Fulham 2 Tottenham 0: Late goals move hosts within three points of Champions League with Spurs level with 16th
RYAN SESSEGNON looked almost embarrassed as his worldie blew old side Tottenham to smithereens.
The 24-year-old curled brilliantly into the corner shortly after coming on, adding to a smart opener from fellow sub Rodrigo Muniz.
It capped a brilliant 200th Premier League game in charge for Fulham boss Marco Silva, whose team are up to eighth and remain very much in the hunt for Europe.
While this was a FIFTEENTH league defeat of the season for Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs, whose dismal league campaign continues to plumb new depths.
Sessegnon was sold as a teenager by Fulham to Spurs for £25million back in 2019.
Spurs hoped they had landed one of the most exciting young English players in the country.
But sadly for the winger, injuries decimated his career in North London, reducing him to just 57 games and three goals in five years at the club.
Spurs even gave up their option to keep a further season last year, allowing him to walk away for free and rejoin the club that made him.
In truth, his fitness troubles have continued back at Fulham, as he has started just one Prem game for Silva.
But this was by far and away his best moment back for the Whites, even if he refused to celebrate his wonderstrike out of respect for his old team.
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The Sessegnon sub-plot rescued a dull game which for the most part had the feel of an end-of-season clash with nothing riding on it.
That was half understandable from a Tottenham perspective because, even with ten games left to play, their Premier League campaign is going nowhere and it is all about the Europa League.
It explained why Ange Postecoglou made seven changes, starting Archie Gray in midfield for the first time in the Prem and deploying 19-year-old loanee Mathys Tel wide left.
Fulham had a little more urgency about them, with Silva’s side still in the hunt for continental qualification.
But were it not for the antics of Cristian Romero, plus a penalty being turned down that should have been given, the first half would have been a non-event.
Romero was starting his third game in a week having played just 15 minutes in the four months before that due to a toe injury, followed by a more significant quad problem.
The Argentine is box-office, whether it be crunching into tackles, playing defence-splitting passes or bawling at other players – opposing ones and his own team-mates alike.
You could hear him screaming at Djed Spence, who came through the Fulham academy, to get back into position inside the first eight minutes.
Then he was wagging his finger at Willian after taking out the Brazilian veteran on the edge of the area, but somehow ref Andy Madley waved play on.
Postecoglou will have held his breath for a second when his talismanic centre-back stayed down on the turf clutching his knee after making a vital clearance from an Antone Robinson, but fortunately he was OK to continue.
Romero’s best moment, at least from a Fulham point-of-view, came when he met his match taking on Calvin Bassey, who sent him flying with a powerful shrug-off.
The spot-kick flash point had come earlier, midway through the first period, as Raul Jimenez fell to the deck when leaping for a cross thanks to Spence’s shove in the back.
Jimenez’s drop was a little theatrical – and perhaps that was what saved Spurs and Spence – but even so, Madley looked to have got that one wrong.
Tottenham are at their best under Postecoglou when they are bold and aggressive.
Both those qualities were lacking in the opening 45 so it was little surprise when the Aussie made two half-times subs.
He hauled off the ineffective Yves Bissouma and Brennan Johnson – for the second league game running at the break – and replaced them with Lucas Bergvall and skipper Son Heung-min.
The duo instantly made Spurs better, looking sharp with their passing and movement.
Yet still the goalmouth action was at a premium.
That was until the 69th minute when Solanke should have given the visitors the lead but his reactions were just too slow.
Bernd Leno had palmed Mathys Tel’s curling shot into the path of James Maddison, who chested it back to Solanke but the England striker could only fire over.
It proved to be a costly miss as nine minutes later, the hosts took the lead, with their own sun pair, Muniz and Adama Traore, playing a vital role.
The latter did well to keep a high ball alive and give it to Andreas Pereira, who cut it back for Muniz to find the corner.
Sessegnon then came on in the 87th minute, serenaded by chants of “he left ‘cause you’re s***” by taunting Fulham fans in the direction of the away support.
The forward then finished the game off for good by chasing down a long ball that Ben Davies failed to clear, before bending the ball into the far corner.