Spurs return to top of Premier League after Son and Maddison see off Fulham

When Tottenham play like this, overwhelming the opposition with their energy, desire and creativity, it does not feel outlandish to suggest that they will soon be seen as genuine title challengers. Perhaps there will come a time when a light squad runs out of steam and the natural order resumes. Yet there is no stopping Spurs at the moment and, after they moved back to the top of the Premier League with this win over a toothless Fulham, the scenes that followed made it tempting to conclude that anything is possible under Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs, who remain unbeaten, are not just a team transformed by Postecoglou; they are a club transformed. The supporters have totally bought into the Australian and were bellowing his name into the north London sky long after the final whistle, having earlier swooned at the commanding defending of Micky van de Ven and the way those sparkling goalscoring bursts from Son Heung-min and James Maddison are making up for the loss of Harry Kane.

Fulham, whose defeat owed much to Calvin Bassey’s nightmarish defending, could be grateful it finished 2-0 after being blown away by the range of Postecoglou’s football. Spurs were merciless, twice punishing Bassey’s ropey distribution, and should have scored more. They push from every angle, the football quick and intuitive, inverted full-backs supporting the midfield. Maddison is at the heart of everything and, for players who laboured under the negativity of José Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Postecoglou’s ambition has given them a new lease of life.

Intriguingly, though, Postecoglou was not entirely happy. Afterwards he spoke about a sloppy second half from Spurs, calling it the “worst 45 minutes we’ve had with the ball” all season. Fulham were almost offered a route back into the game and Guglielmo Vicario made some important stops. It was easy to imagine Postecoglou planning a tough few training sessions before taking Spurs to Crystal Palace on Friday.

Yet Spurs still overran Fulham. There was a chance inside two minutes, Maddison sending Son through to extend Bernd Leno, and there was little suggestion that the hosts would miss the suspended Yves Bissouma. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg stepped seamlessly into midfield and Spurs dominated. Pedro Porro drew a desperate foul from Antonee Robinson after a surge from right-back and another opening went begging when a clever set piece ended with Van de Ven volleying over from close range after seven minutes.

When Bobby De Cordova-Reid bumped Maddison over, leaving Spurs’ chief creative threat most aggrieved, it was easy to interpret it as a sign of Fulham trying anything to make their presence felt. Yet while the visitors have lacked incision since selling Aleksandar Mitrovic, Marco Silva is a smart manager. Fulham soon adjusted and went close when João Palhinha extended Vicario with a powerful header.

Spurs looked flummoxed for a while, the frustration building when Dejan Kulusevski teed up Richarlison to shoot wide. One of the qualities that sets good sides apart, however, is the ability to trust in the plan. For Spurs that meant keeping the foot on the accelerator and continuing to hold a high line, which is easier to pull off with the speedy Van de Ven in central defence.

The Dutchman has been a revelation since joining from Wolfsburg. His pace was on show when he raced across to stop Carlos Vinícius reaching a through-ball from Willian and his aggressive defending played a crucial role in Spurs going ahead in the 36th minute.

Son Heung-min is mobbed by his teammates after opening the scoring. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

The goal arrived when Bassey’s pass out from the back was intercepted by Van de Ven, who had advanced into Fulham’s half. The ball ran to Richarlison and Fulham were slow to recover. Son was alone in the centre and, found by Richarlison, the Spurs captain had time to swerve past a challenge before bending a beautiful right-footed shot beyond Leno.

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However, while Son’s composure underlined the belief running through Spurs, others were more wasteful. Kulusevski was most culpable, dithering when he was through on goal. Fulham had a chance to regroup. Silva reacted by replacing Vinícius and Andreas Pereira with Raúl Jiménez and Alex Iwobi at the start of the second half.

Ever so briefly there was a different feel, with Spurs a little tentative and Fulham trying to assert themselves. Sadly, though, the resistance only lasted nine minutes. Spurs targeted Bassey and they profited when they pushed the centre-back into a dead end on the right. This time a rushed clearance fell to Højbjerg and, from there, it was a straightforward task for Son to send Maddison through to guide a low shot past Leno.

At least Fulham, who remain 13th, avoided conceding again. Maddison almost punished another error from Bassey but Spurs had to fight for their clean sheet. Destiny Udogie was an adventurous marvel at left-back and Cristian Romero had to make some thunderous challenges. While Postecoglou wanted more, Spurs can dare to dream.