Fansided

Fans left with more questions than answers after Tottenham’s victory

By Kameron Duncan

20th January 2019, Craven Cottage, London, England; EPL Premier League football, Fulham versus Tottenham Hotspur; Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham challenge on Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur resulted in Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur picking up a hamstring injury (photo by John Patrick Fletcher/Action Plus via Getty Images)
20th January 2019, Craven Cottage, London, England; EPL Premier League football, Fulham versus Tottenham Hotspur; Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham challenge on Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur resulted in Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur picking up a hamstring injury (photo by John Patrick Fletcher/Action Plus via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Spurs found a way to win without Harry Kane against Fulham, but an injury to another star could lead them scrambling for another solution in the weeks to come.

Tottenham’s gritty win against Fulham on Sunday was a microcosm of their season to date: through adversity and with their backs against the wall, they’ve still found reasonable success at every turn. It looked as if Spurs would drop a crucial two points to a Fulham side attempting to stave off relegation. Harry Winks’ late goal made sure that didn’t happen, but the win seems more like a proverbial band-aid than a cure for Spurs’ numerous ailments.

Many wondered how Spurs would be able to get on without their star, forward Harry Kane. An ankle injury will keep the multi-time goal leader out until March at the earliest. Manager Mauricio Pochettino will be tasked with finding a suitable replacement in his stead, and the first of what are likely to be several auditions for that spot came today.

Fernando Llorente was the first to assume the role of lead striker in Poch’s production today, and the results left much to be desired. Llorente was anything but clinical in front of goal and even played a major part in a nightmare of a scenario that led to an own goal. Perhaps most puzzling is the manner in which Llorente missed two clear chances in front of goal. Known for being an adept header of the ball, the striker failed to convert two headed efforts.

If Pochettino makes a change, the next player to take on the role of striker would ideally be Dele Alli. Unfortunately, Alli suffered a leg injury in Sunday’s game and his availability for the future is in doubt.

This obviously leaves Tottenham very thin in terms of forwards, something that could create problems in this stretch of the season. They’ve shown an ability to adjust to adversity this season, but eventually, injuries and poor play tend to catch up to a team. Now that they basically have no other option (at least for the immediate future) than Llorente, they’ll need more from him as an attacking player in the next few weeks.

Despite the performance of certain players and Alli’s injury, there were some positive takeaways from Tottenham’s performance. They were obviously able to win the game under extremely adverse circumstances and therefore remain comfortably in third – at least for now. Players like Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (who assisted Winks on the winning goal) showed that even though Tottenham’s depth will be tested, they still have players who are capable of making an impact on the game.

As far as the Premier League is concerned, Tottenham should be able to win most of their next several games – at least on paper. Today’s game showed that the real results could be a lot more difficult to achieve. Spurs do play Chelsea later this week in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, a fixture that could throw a wrench in the plans of a team ravaged by injury.

As they’ve done many times this season, Spurs found a way to win, even with the deck stacked against them. They remain in third, and seem intent on holding their status as one of the best teams in the Premier League. But with injuries to some of their best players continuing to pile up, how much longer can they be expected to perform at this level?

Home/Premier League