Player ratings: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Fulham
Written by George Rossiter on 23rd October 2023
George Rossiter is back with the player ratings after Fulham’s 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It wasn’t a surprise result, but it was disappointing to lose thanks to individual errors again, and to barely lay a glove on the league leaders. Here are the scores on the doors.
Bernd Leno
Started the game really well with a big save from a close range effort from Son Heung-Min in the opening stages of the match. Bar the two goals where Fulham’s defence gave the ball away, Leno was protected fairly well and comfortably dealt with any long-range attempts from Tottenham’s midfield areas. 6.5/10
Timothy Castagne
Embed from Getty ImagesLooked really positive in the early stages, attempting to push Udogie and Richarlison up the pitch by defending on the front foot. Dealt well with Richarlison all night, the Brazilian Spurs forward cutting a frustrated figure on more than one occasion. Also showed a really promising turn of pace in attacking areas which we hadn’t yet seen from him. Filling in really well for Tete, so far. 7/10
Calvin Bassey
Really difficult performance to judge. Defensively, Bassey gave a decent showing of himself as he often has when called upon. The errors were so frustrating, but almost understandable given the two misplaced passes that led to the goals came on his weaker foot from his weaker position. Some will argue that the ball should’ve been cleared long before the errors, what can’t be argued is the worrying lack of options available at right centre-back right now. 5/10
Tim Ream
As previously mentioned, Fulham’s general defensive play was really positive against quality opposition, a comment that applies to Ream individually too. The American defended his box well and it was evident which centre back was playing on their preferred side. Managed to block a number of Tottenham efforts in the penalty area and overall gave a very solid showing. 6.5/10
Antonee Robinson
Offensively, looked really bright, especially in the first half. Used his pace in attacking areas really well including one burst into the box on the half an hour mark that nearly produced a goalscoring opportunity. Defensively, probably struggled a bit too often against Kulusevski for my liking, but the Swedish winger is a tough opponent for anyone. 6/10
Joao Palhinha
Joao must’ve won the ball at least five times in the opening minute of the game alone, he looked really up for this one. While Maddison did eventually find ways to influence the game, it often came from picking the ball up deeper in positions Palhinha wasn’t occupying. His long-range diagonal passing often looked promising too. 7/10 – Man of the match
Sasa Lukic
Started the game a bit too slow but grew into it. Ultimately didn’t create much from the middle and was subbed off fairly early on in the second half. Looked a little anonymous in the midfield against the likes of Sarr and Hojbjerg while Palhinha looked to assert himself, in comparison. Not sure it was a good enough performance to warrant a start next time out. 6/10
Andreas Pereira
I genuinely don’t know what to write because this performance was just like most of Andreas’s showings in recent months, anonymous and uninspiring, hence his substitution at half time. With so many positive midfield options on the bench, Marco must be considering some rotation in his position soon. 5/10
Bobby De Cordova-Reid
Bobby often got into some good positions on the wing, whether it be inside or outside of Udogie, and gave Palhinha and our centre halves many opportunities to play diagonal passes out to him. Ultimately, not much came of them but Bobby’s positional play is a good trait of his. Link-up opportunities looked to dwindle in the second half when our striker changed. 6/10
Willian
The goal last time out against Sheffield United looked to give the Brazilian winger a fair bit more confidence in this game. He looked to take on Pedro Porro at any given opportunity early on with pace and some of the passes he played were sublime, including a beauty to Wilson late on. Hopefully another positive step going forward. 6.5/10
Carlos Vinicius
Didn’t get many chances near goal but even when a cross from Castagne presented itself, he managed to find himself in the right place and beat Romero in the air, even if the ball drifted wide of the post. Our link-up looked so much better off in the first half when Vini had the ball compared to the second half when he was very harshly taken off. 6.5/10
Substitutes
Raul Jimenez
Subbed on at half time for Carlos Vinicius
Offered less than the man he replaced on the ball in Fulham’s attacking positions after he came on. Again, when a chance presented itself on his preferred foot in a good position, just like against Crystal Palace, he wasted it. 31 Premier League games without a goal, and just 12 shots on target in that time. Stats speak for themselves. 5/10
Alex Iwobi
Subbed on at half time for Andreas Pereira
Offered a lot more speed and energy in midfield than Pereira, as he often does in his cameos for Fulham thus far. His pass through to Wilson late on was just a hint of the creativity the Nigerian possesses. 6.5/10
Harry Wilson
Subbed on after 62 minutes for Bobby De Cordova-Reid
Got into two brilliant goalscoring positions and both times looked massively tentative and ultimately wasted both. Really disappointing considering you’d have hoped two goals in a win against Croatia would’ve been a huge confidence boost in front of goal for the Welshman. 5/10
Harrison Reed
Subbed on after 71 minutes for Sasa Lukic
Didn’t really manage to see much of the ball or have any effects on the game of note. Could have done with his energy and positional intelligence for the full 90 and I wouldn’t be surprised if Reedy starts at the AmEx. 6/10
Tom Cairney
Subbed on after 82 minutes for Joao Palhinha
Played for barely 15 minutes and still managed to be our most proactive midfielder in the whole game, linking well with Raul in added time to create a chance. Surely in line for a start soon with Pereira’s form. 6.5/10