Fulham 3-0 Tottenham: Rodrigo Muniz scores twice as hosts defeat lacklustre Spurs
Fulham dented Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League top-four hopes with an impressive 3-0 win at Craven Cottage on Saturday, thanks to in-form Rodrigo Muniz's double.
Tottenham would have moved above Aston Villa into fourth place in the standings with a win, but apart from a brief period before halftime, they were sluggish and could not complain.
Muniz broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute and scored again just past the hour mark to seal the victory over Tottenham, after Sasa Lukic doubled Fulham's lead shortly after halftime.
Fulham completed a notable home double over Tottenham, having also eliminated them from the League Cup, and it was their first league victory over the north Londoners in their last ten meetings.
Tottenham remain in fifth place with 53 points from 28 games, while Fulham are 12th with 38 points from 29 games.
Tottenham's 4-0 win at Villa last week gave them momentum in the race for Champions League qualification, but they crashed back down to earth with the kind of defeat their fans had hoped would be a thing of the past since Ange Postecoglou took over.
"In the second half we didn't get to grips with the game. The intensity dropped," Postecoglou said.
"Our final third play wasn't great. But it's more the overall play that was disappointing. There are things we've done all year we've prided ourselves on, our intensity and tempo, but that wasn't there in the second half."
"We couldn't get any control or traction in the game."
The only surprise in a chance-filled first half was that it went scoreless for 42 minutes.
Fulham began with far more urgency than their opponents, with Andreas Pereira at the centre of the action.
He almost scored with Fulham's first attack, but his shot deflected off Cristian Romero and went wide. Soon after, when Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario parried a low cross into his path, Romero blocked him again.
Vicario also made impressive saves from Lukic and Willian before Tottenham finally began to pose a threat.
Son Heung-min blazed one chance over, Brennan Johnson shot straight at Bernd Leno following a slick passing move, and Radu Dragusin, making his Spurs debut, dragged an effort well wide from a good position.
James Maddison also went close for the visitors, but Fulham took the lead when Antonee Robinson's superb low cross split the Tottenham defence, and Muniz's touch was perfect before drilling his shot across Vicario and into the net.
Fulham doubled their lead in just four minutes of the second half, when Alex Iwobi fed a pass to the overlapping Timothy Castagne, whose low cross was converted by Lukic.
Tottenham were reeling and on the canvas just past the hour mark when 22-year-old Brazilian Muniz scored his second goal of the game and seventh in his last seven, bundling in after Calvin Bassey's shot hit the post.
Postecoglou's side avoided further embarrassment a minute later when substitute Raul Jimenez glanced in Joao Palhinha's shot, but he was flagged offside.
Tottenham's substitutes Richarlison and Timo Werner had late chances as their streak of scoring in 38 consecutive league games came to an end.
Fulham had another happy day on the banks of the Thames, as they won their ninth home game of the season.
"A great win for us," manager Marco Silva said. "We were the best team on the pitch and deserved the three points against a really good side."
SportsLigue