VAR officials will not be getting too chummy with Antonio Conte anytime soon, as the Spurs manager pulled no punches following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, where Thilo Kehrer’s own goal was cancelled out by a second-half Tomas Soucek effort.
Spurs thought they had been awarded a penalty when the ball struck Aaron Cresswell on the arm in the first half, but referee Peter Bankes overturned the decision when he was sent to look at the monitor, which prompted a lengthy tirade from Conte after the game.
The Tottenham boss cannot deny that West Ham were presented with the best chances to take maximum points on the night, but the Lilywhites’ 11-point haul is currently good enough for third placebehind champions Manchester City and North London rivals Arsenal.
Tottenham can close the gap on the perfect Gunners to just one point before their capital counterparts face Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, but there is the small matter of their Champions League opener with Marseille to take into account next Wednesday.
Conte’s men can take confidence in the fact that they have now strung together an 11-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League, as well as winning each of their last five top-flight matches on home soil, but Fulham are taking to life back in the top flight with professionalism and aplomb.
Trying to end Arsenal’s perfect start to the new season was a step too far for Fulham, but handing Brighton their first defeat of the 2022-23 campaign was on the agenda for Marco Silva’s side, who continue to make waves in the top division.
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s fifth goal of the season and Lewis Dunk’s own goal put Fulham two up before Alexis Mac Allistermanaged to restore parity from the penalty spot, but there was to be no dramatic late comeback for the Seagulls at Craven Cottage.
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Boasting a respectable eight points from the first 15 points on offer, Fulham are currently competing in the upper echelons of the table as they lie in seventh place, but they could be knocked out of the European spots if Manchester United get the better of Leicester City on Thursday evening.
On a more pessimistic note, Fulham are still waiting for their first away win in any competition this season after also going down 2-0 to Crawley Town in an EFL Cup giant killing, and they also failed to win any of their last three Championship games on the road last term.
Fulham managed to hold Tottenham to a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during the 2020-21 Premier League season, but the Lilywhites ran out 1-0 winners at Craven Cottage and are unbeaten in seven against their London rivals since 2013.
