Fulham began December and a challenging schedule with a strong road point against Tottenham. Before Tom Cairney put in the leveller with just over 20 minutes remaining, it felt like one of those days. We would return to SW6 with a well-earned point thanks to that and a determined defensive effort to finish the game, but what are the game’s talking points?
Positives
Bounced back well
We knew we wanted to make reparations before a difficult run after our performance against Wolves at home last Saturday, and we succeeded. controlling Spurs for stretches of the game and having numerous opportunities that eventually went in. With swift, deft, and accurate passing and slick, technical dribbling, we had Spurs on the ropes for a significant amount of the game thanks to our incredible transition.
It felt like one of those days when Brennan Johnson scored, but we persisted and were rewarded with an incredible goal. Following the red card, we displayed excellent game management to slow down the clock, irritate Spurs, and eventually reduce the number of opportunities they could generate. The performance served as a reminder of our caliber and our potential; the previous weekend was really a little setback.
Subs were profitable.
He did score, albeit it is obviously not ideal that one of those replacements was sent out (I’ll talk about that later). I felt the rest of the North London subs were excellent. With run after darting run, Harry Wilson was his usual brilliant self and caused a lot of trouble for a disorganized Spurs defense. Rodrigo Muniz performed flawlessly, holding the ball up nicely, drawing fouls, and slowing down the game—even more so when we were down to ten.
It was quite an event to see Sess return to the Premier League for Fulham, but both he and Castagne performed well when they entered late in the game (the final moment when Sess tapped the badge and applauded the supporters could be displayed in the Louvre). We are currently benefiting from Fulham’s astute squad building over the past few windows.
Drawbacks
My captain, oh captain
You can see that Tom Cairney told the referee that he didn’t mean to do it, but in the end, he did, and he was sent off. It was clearly an accident. A vicious challenge that results in TC’s suspension leaves Brighton with a significant midfield dilemma.
After adding TC, Reed, and Andreas Pereira’s banishment, Sasa Lukic’s yellow card also means he will miss Thursday night’s game, leaving us with very little. Nevertheless, Fulham does boast well-rounded players who can fill a variety of roles. Wilson will get a well-earned start as a result, while Iwobi will slide into midfield alongside Berge and Smith-Rowe. A little depressing for a fun journey down the Seven Sisters Road.
