Premier League: Fulham 3 Tottenham 0
Rodrigo Muniz scored twice as Tottenham missed out on the chance of moving into the Premier League top four after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Victory would have meant Ange Postecoglou’s side moved a point ahead of Aston Villa but the north Londoners instead finish the weekend in fifth.
Muniz’s double took his top-flight tally to seven goals in his last seven appearances on a day where the Cottagers shone in west London.
Sasa Lukic scored his first goal of the season as Marco Silva’s side bounced back from last week’s 2-1 defeat by Wolves at Molineux.
Fulham looked to strike an early blow through the in-form Muniz, who was freed into a pocket of space. After his initial shot was blocked by Cristian Romero, Andreas Pereira’s rebound narrowly missed Guglielmo Vicario’s right-hand post.
The hosts’ momentum continued and after Romero was called into action again to block Pereira’s close-range attempt, Muniz proved to be a handful when he outmuscled Radu Dragusin with his back turned to goal, setting the tone for a physical encounter.
Willian was enjoying himself. The experienced 35-year-old, who had a knack of scoring goals against Tottenham in his Chelsea days, looked to punish them again but his first-time effort was stopped by Vicario who got down quickly to keep the scores level despite a one-sided opening period in favour of the hosts.
Spurs rode the storm and began to create chances of their own.
Destiny Udogie exploited space to run in down the left and his cutback found James Maddison on the edge of the area. The England international’s body position suggested he was going for the far post but he opted to go near, dragging his effort wide instead of the open net which Fulham keeper Bernd Leno left unoccupied.
Fulham’s efforts deserved a goal and they got just that. The electric Antonee Robinson broke away and he delivered a perfect ball to the dangerous Muniz before the Brazilian forward performed an intricate touch and powered home into the left-hand corner.
The Cottagers had played the perfect game up to this point and it continued after the break when they doubled their lead.
Fulham’s full-backs had been allowed space all game and this time it was Timothy Castagne’s turn to maraud forward. The right-back’s cross met the thigh of Lukic who had made a late surge into the box and the ball fizzed past the helpless Vicario for a second time.
Muniz’s spectacular run of form took another turn. The forward was well positioned in the box to scrap for the loose ball and claim his brace before he was serenaded with a standing ovation when he was substituted minutes later.
Joao Palhinha thought he added a fourth but referee Robert Jones deemed the strike offside after an interference from Raul Jimenez.
Burnley 2 Brentford 1
Luton Town 1 Nottingham Forest 1
Burnley kept their faint Premier League survival hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Turf Moor.
Brentford had to play most of the match with 10 men after Sergio Reguilon was sent off with just nine minutes on the clock for a push on Vitinho inside the penalty area.
Following the fastest red card of the Premier League season, Burnley took the lead from the resulting spot-kick as Jacob Bruun Larsen converted from 12 yards.
Burnley looked to have sealed their first win in 2024 and first since a 2-0 victory over Fulham in December when David Datro Fofana slotted past Mark Flekken from inside the box to make it 2-0 but they were made to sweat for the points when Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute with a smart header.
Brentford thought they had snatched an equaliser at the death when Shandon Baptiste’s cross ended up in the net but referee Darren Bond blew for a foul on keeper Arijanet Muric as Vincent Kompany’s side hung on to move within eight points of safety.
In another crucial game in the relegation battle, Luke Berry scored a late equaliser to earn Luton a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Forest hit the front in the 34th minute after Morgan Gibbs-White floated a cross to the onrushing Chris Wood who volleyed home from close range.
Luton looked to have equalised before the break when Teden Mengi bundled home but referee Darren England cut celebrations short after the ball hit the defender’s arm in the process.
Forest had chances to put the game to bed and came close to a second when Anthony Elanga had an effort cleared off the line.
The Hatters struck in the 89th minute to secure a valuable point when Berry poked home from Reece Burke’s nod down inside the box to prevent Forest pulling away from the bottom three and keep the gap at three points.
- Listen to our Inside Politics Podcast for the latest analysis and chat
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
