Tottenham captain Son Heung-min described the 3-0 defeat to Fulham as “unacceptable” and urged his team-mates to use the game as a wake-up call
Spurs got off to a strong start to the game with a comfortable win against Aston Villa last weekend
So fifth-placed Tottenham could have taken the three points at Craven Cottage and overtook Villa to regain fourth place, but Rodrigo Muniz continued their good form with goals either side of half-time
I was overwhelmed
Sasa Lukic also scored his first goal after 49 minutes against Fulham, who have now won four of their last six games
“Yes, it’s very disappointing and very frustrating,” Son told Sky Sports
“Everyone has to look in the mirror and say, ‘It’s my fault,’ because it wasn’t good enough
” It was nowhere near the level we had been striving for all season
“This time I was very, very disappointed
My attitude and performance were not good enough
I think everyone needs this as a big wake-up call
“That’s unacceptable
You’re always taking lessons, but the performance and results were unacceptable to me too
“We’ve taken two steps back and now we’ve taken a big step forward
We have to because we have important games coming up after the international break and they will be very important
” Tottenham started poorly and would have conceded two goals during the game
They had a chance in the first 11 minutes, but Cristian Romero made a decisive save to deny Muñiz and Andrea Pereira
The visitors finally regained their composure and came close with captain Son and James Maddison missing a goal from inside the box, and Fulham beat Spurs in the 42nd minute
Anthony Robinson sent in a great cross from the left, which Muniz controlled and curled a side-footed shot into the bottom corner
The score was 2-0 just after half-time, but Muniz made it 1-0 61 minutes later when Lukic’s knee deflected Alex Iwobi’s cross
Calvin Bassey’s shot hit the post by Guglielmo Vicario and Muniz scored his seventh goal in his last seven games, handing Tottenham a tough defeat
coach Ange Postecoglou expressed his disappointment and reiterated his previously expressed view that Champions League qualification is not important for the team’s development
“In the second half, after we conceded the second goal, we just couldn’t reach the intensity and pace that we had all year,” Postecoglou said
“After that, it was very difficult to gain control or traction in the game
It was a disappointing night for us as we seemed to be cornered the entire time
Having missed the chance to get back into fourth place, Postecoglou replied: “I don’t think fourth place is a prize
” “This club has already been fourth
We’ve already been second
“Fourth place is not my ultimate goal
I don’t want to finish fourth if we are not growing and developing as a team
“In my opinion, success is based on something more tangible
If we finish fifth and think we have a team that can challenge next year (after the summer transfer window), then you can’t be disappointed
No
” They finished fourth in their last six games, including wins over Brighton and Manchester United
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