FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM - Tottenham's best start to a league season since 1961 continued with a 2-0 victory at home to Fulham on Monday night.
Ange Postecoglou's side returned to the top of the Premier League table with a rather routine win against the Cottagers.
Marco Silva's men frustrated Spurs in the first half but were unable to provide enough of a consistent threat and return to west London without the points.
How the game unfolded
Tottenham went close to taking the lead inside the first two minutes when James Maddison slipped through Son Heung-min following a run off the back of Calvin Bassey, but Bernd Leno was quick off his line to smother the South Korean's effort.
A cleverly-worked free-kick routine then saw Cristian Romero head the ball back across goal for centre-back partner Micky Van de Ven, but he was unable to keep his volley down.
Down the other end, Guglielmo Vicario was at full stretch to deny Joao Palhinha's header from a corner.
Home fans thought their team had gone in front at the end of a swift counter attack with Dejan Kulusevski teeing up Richarlison, but the Brazilian curled his shot just past the post.
With 36 minutes on the clock, Spurs broke the deadlock. Bassey's pass into midfield was easily cut out by Van de Ven. The ball was then worked to Richarlison and he played in Son, who left Bassey and Tim Ream in a heap with a neat swivel and turn before firing past Leno.
Moments later, Tottenham came extremely close to doubling their advantage. Maddison's clever pass into Son was flicked into the path of Destiny Udogie, who was denied by a flying flurry of Fulham bodies. The ball fell back to Kulusevski, but his shot deflected behind off Palhinha.
Spurs managed to squeeze in one last attack before the break. Romero carried the ball into the final third from defence and handed over possession to Kulusevski, but the Swede took too long to decide on his next move and Fulham were able to retreat and smother him.
Shortly after half-time, Tottenham added their second. Another poor pass from Bassey was pounced upon by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and he quickly played it to Son, who in turn found Maddison to waltz in behind and roll past Leno.
A third Tottenham goal went begging when Bassey once more lost the ball, with Ream coming in to deny Maddison with a superb last-ditch challenge.
Fulham came close to pulling one back when Kulusevski was shoved off the ball by Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez was sent in on goal, but he was kept out by a low save from Vicario.
The Italian goalkeeper was then on hand to deny Tom Cairney with a simple stop at his near post as Fulham looked to mount a rather unlikely comeback in the dying embers of the game.
But Tottenham were ultimately able to preserve their 2-0 lead much to the jubilation of the buoyant home fans, who danced on the terraces singing 'we are top of the league'.
Tottenham Hotspur player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Guglielmo Vicario - 6/10 - Endured his first nervy moments playing from the back in a Spurs shirt, but his shot-stopping was still typically excellent.
RB: Pedro Porro - 7/10 - Used his pace to make up the ground left vacated for Willian to run into. A useful outlet when shifting the ball through the thirds.
CB: Cristian Romero - 8/10 - Blended together his underrated technique and overrated aggression to shut out Fulham.
CB: Micky van de Ven - 8/10 - Rolls Royce should be knocking on the Dutchman's door asking to name a model of car after him.
LB: Destiny Udogie - 7/10 - So calm and confident with the ball in tight spaces and under pressure. Unlucky not to have scored himself in the first half.
CM: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7/10 - Drafted in for the suspended Yves Bissouma, who has a completely different skillset. Nevertheless, the Dane put in a fine performance, notably winning the ball back for Spurs' second goal.
CM: Pape Matar Sarr - 6/10 - Quickly robbed of possession by Palhinha but performed similar duties for his own side.
RM: Dejan Kulusevski - 5/10 - His slow and ponderous decision-making threatened to derail Tottenham, but they had enough firepower to get by regardless.
AM: James Maddison - 9/10 - The main man enjoyed his roast dinner. The most progressive passer on the pitch, the star of the show.
LM: Richarlison - 6/10 - Worked hard for the team and grabbed an assist for his efforts, but still missing his shooting boots.
CF: Son Heung-min - 9/10 - Relishing life as Tottenham's centre forward. Dropped deep to link play and a menace as usual when running in behind.
Substitutes
SUB: Emerson Royal (56' for Udogie) - 6/10
SUB: Oliver Skipp (62' for Sarr) - 6/10
SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (81' for Son) - N/A
SUB: Brennan Johnson (81' for Richarlison) - N/A
SUB: Alejo Veliz (81' for Maddison) - N/A
Subs not used: Forster (GK), Dier, Phillips, Gil
Manager
Ange Postecoglou - 7/10 - Tottenham were great for long stretches but a perfectionist like Postecoglou will know that it wasn't a complete performance.
Fulham player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Bernd Leno - 6/10 - Kept Fulham in the contest with some decent saves. Not a lot he could have done about the goals.
RB: Timothy Castagne - 6/10 - Put to work by the energy of Richarlison but held his own fairly well.
CB: Calvin Bassey - 1/10 - Two utterly unforgivable passes from the back to set up two Tottenham goals.
CB: Tim Ream - 5/10 - Fine when having to defend in a deep block, but that was put to the test when Fulham's shape was disjointed and their line was held a little higher.
LB: Antonee Robinson - 5/10 - Fortunate that Kulusevski wasn't really in the mood to go at him more often. A useful outlet with his pace.
CM: Joao Palhinha - 7/10 - Completed three crunching tackles in the first 90 seconds of the game. A midfield general that needed more support.
CM: Sasa Lukic - 5/10 - Attempted to run through the Spurs midfield but was met with a fair bit of resistance.
RM: Bobby De Cordova-Reid - 5/10 - Frustratedly marked out of the game by Udogie.
AM: Andreas Pereira - 5/10 - Found it difficult to get on the ball in the first half with most of Fulham's attacks coming down the wings. Replaced for the second 45.
LM: Willian - 6/10 - Fulham's most dangerous attacker, though lacked his once-trademark dynamism to really hurt Tottenham.
CF: Carlos Vinicius - 5/10 - Threw himself into challenges but was largely snuffed out in his 45 minutes on the pitch.
Substitutes
SUB: Raul Jimenez (46' for Vinicius) - 6/10
SUB: Alex Iwobi (46' for Pereira) - 5/10
SUB: Harry Wilson (62' for De Cordova-Reid) - 6/10
SUB: Harrison Reed (72' for Lukic) - 5/10
SUB: Tom Cairney (82' for Palhinha) - N/A
Subs not used: Rodak (GK), Ballo-Toure, De Fougerolles, Muniz
Manager
Marco Silva - 6/10 - Fulham made a half-decent account of themselves and didn't just roll over for Spurs, but ultimately they couldn't find a way through.
Player of the match - James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur)
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This article was originally published on 90min as Tottenham 2-0 Fulham: Player ratings as Spurs return to top of Premier League table.
