Son Heung-min (32) took the heavy role of Tottenham Hotspur's one-top striker for the first time in a long time, but he missed a decisive goal and failed to win an offensive point. Tottenham's attack was not sharp. The joy of the first goal was also briefly allowed to equalize by Fulham's counterattack, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Tottenham played a home game in the 13th round of the English Premier League (EPL) in 2024-2025 against Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England at 10:30 p.m. on the 1st (Korea time). In the 9th minute of the second half, Brennan Johnson scored the first goal, raising expectations for victory. However, in the 22nd minute of the second half, Fulham's Cairney equalized. In the end, Tottenham ended up in a 1-1 draw and failed to achieve a consecutive league win. It was the first draw at home in 28 games since April 2023. If he won, he could have entered the fourth place competition, but he failed to keep the lead of the first goal.
On the same day, coach Enze Postecoglou launched a 4-3-3 formation with Son Heung-min as one-top in place of the injured Dominic Solanke. Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson were placed on the left and right sides of Son Heung-min. James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr came out in the midfield supporting the offense. Destiny Udoghi and Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and Pedro Porpo were deployed for the four backs. Veteran goalkeeper Fraser Foster started instead of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who suffered an ankle fracture.
However, Son Heung-min, who played as a one-top for the first time in a long time, showed less performance than expected. I played full time, but I couldn't get a shot chance properly. The shot attempt was only made in the first inning. In particular, he took over Werner's pass inside the penalty area in the 50th second of the first half and faced Fulham Leno Keeper one-on-one, but failed to score. Son Heung-min's shot was blocked by Leno Kiefer's good defense.
Since then, Tottenham have continued their offensive. However, he failed to penetrate Fulham's defensive wall, which lowered the line. In the 38th minute of the first half, Drigushin's header was blocked by goalkeeper Leno. Fulham's counterattack was also sharp. In the 41st minute of the first half, Alex Iwobi hit a right-footed strong shot from the right side of the box, but it hit the crossbar. Tottenham also had a regret that Madison's surprise shot hit the left post in the extra time of the first half.
In the end, neither team scored a goal in the first half.
In the second half, Fulham came out on a strong pitch. In the 7th minute of the second half, when Nelson's cross hit the defense and flowed, Iwobi turned and attempted a Caesars kick. The poster keeper managed to stop it. Tottenham launched a counterattack. In the 9th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min developed the ball to the left in the center of the opponent's camp. Werner entered the box from the left and floated a lobbing pass to the other side. He aimed for the lack of defense to stop Johnson. Johnson shook the net with a right-footed inside volley.
Fulham, who scored the first goal, put in Harry Wilson and Tom Cairney in the 17th minute of the second half. The replacement operation worked properly. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Cairney, who received a pass from Iwobi from far away from the penalty area, fired a surprise strong shot to penetrate the corner of the goal.
Tottenham, who allowed a tie, replaced Werner with Dejan Kulusevski. However, the attack continued to slow down one beat.
Tottenham had a good chance. Kearney defends Kulusevski in the 38th minute of the second half I stepped on my calves with the soles of my feet. After VAR, the warning was changed to exit. Fulham had to hang on with 10 men. The remaining time is about 10 minutes including additional time. There was plenty of time for Tottenham to score.
Tottenham added Archie Gray and Lucas Beribal. He was aggressively aiming for the goal. Fulham also sent out Ryan Sessegnon and Timothy Castagne to strengthen their defense. However, Tottenham's strategy to strengthen its offense was unsuccessful. Rather, Fulham's sharp counterattack almost allowed the goal. Tottenham's attack centered on Son Heung-min did not threaten Fulham, where 10 players played at all. In the end, they only gained one point with a score of 1-1.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
