Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham. Premier League.
Wembley StadiumAttendance58,297.
Highlights and report as Spurs beat Fulham 3-1 at Wembley
Sunday 19 August 2018 00:05, UK
Harry Kane scored his first Premier League goal in August to help Spurs to a 3-1 win over Fulham at Wembley.
Lucas Moura gave Spurs the lead on the stroke of half-time with a wonderful curling effort from the edge of the area but Aleksandar Mitrovic equalised shortly after the break with an opportunistic close-range header.
Spurs regained the lead with a quarter of an hour remaining as Kieran Trippier bent in a free-kick from distance before Kane rounded off the victory with a clinical finish.
The result means that Spurs have collected six points from their opening two games this season while Fulham, despite a promising performance, are still without a point.
It had been a tough week for Spurs following the news that their move into the new stadium at White Hart Lane had been delayed but they made a fast start at their temporary home.
Lucas missed a gilt-edged chance with a header before Kane saw a goal ruled out shortly afterwards when the Brazilian had been adjudged to have fouled Fabri in the build-up.
Kane also had a penalty appeal waved away in a decision that incensed his manager Mauricio Pochettino.
After a subdued start, Fulham grew into the game and had two decent opportunities to score after the half-hour mark as Tom Cairney and long-term Spurs transfer target Ryan Sessegnon forced Hugo Lloris into smart saves. Sandwiched in between those efforts was a Christian Eriksen free-kick that drew a good stop from Fabri.
However, it was Spurs who took the lead and it was an exceptional strike that broke the deadlock. Lucas was lively from the outset and when Calum Chambers' clearance fell to his feet he confidently dispatched a curling effort with his weaker left foot beyond the despairing dive of Fabri for his first Premier League goal on 43 minutes.
Rather than being deflated by that goal, Fulham came out for the second half in confident mood and almost equalised after a couple of minutes when Mitrovic's low shot hit the post with Lloris rooted to the spot. The Serbian would not be denied, though, and soon after he was on hand to head the ball in from under the bar after Sessegnon's miscued shot had bounced into his path.
That goal roused Spurs and they almost went ahead when Dele Alli's goal-bound effort was blocked on the line by Maxime Le Marchand before Kane smashed the crossbar from a Trippier cross.
Eventually, they made their pressure pay as Trippier - recalled to the starting line-up at Serge Aurier's expense - whipped a free-kick into the bottom corner in a strike reminiscent of his effort for England against Croatia at the World Cup.
The third came swiftly afterwards as Kane, after 15 games, 1065 minutes and 49 shots, finally scored his first Premier League goal in August. Substitute Erik Lamela led a counter-attack after a Fulham free-kick appeal had been denied and laid the ball into Kane's path and he made no mistake with the finish, curling it ruthlessly into the far corner.
Tottenham have won nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Fulham, losing in a home match in March 2013 (0-1).
Fulham have conceded in each of their last 19 Premier League away games - the longest current run without a clean sheet away in the top-flight (among the 20 teams in 2018-19).
Spurs are on a run of 19 consecutive home Premier League victories against newly promoted opponents, conceding just twice in their last 10 matches.
One of the stars of England's World Cup campaign, Kieran Trippier was given the opening weekend of the season off with Serge Aurier handed a starting role against Newcastle.
An erratic performance from the Ivorian, despite an assist, opened the door for Trippier to return to the side and Mauricio Pochettino will be pleased that he made the change as he scored the crucial second goal.
Aside from his excellent free-kick, Trippier was a constant presence on the right flank with only Jan Vertonghen (96) touching the ball more times than him (93) while he also completed four crosses and created two chances.
An excellent all-round display.
Spurs are next in action on Bank Holiday Monday when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports Premier League. Fulham, meanwhile, will be looking to get their first points on the board against Burnley next Sunday and that game is also on Sky Sports Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino: "It was a tough game but I think we deserved the victory. We domninated completely and created a lot of chances but we dropped our performance a little bit and became sloppy and they were better in the first 15-20 minutes [of the second half].
"Of course, it's only the beginning of the season but it is so important to win games but we can improve, we conceded too many chances today and against Newcastle.
"There were different players today and a different system, we are still building our fitness and focus out of possession and we need to be more clinical."
Slavisa Jokanovic: "It's a shame, we made a great effort. After we equalised we had another chance to score again and then they killed the game with one quality action and then immediately after they scored again and we didn't have the power to change the situation.
"The second goal showed the quality they have. We are team that has been playing for a week and a half, they are a team that has been playing for three years and the synchronisation of the Spurs players is better than ours."
Phil Thompson: "This is the best game I've seen [Lucas Moura] him play. He played the whole game, and there was no thought about substituting him.
"He showed his pace, and in different areas, and he showed a lot of high press qualities that I didn't think he had in him. I thought he was just a winger, but he played his part and scored an absolutely stunning goal.
"For a certain spell, Fulham did alright and they got back in the game. But we've seen Trippier, how he delivers balls from corner-kicks and from free-kicks for England. This is about 30 yards out, and they've got other great technicians, but they've left it for him. It was a terrific strike.
"Fulham did alright for long periods but up front, they don't get enough people into the box to support Mitrovic. There were good things at times, it was a really good game of football. It was Thierry Henry-like the way Kane scored, and I'm sure he's delighted to get that monkey off his back."
