Tottenham dropped out of the English League Cup
* Score: Van de Ven owns an own goal 19' - Richarlison 56'
On the 11m mark, all five Fulham shooters succeeded, including Andreas Pereira, Raul Jimenez, Harry Wilson, Joao Palhinha and Kenny Tete. On the opposite side, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison successfully shot, and Davinson Sanchez sank to the right and was saved by goalkeeper Marek Rodak in the third round, causing Tottenham to lose 3-5.
Tottenham have been eliminated from the second round of the League Cup for the first time since 2005, and the London side also parted ways with the only arena that has given them the title in 30 years. The last time Tottenham lifted the League Cup was in the 2007-2008 season, when they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final, thanks to Dimitar Berbatov and Jonathan Woodgate.
At Craven Cottage yesterday, although Tottenham did not attend the European Cups and played only 10 matches in the next three months, coach Ange Postecoglou still used the reserve team when leaving pillars like Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma or Cristian Romero sit out. He replaced nine starting positions compared to the 2-0 win at Bournemouth in the third round of the English Premier League on August 26.
Meanwhile, despite six changes from the 2-2 draw at Arsenal last weekend, Fulham still started the match with the main group of players including Issa Diop, Kenny Tete, Joao Palhinha, Antonee Robinson and De Cordova -Reid, and rookie Adama Traore got his first start.
The match was even, with Tottenham controlling the ball 60%, finishing 10 times with three shots on target - compared to 14 and 3 for the hosts.
Fulham entered the game better and opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Tom Cairney pitched the ball on the left flank to eliminate Davinson Sanchez and then stretch it across the box. In an attempt to stop Bobby Reid from finishing, centre-back Micky Van de Ven accidentally counter-kick with a heel strike that changed direction beyond the reach of goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
In the second half, Tottenham equalized the score thanks to Richarlison. From Ivan Perisic's cross on the left, the Brazilian forward moved to the far post and headed diagonally past Rodak, scoring his first goal of the new season. After that, coach Postecoglou launched Son, Kulusevski, Pape Matar Sarr and Maddison in turn, but could not find the decisive goal, and then fell on the 11m mark.
After the match, Postecoglou admitted Tottenham played incoherently in the first half because of the change of almost the entire starting lineup, including many players who started this season for the first time. The 58-year-old coach said that Spurs showed their quality, playing better in the second half but could not take advantage of the opportunity.
When asked about the decision to use the reserve team, Postecoglou replied: "Tottenham don't play in Europe, so how can I find out about the players? What opportunity will I have to do that outside of the game? ? They are part of the club. I think they can bring another source of energy tonight, and that doesn't mean the League Cup or this game isn't a priority for Tottenham."
