Ryan Sessegnon struck a stunner against his former club as Fulham boosted their hopes of European qualification with a 2-0 win over toothless Tottenham at Craven Cottage to move up to eighth in the Premier League.
Sessegnon had netted his first goal since October 2022 against Wolves last month and added another in fine fashion here to seal this win, outmuscling Ben Davies before bending the ball into the far corner. It was particularly galling for Tottenham, as it came just moments after Lucas Bergvall was denied a penalty despite Calvin Bassey’s rough challenge.
Rodrigo Muniz, another substitute, had put Fulham ahead 10 minutes earlier with an accurate finish into the bottom corner after a sharp touch and pass from Andreas Pereira and those goals gave Marco Silva cause for celebration in his 200th Premier League game as a manager.
Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon (bottom) celebrates his goal as team-mate Rodrigo Muniz leaps over him
The home side had dominated the first half without carving out a clear opening but came through a step-up from Spurs in the second half to clinch the three points. They are now just three points off fifth-placed Man City. The race for Europe is tighter than ever – and Fulham are in it.
Spurs’ own aspirations in the league have long been over and that was signalled by the seven changes Ange Postecoglou made from the team which earned Europa League progress against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. Nonetheless, this was a poor showing from his side.
They will point to the penalty call, which left referee Andy Madley unmoved, but they managed just three touches in the Fulham box in the first half. Half-time subs Heung-min Son and Bergvall added some impetus but Dominic Solanke spurned a couple of headers and then volleyed Spurs’ best chance over from James Maddison’s clever touch.
They remain down in 13th and head into the international break with thoughts about that Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt foremost in their minds.
