Son and Maddison on target as Tottenham return to top

6 months ago 139
Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min scores the opening goal against FulhamSince Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in April 2019, Son Heung-min has netted 50 goals at the ground in all competitions

Tottenham Hotspur returned to the top of the Premier League as goals from Son Heung-min and James Maddison comfortably saw off Fulham.

Spurs had only dropped points this season in London derbies - against Arsenal and Brentford - but they were always in control against a limited Fulham side.

Captain Son curled in an excellent goal in the 36th minute after Calvin Bassey's poor pass was cut out by Micky van de Ven.

Maddison doubled the lead in the second half with an almost identical goal, as another Bassey pass was cut out and the England playmaker was teed up by Son to slot home confidently.

Fulham went closest when Joao Palhinha forced Guglielmo Vicario into an impressive stop with a header from a corner.

Tottenham have made an impressive start to life under Ange Postecoglou and they began the game with the air of a team full of confidence.

Richarlison curled a shot wide when he should have done better after he was set up by Dejan Kulusevski, but Son soon curled in the opener for his seventh goal of the season.

Tottenham could have made it 2-0 before half time but Kulusevski's effort was blocked from close range after some excellent play involving Maddison, Son and Destiny Udogie.

Fulham caused Tottenham problems on the counter attack at times but could not make Spurs pay before Maddison's goal secured the win to move Spurs two points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league.

Follow live text commentary of Tottenham v FulhamHow did you rate Tottenham's performance? Have your say hereWhat did you make of Fulham's display? Sends us your views here

Spurs continue to flourish under Postecoglou

James Maddison celebrates his goal with Tottenham team-mate Son Heung-minOnly Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez (4) have combined for more goals in the Premier League this season than Son Heung-min and James Maddison (3)

The evolution under Postecoglou continues at Tottenham Hotspur.

A lot was made about what life would look like for Spurs after Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich, but Postecoglou's impact has been very impressive in north London.

Son Heung-min continues to fill the goal void left by Kane and scored his seventh goal of the season in another superb performance in the centre of Tottenham's attack.

The South Korea forward has taken on the armband as well as the central striker position and looks at home, with Kulusevski and Maddison for support.

Maddison has looked a perfect fit since he arrived in the summer and his goal against Fulham was surprisingly his first goal scored in his new home.

The former Leicester City player barely put a foot wrong all evening and his passing range started off so many of Spurs' attacks.

Postecoglou said in the match programme that it was too early in the season to look at the table but it will not be too many weeks before some supporters start to believe they are genuine title contenders.

More to follow.

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Tottenham Hotspur

Squad number13Player nameVicario

Squad number23Player namePorro

Squad number17Player nameRomero

Squad number37Player namevan de Ven

Squad number38Player nameUdogie

Squad number29Player nameSarr

Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg

Squad number21Player nameKulusevski

Squad number10Player nameMaddison

Squad number9Player nameRicharlison

Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-min

Squad number4Player nameSkipp

Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal

Squad number18Player nameLo Celso

Squad number22Player nameJohnson

Squad number36Player nameVéliz

Fulham

Squad number17Player nameLeno

Squad number21Player nameCastagne

Squad number3Player nameBassey

Squad number13Player nameReam

Squad number33Player nameRobinson

Squad number28Player nameLukic

Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha

Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid

Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira

Squad number20Player nameWillian

Squad number30Player nameCarlos Vinícius

Squad number6Player nameReed

Squad number7Player nameJiménez

Squad number8Player nameWilson

Squad number10Player nameCairney

Squad number22Player nameIwobi

Line-ups

Tottenham

Formation 4-2-3-1

13VicarioBooked at 85mins23Porro17Romero37van de Ven38UdogieSubstituted forEmerson Royalat 56'minutes29SarrSubstituted forSkippat 62'minutes5HøjbjergBooked at 35mins21Kulusevski10MaddisonSubstituted forVélizat 82'minutes9RicharlisonSubstituted forJohnsonat 81'minutes7Son Heung-minSubstituted forLo Celsoat 82'minutes

Substitutes

4Skipp11Gil12Emerson Royal15Dier18Lo Celso20Forster22Johnson35Phillips36Véliz

Fulham

Formation 4-2-3-1

17Leno21Castagne3Bassey13Ream33Robinson28LukicSubstituted forReedat 72'minutes26João PalhinhaSubstituted forCairneyat 82'minutes14De Cordova-ReidSubstituted forWilsonat 62'minutes18PereiraSubstituted forIwobiat 45'minutes20Willian30Carlos ViníciusSubstituted forJiménezat 45'minutes

Substitutes

1Rodák6Reed7Jiménez8Wilson10Cairney12Ballo-Touré19Muniz Carvalho22Iwobi44De Fougerolles

Referee:Anthony Taylor

Attendance:61,286

Live Text

Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Fulham 0.

Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Fulham 0.

Attempt blocked. Harry Wilson (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alex Iwobi with a through ball.

Attempt blocked. Harry Wilson (Fulham) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Willian.

Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Giovani Lo Celso tries a through ball, but Alejo Véliz is caught offside.

Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Harrison Reed (Fulham).

Attempt saved. Tom Cairney (Fulham) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Raúl Jiménez.

Foul by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur).

Tom Cairney (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card.

Brennan Johnson (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Timothy Castagne (Fulham).

Attempt blocked. Alex Iwobi (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Willian.

Attempt saved. Raúl Jiménez (Fulham) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Harry Wilson with a through ball.

Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Giovani Lo Celso replaces Son Heung-Min.

Substitution, Fulham. Tom Cairney replaces João Palhinha.

Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Alejo Véliz replaces James Maddison.

Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Brennan Johnson replaces Richarlison.

Offside, Fulham. Willian tries a through ball, but Antonee Robinson is caught offside.

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