LONDON • Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho bemoaned his side’s defensive fragility that allowed Fulham to come from behind to draw 1-1 on Wednesday, a sixth draw in the Premier League for the north London side this season.
The result was another occasion, similar to matches against Newcastle (1-1), West Ham (3-3), Wolves (1-1) and Crystal Palace (1-1), where Spurs were in front but did not capitalise.
Harry Kane’s diving header gave Spurs an early lead on a wet evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Yet easy chances missed by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Son Heung-min were punished by Ivan Cavaleiro’s header for Fulham midway through the second half.
“In the second half we had the biggest chance to kill the game but when you don’t do it you cannot concede goals the way we did,” Mourinho told a news conference.
“This is the same story basically since the beginning of the season.”
It was not a vintage performance for Spurs defenders Sergio Reguilon and Eric Dier, who were both beaten in the air by Cavaleiro for Fulham’s goal. Mourinho did not name names but pointed the finger at “individual” mistakes.
“There are some things they have to do with organisation of the team, but other things they have to do with individual skills, individual ability, and its as simple as that,” the Portuguese said.
Spurs, sitting sixth and six points behind leaders Manchester United (36), next travel to bottom side Sheffield United on Sunday.
Separately, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had only praise for Phil Foden as the forward fired his side into third place as they saw off a feisty challenge from Brighton to win 1-0.
Much of the recent talk has been about a potential duel between United and champions Liverpool but Guardiola’s men are now right in the mix.
The 2018 and 2019 champions started the season sluggishly but have hit the accelerator in recent weeks and are now just one point behind Liverpool (33) with a game in hand.
“Phil Foden is 20 years old, look at the starts. The amount of games, the assists compared to the bigger stars in football,” Guardiola said of his match winner, who is now City’s leading scorer this season with eight goals in all competitions. “He can play both sides, in the middle as a false nine. He is so, so clever in front of goal.”
City next host Crystal Palace on Sunday. Aston Villa’s home match against Everton that day has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak at the Midlands club.
“Following the rescheduling of Villa’s fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, which was due to be played last night, a significant number of players and staff remain in isolation,” the Premier League said in a statement.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE