Tottenham captain Son Heung-min described their 3-0 defeat at Fulham as “unacceptable” and urged his team-mates to use it as a wake-up call.
Spurs entered this fixture on a high after an emphatic victory at Aston Villa last weekend.
It meant fifth-placed Tottenham could leapfrog Villa and reclaim fourth spot with all three points at Craven Cottage, but they were blown away as Rodrigo Muniz continued his excellent form with a goal either side of half-time.
“A result like that is painful. As the captain of this Club I want to apologise to the fans because they didn’t deserve that performance.”
Sonny discusses #FULTOT pic.twitter.com/JXyzwUWsrI
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 16, 2024
Sasa Lukic also found the net after 49 minutes with his first goal for Fulham, who have now won four of their last six matches.
“Yeah, it is very disappointing and very frustrating,” Son told Sky Sports.
“Everybody has to look in the mirror and say, ‘it was my fault’ because it was not good enough. It was not near the level where we put the effort all season.
“This time it was very, very disappointing. The attitude, the performance, it was not good enough. I think everyone needs this as a big wake-up call.
“It is unacceptable. You always have lessons and including me it was unacceptable that performance and the result.
“We make two steps backwards and now need to make a strong step forwards because after the international break we have massive game and it will be very crucial.”
Tottenham started poorly and could have conceded twice inside the opening 11 minutes, but Cristian Romero made crucial blocks to deny Muniz and Andrea Pereira.
The visitors eventually regrouped and went close through captain Son and James Maddison, who both failed to hit the target from inside the area and Fulham punished Spurs in the 42nd minute.
Tottenham had scored in every @premierleague game this season… until tonight. pic.twitter.com/IriYJKWOEV
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) March 16, 2024
Antonee Robinson produced an excellent cross from the left, which Muniz controlled before he side-footed into the bottom corner.
It was 2-0 immediately after half-time when Lukic deflected in Alex Iwobi’s cross with his knee and Muniz wrapped up the scoring after 61 minutes.
Calvin Bassey’s effort was parried onto the post by Guglielmo Vicario and Muniz bundled in for his seventh goal from his last seven matches to consign Tottenham to a painful defeat.
Boss Ange Postecoglou expressed his disappointment and doubled down on his previously stated notion that Champions League qualification is not crucial for the development of his team.
“The second half after we conceded the second one, we just didn’t reach the levels of intensity and tempo we’ve had all year,” Postecoglou reflected.
“Then it was very hard for us to get any kind of control or traction in the game. It seemed like we were chasing the whole time, so it was a disappointing night for us.”
On missing out on the chance to return to fourth, Postecoglou replied: “I don’t see fourth as the prize.
“This club has finished fourth before. It’s finished second before.
“Fourth is not my end goal. I don’t want to finish fourth if we haven’t grown as a team and developed as a team.
“Success is built on, I think, more tangible stuff. If we finish fifth and if I think we’ve got a team to challenge next year (after the summer transfer window), then I won’t be disappointed.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva toasted another fine result, with this win making it four from their last six matches, which includes victories over Brighton and Manchester United.
“If not the best (performance), one of the best,” Silva insisted.
“The first half was the best of the season because the players did it brilliant. It was almost perfect.
“A crucial moment to score and it was really important to score two quick goals to kill the game.
“A well deserved three points.”
