Sessegnon sinks Spurs
Yesterday at 01:43 PM
Ryan Sessegnon returned to haunt hapless Tottenham Hotspur by sealing a fine Fulham victory over his former club with a sensational strike just seconds after coming off the bench. The Whites were already a goal to the good, thanks to a composed finish from another substitute Rodrigo Muniz, when Sessegnon – who spent five frustrating years at Spurs – stole a bouncing ball from the brittle Ben Davies and found the top corner with a remarkable right-footed finish in front of the Hammersmith End. Sessegnon didn’t celebrate proving his point, settling for a subdued patting of the Fulham crest, but his redemption arc is richly deserved.
Marco Silva’s substitutes settled a game that Fulham always looked the likelier to win, even if the home side had struggled to put Postecoglu’s disjointed outfit to the sword. They weren’t helped by referee Andy Madeley’s failure to spot a shove on Raul Jimenez by former Fulham full-back Djed Spence before Christian Romero reacted quickest to touch a dangerous Antonee Robinson cross away from the Mexican veteran. Timothy Castagne held his head after shooting tamely at Guglielmo Vicario after a woeful clearance from Davies.
Tottenham’s only sight of goal in the first half came when Mathys Tel tricked his way past Castagne but the cross-cum-shot evaded Brennan Johnson and Fulham breathed a huge sigh of relief. The hosts finished the first half on the front foot with Alex Iwobi seeing a shot blocked after a sublme touch from Raul Jimenez and Joachim Andersen came close with a header. But Spurs almost took advantage of Fulham’s sloppy start to the second half, with former Bournemouth striker Dominc Solanke glancing a couple of headers wide of the target. It felt as if Tottenham had grown in confidence once Son and James Maddison stepped off the bench.
Maddison, omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad on Thursday, soon set up a chance for Solanke, but the centre forward contrived to scoop the ball into the Putney End after Leno had kept out Solanke’s initial strike. Fulham laboured without looking especially threatening, but Silva added what his charges needed from the bench. Willian bent a wonderous effort from 20 yards inches past the far post and the Craven Cottage crowd found their voice. Muniz started and finished the game’s most consequential move, having won a header on the half way line. The bright Brazilian kept on running and found the far corner with a lovely finish after Pereira had prodded the ball into the striker’s path.
Muniz’s ninth goal of a superb season give Fulham something to hold onto but even after Postecoglou had emptied his bench, Silva sent on Sessegnon for Willian. The former Spurs man needed just over a minute to make his mark on this game and his evident was in the way he brushed aside Davies before bending in a majestic finish. The Roehampton native wouldn’t take any solace IN seeing Spurs slip down to fifteenth, but Tuchel could do worse than consider Sessegnon as an option. The only English side to lift the World Cup had a Fulham stalwart amongst their number: it isn’t now quite as fanciful to suggest Sessegnon, a scorer of superb goals, as the 2026 version of George Cohen.
Silva was adamant that Fulham would bounce back from their brutal late beaten at Brighton and this was some way to his celebrate his 200th game as a Premier League manager. The Portuguese genius will be eyeing a revenge mission against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-final, but the Whites have quietly crept back into the European conversation with this hard-fought victory.
FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Andersen, Bassey; Berge, Pereira; Iwobi (Traore 63), Willian (R. Sessegnon 87), Smith Rowe (Cairney 72); Jimenez (Muniz 63). Subs (not used): Benda, Cuenca, King, Godo.
GOALS: Muniz (78), R. Sessegnon (88).
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (4-3-3): Vicario, Spence, Udogie, Romero (Maddison 68), Davies; Bentacur (Scarlet 69), Gray, Bisoumma (Bergvall 45); Johnson, Tel (Odobert 77), Solanke (Scarlett 86). Subs (not used): Kinsky, Porro, Sarr, van de Veen
REFEREE: Andy Madeley (West Yokrshire).
ATTENDANCE: 27,182.
