to form an attacking trident with Kane and Son and it proved an exciting formula.
With Tottenham full-backs Ryan Sessegnon and Emerson Royal attacking at every opportunity, Fulham were all out to shield themselves from the waves of attack from Spurs.
Son had a deflected effort over the bar after Richarlison cut, then stabbed a shot against the crossbar after being picked off by Kane’s clever chipped pass.
In the end, it took a fine finish from defensive midfielder Hojbjerg to break the deadlock after 40 minutes.
Again Richarlison was heavily involved, trading passes with the Dane who slipped a shot past Bernd Leno.
The pattern continued after the break with Richarlison driving a ball into the goal for Eric Dier to ignite.
Sessegnon’s low shot then went on target before Leno clawed him around the post.
Eventually, Kane hit Sessegnon’s pass in the 75th minute to double Tottenham’s lead before Son’s pass saw Richarlison volley against the post.
Mitrovic had already given Tottenham a warning when his deflected shot was acrobatically saved by Hugo Lloris and he maintained his purple spot with a superb goal.
Receiving the ball on the left side of the penalty area, he clipped his right foot and curled in an unstoppable effort to take his season total to six from six.
Richarlison thought he had scored his first goal when he swept a low cross from close range, but his joy turned to despair as a VAR check ruled him out for offside.
Lloris then had to make a superb save to prevent Mitrovic’s deflected shot from curling into the corner.
