Premier League
FulhamFulham0TottenhamTottenham Hotspur1

Fulham 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Harry Kane says team meeting helped inspire win

By Emlyn BegleyBBC Sport
Harry Kane has scored 48 goals in Premier League London derbies, more than any other player
Harry Kane has scored 48 goals in Premier League London derbies, more than any other player

Tottenham striker Harry Kane said a team meeting helped them get back on track with a narrow win at Fulham.

The England captain scored the only goal with a sweet strike into the bottom corner from just outside the box, to equal Jimmy Greaves' record as Spurs' all-time top scorer with 266 goals.

It was only Spurs' second Premier League win in six games and came after back-to-back losses against Arsenal and Manchester City.

They are back to within three points of the Champions League places after only a second league clean sheet since October.

"We are a little bit behind where we want to be but tonight was important," said Kane, who played despite having an illness.

"We had a good talk amongst ourselves, just to get back to what we are good at, clean sheets, being compact and hard to break down. Then we know we will have a chance to score and have players who can do that.

"It was a really important win for us, especially after the last couple of games, to get back to winning ways."

Boss Antonio Conte, whose future is uncertain, said: "I had a good answer from my players. I asked them for the solidity of last season and the will and desire to fight and to be resilient.

"We showed when you play as a team it is difficult to play against us. Today has to be a starting point for us to give everything then we will see what happens at the end."

Kane could have broken the record in the second half but his close-range header was tipped over well by Bernd Leno.

Fulham had plenty of chances to score before Kane's opener with Hugo Lloris keeping out Bobby Decordova-Reid's long-range drive and Harrison Reed's snap-shot.

But this is now a second defeat in a row and a missed chance to go above Spurs into fifth place.

The game had kicked off 18 minutes late following travel problems for fans in the area and then issues with referee Paul Tierney's communication devices.

Big night for Kane and Spurs

It has felt inevitable for a long time that Kane would become Spurs' top scorer if he did not move to another club first.

His 199th Premier League goal for Spurs in exactly 300 games means he has matched that 266-goal Greaves record, which stood for 53 years.

It was an expert Kane strike, taking Son Heung-min's pass with his back to goal, turning a defender and then picking his spot from outside the box.

Spurs have started so many games slowly this season, and this match was no exception. They did not get going until the 30th minute and could easily have trailed before Kane's opener.

The second half was better, though, and Kane headed at Leno and then hammered a shot wide late on.

Lloris, who conceded six goals in his past two games - including his own goal against Arsenal - kept a much-needed clean sheet with five saves.

Fulham still flying despite loss

Consecutive defeats for surprise European chasers Fulham have come after they won five in a row. They should not be concerned, though, as those losses were against two of the only six teams in the country above them.

Marco Silva's side were unlucky to lose to Newcastle and were narrowly edged out here by one of the greatest strikers in English football history.

As well as saved first-half chances for Decordova-Reid, Reed and Willian, Aleksandar Mitrovic headed on to the roof of the net and Manor Solomon's curling effort was tipped wide by Lloris.

They had a good crack at it in six minutes of injury time but fell just short.

"Our goal is clear from the first moment and people have said we were favourites to go down again," said Silva. "We are here to fight and staying in the Premier League is what we want to do. Our position in the table is something to be proud of, but the Premier League is really tough."

Player of the match

KaneHarry Kane

with an average of 6.60

Fulham

  1. Squad number13Player nameReam
    Average rating

    6.05

  2. Squad number20Player nameWillian
    Average rating

    5.88

  3. Squad number31Player nameDiop
    Average rating

    5.79

  4. Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira
    Average rating

    5.61

  5. Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha
    Average rating

    5.51

  6. Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid
    Average rating

    5.47

  7. Squad number2Player nameTete
    Average rating

    5.44

  8. Squad number9Player nameMitrovic
    Average rating

    5.43

  9. Squad number33Player nameRobinson
    Average rating

    5.38

  10. Squad number6Player nameReed
    Average rating

    5.31

  11. Squad number17Player nameLeno
    Average rating

    5.22

  12. Squad number10Player nameCairney
    Average rating

    5.00

  13. Squad number8Player nameWilson
    Average rating

    4.25

  14. Squad number11Player nameSolomon
    Average rating

    3.83

  15. Squad number30Player nameCarlos Vinícius
    Average rating

    3.00

Tottenham Hotspur

  1. Squad number10Player nameKane
    Average rating

    6.60

  2. Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal
    Average rating

    6.54

  3. Squad number21Player nameKulusevski
    Average rating

    6.34

  4. Squad number15Player nameDier
    Average rating

    6.06

  5. Squad number30Player nameBentancur
    Average rating

    6.02

  6. Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg
    Average rating

    5.92

  7. Squad number33Player nameDavies
    Average rating

    5.85

  8. Squad number9Player nameRicharlison
    Average rating

    5.62

  9. Squad number1Player nameLloris
    Average rating

    5.59

  10. Squad number17Player nameRomero
    Average rating

    5.57

  11. Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-min
    Average rating

    5.57

  12. Squad number14Player namePerisic
    Average rating

    5.49

  13. Squad number38Player nameBissouma
    Average rating

    5.07

Line-ups

Fulham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 17Leno
  • 2TeteSubstituted forSolomonat 80'minutes
  • 31Diop
  • 13Ream
  • 33Robinson
  • 26João PalhinhaBooked at 16mins
  • 6ReedSubstituted forCairneyat 65'minutes
  • 14De Cordova-ReidSubstituted forWilsonat 87'minutes
  • 18Pereira
  • 20WillianSubstituted forCarlos Viníciusat 87'minutes
  • 9Mitrovic

Substitutes

  • 1Rodák
  • 3Kurzawa
  • 4Tosin
  • 8Wilson
  • 10Cairney
  • 11Solomon
  • 12Chalobah
  • 21James
  • 30Carlos Vinícius

Tottenham

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 1Lloris
  • 17RomeroBooked at 70mins
  • 15Dier
  • 33Davies
  • 12Emerson Royal
  • 5Højbjerg
  • 30BentancurBooked at 78mins
  • 14Perisic
  • 21KulusevskiSubstituted forBissoumaat 90+1'minutes
  • 7Son Heung-minBooked at 28minsSubstituted forRicharlisonat 76'minutes
  • 10Kane

Substitutes

  • 2Doherty
  • 4Skipp
  • 6D Sánchez
  • 9Richarlison
  • 19R Sessegnon
  • 20Forster
  • 25Tanganga
  • 34Lenglet
  • 38Bissouma
Referee:
Paul Tierney
Attendance:
24,190

Match Stats

Home TeamFulhamAway TeamTottenham
Possession
Home53%
Away47%
Shots
Home10
Away10
Shots on Target
Home5
Away3
Corners
Home3
Away8
Fouls
Home10
Away10

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Fulham 0, Tottenham Hotspur 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Fulham 0, Tottenham Hotspur 1.

  3. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  4. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury João Palhinha (Fulham).

  5. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur).

  6. Post update

    Foul by João Palhinha (Fulham).

  7. Post update

    Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Substitution

    Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Yves Bissouma replaces Dejan Kulusevski.

  9. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  10. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury Antonee Robinson (Fulham).

  11. Post update

    Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Hugo Lloris.

  12. Post update

    Attempt saved. Manor Solomon (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tom Cairney.

  13. Post update

    Delay over. They are ready to continue.

  14. Substitution

    Substitution, Fulham. Harry Wilson replaces Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

  15. Substitution

    Substitution, Fulham. Carlos Vinícius replaces Willian.

  16. Post update

    Delay in match because of an injury Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham).

  17. Post update

    Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  18. Post update

    Foul by Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Fulham. Manor Solomon replaces Kenny Tete.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Eric Dier with a headed pass.

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Scores, Results & Fixtures

Monday 23rd January 2023

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Arsenal19162145162950
2Man City20143353203345
3Newcastle20109133112239
4Man Utd2012353225739
5Tottenham2111374031936
6Brighton1994637271031
7Fulham219483230231
8Brentford207943228430
9Liverpool198563425929
10Chelsea208572221129
11Aston Villa208482327-428
12Crystal Palace206681827-924
13Nottm Forest205691635-1921
14Leicester2053122835-718
15Leeds194692633-718
16West Ham2053121725-818
17Wolves2045111230-1817
18Bournemouth2045111942-2317
19Everton2036111528-1315
20Southampton2043131735-1815
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