1-1 v Fulham FC - 1 December 2024 - Home

Inconsistency struck Tottenham Hotspur again as they were held at home by Fulham in the Premier League.

Spurs, who were missing several key players through injury and suspension, had to withstand severe pressure before taking a 54th-minute lead through Brennan Johnson.

The Wales forward volleyed home his sixth league goal of the season from close range after being teed up by Timo Werner's cross.

But Fulham, who had the better chances in the game, deservedly equalised 13 minutes later through captain Tom Cairney, who was then sent off with seven minutes left for a late challenge on the back of Dejan Kulusevski's leg.

Cairney, who had only just come on as a substitute, lashed a first-time left-footed shot home from 18 yards after being picked out by Alex Iwobi.

Spurs, who beat Manchester City 4-0 last week and are the Premier League's top scorers, have now failed to win back-to-back games in their last eight matches.

After missing a golden chance after just 50 seconds when Son Heung-min pounced on a loose Fulham pass but was denied by Bernd Leno, the hosts struggled to create many opportunities.

James Maddison hit the post with a clever free-kick under the wall, but Fulham came close as Iwobi's drive shortly before the interval flicked off Ben Davies and hit the crossbar, while Fraser Forster made a string of saves to deny the visitors.

Spurs missed first-choice striker Dominic Solanke, not in the squad after manager Ange Postecoglou said he "felt a bit sore" following the midweek Europa League draw against Roma.

And key forward Kulusevski, who had created more chances than any other player in the league before today, was on the bench as Postecoglou rotated his squad. The Swede was sent on after Fulham's equaliser as Spurs chased a winner.

But they could not find it as they drew at home for the second time in a week after their 2-2 stalemate with Roma on Thursday. It was also their first league draw since the opening day of the season.

Lack of consistency has been Spurs' downfall so far this season, but now injuries and suspensions are starting to take their toll too.

They went into this game without their first-choice goalkeeper, centre-back pairing and striker, and it told in a performance that was often disjointed.

They are also not helped by the absence of Rodrigo Bentancur, who served the second of a seven-match domestic ban for racist comments made about team-mate Son.

Italian keeper Gigi Vicario, who suffered a fractured ankle in the 4-0 win at Manchester City, is another serious miss.

Forster replaced him for the 36-year-old's first league match in goal since May 2023, but does not have Vicario's passing ability which is crucial to Postecoglou's system.

What Forster does have, though, is shot-stopping ability, and showed that against Fulham. He kept out Raul Jimenez's volley with a superb reflex save, before making point-blank stops from both Issa Diop and Iwobi after the break.

But there was nothing he could do about Fulham's leveller as seventh-placed Spurs dropped two crucial points in the top-four race, and are only a point ahead of the Cottagers in 10th.

While Spurs were hampered by player absences, so too were Fulham who had to do without Andreas Pereira for this game.

The Brazilian midfielder, who had started every Premier League match this season until today, was dropped by Marco Silva after an interview with a Brazilian outlet this week.

Pereira is reported to have said he spoke with Marseille this summer over a move and "unfortunately" it didn’t work out. He later published a statement on Instagram claiming he was misquoted.

Whether he returns to the Fulham fold remains to be seen, particularly with Cairney now set to be sidelined through suspension.

The Scottish midfielder started on the bench, but took the armband immediately after coming on in the 62nd minute and led by example with a terrific finish for the equaliser.

But he was rash with his tackle on Kulusevski in the 83rd minute and, after initially being booked, he was shown a red card following advice given to on-pitch official Darren Bond by the video assistant referee (VAR).

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