Fulham v Tottenham player ratings: evening to forget for Harry Kane, heartbreak for Tosin Adarabioyo

Spurs get lucky as 1-0 victory keeps top-four hopes alive

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  FULHAM RATINGS: Alphonse Areola, 7 – Commanded his penalty area well throughout and cannot be blamed for conceding an unfortunate own goal in the first half following Tosin’s faintest of deflections. Stopped Harry Kane twice, though those two saves were the only ones he had to make all evening. EPA

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  Ola Aina, 6 – Limited Tottenham to just two shots on target throughout the game via a rather risky tactic that saw Fulham’s back four use the 18-yard line as a stick or twist marker to play the offside trap. It worked well, though could have backfired on occasions. Will be disappointed nothing was made of the chances developed in the second half. Getty

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  Joachim Andersen, 7 – Has made a big impact on Fulham’s defence since joining from Lyon in November. He could’ve grabbed a goal of his own when Lloris was forced into tipping a well-placed flicked on header over his crossbar. EPA

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  Tosin Adarabioyo, 6 – Can consider himself unfortunate to register an own goal when the faintest of touches from Dele Alli’s neat flick-on was misguided into the back of the hosts’ net. Equally, will perhaps be frustrated not to register his first goal for Fulham when a strong second half header from a corner was comfortably saved. PA

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  Antonee Robinson, 7 – Responsible for the best in-possession run forwards of the game when picking the pockets of several visiting midfielders and defenders to tee up a shot from Lemina at the conclusion of the first half, a shot that was disappointingly ballooned over the crossbar. Getty

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  Harrison Reed, 6 – Used his visionary skills well to deliver a number of good balls from his midfield slot. But his overall output was perhaps hindered by Spurs’ ability to dominate the midfield due to holding an extra man in that area of the pitch. Getty

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  Mario Lemina, 5 – Will be kicking himself for missing a fantastic opportunity to equalise in the final seconds of the first half following Robinson’s outstanding run down the left. Similarly, will want the seconds back leading to Maja’s disallowed goal as he frustratingly handled the ball. An evening of frustration for sure. EPA

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  Ivan Cavaleiro, 6 – Occasionally isolated himself from Spurs’ players who largely crowded midfield areas of the pitch. But generally it was a quiet performance from Cavaleiro before he was subbed off in favour of Mitrovic with 20 minutes of play remaining. AP

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  Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 5 – Got onto the ball early and displayed good skill to move possession around. But these were only flashes of promise, ultimately Loftus-Cheek lacked an end product – something that epitomises Fulham’s season as the club desperately attempts to climb out of the bottom three. AP

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  Ademola Lookman, 6 – Improved markedly in the second half when doubling up with Robinson, before he was subbed off, down the left side to outnumber Doherty and cause Jose Mourinho’s men serious problems. Appeared to play sharply and was one of the hosts’ biggest dangers amid their resurgence which led to nothing. EPA

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  Josh Maja, 6 – Scored a marvellous goal that beat Lloris at his near post, though it was cruelly ruled out for handball following a VAR review. Wasn’t quite on the same page as his midfield teammates – particularly Lookman – before that incident. Remains without a goal at Craven Cottage, albeit from just three home appearances. Getty

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  SUBSTITUTES: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (for Loftus-Cheek, 63), 6 – Excellent work rate from minute one when forcing Spurs’ defenders into unforced errors. Just couldn’t pick out that magic cross to assist an equaliser. PA

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  Aleksandar Mitrovic (for Cavaleiro, 71), N/A – A little flat footed in the box when he could’ve been more exuberant amid Fulham’s efforts to snatch a late point. Joe Bryan (for Robinson, 74), N/A – Understandably left a couple of gaps during his time on the pitch as Fulham went all out to find an equaliser. AP

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  TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris, 7 – A busier night than what Lloris had perhaps bargained for, but he celebrated his recent 100th Premier League clean sheet in style by delivering another. Solid footwork throughout, claimed crosses well and distribution was on point. Fortunate to see Maja’s goal ruled out for a controversial VAR handball call. AP

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  Matt Doherty, 5 – Too often found himself outnumbered on the right side of the pitch, though admittedly that was no fault of his own. Was sloppy on occasions and didn’t make the most of possession when the ball was at his feet, nor did he provide enough attacking wise. But, another clean sheet to add to his books. AFP

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  Davinson Sanchez, 7 – Worked hard and crucially put his body on the line to block out several shots and prevent others going Lloris’ way. Rather fortunate to see his off-balance clearance strike the arm of Lemina that ultimately ruled out the hosts’ equalising goal. AFP

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  Toby Alderweireld, 8 – Appeared to play on the left side of Sanchez more comfortably than when holding central defensive role on the right. Did very little wrong throughout the 90 minutes and helped Spurs register a third clean sheet within a week. EPA

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  Ben Davies, 6 – Worked hard, but his performance wasn’t comparable to the likes of Doherty and Sanchez in the heart of Spurs’ defence. Found the going particularly tough in the second half but dug in to help Spurs grind out another clean sheet. EPA

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  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 7 – Good positioning initially, but too often had no real targets to aim at until Spurs eventually established a foothold in the game. Though Spurs lacked clarity in midfield at times, this was a hard-working performance from Hojbjerg who may wake up feeling a little weary after taking a number of shots to the body. Getty

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  Tanguy Ndombele, 6 – Possessed his usual powerful presence in midfield while doing his best to drive Spurs forward when in possession of the ball. Swapped roles when Alli left of the field just after the hour mark and didn’t quite impact the game as he would’ve liked as a number 10. AP

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  Gareth Bale, 6 – An unbalanced performance. Although Bale ultimately kick-started Spurs’ move which led to the game’s only goal, he did curl a free kick underwhelmingly over the hosts’ crossbar from a good position and equally failed in his attempt to score from a set piece some 30 yards out. Subbed. EPA

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  Dele Alli, 7 – Will feel a little aggrieved to have come off as early as he did, although that decision could’ve been made with rest in mind. Persistent in the six-yard box and was productive throughout the first half by putting chances on a plate for teammates, but he got on the end of balls too. EPA

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  Son Heung-Min, 7 – Teed up Spurs’ only goal when Dele’s flick-on was fortuitously guided into the back of the net by Tosin midway through the first half. There were several other good deliveries into the box too, most notably when Kane squandered a chance on 17 minutes after Son delivered a wicked cross with the outside of his boot. AFP

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  Harry Kane, 5 – Probably an evening to quickly forget for Kane. Not only did he miss two fantastic opportunities to firstly open the scoring and then put the game to bed, but also had a VAR check for a penalty turned down. Rare he squanders chances like that. AP

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  SUBSTITUTES: Lucas Moura (for Bale, 66), 5 – Minimal involvement, though he did slice a follow up shot disappointingly wide in the closing minutes. Reuters

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  Mousa Sissoko (for Alli, 66), 6 – Had to work hard alongside Hojbjerg to keep Fulham out of Spurs’ net in the final 25 minutes. Erik Lamela (for Ndombele, 75), N/A – Good creative performance in the quarter-of-an-hour he featured as Spurs nursed their way towards three crucial points. Getty

Tottenham Hotspur rode their luck in their hunt for a top-four finish with a 1-0 victory at Fulham on Thursday thanks to an own-goal by Tosin Adarabioyo and the intervention from VAR.

Victory dragged Tottenham back into the race for a Champions League spot with Jose Mourinho's eighth-placed side on 42 points from 26 matches, four points behind Everton in fourth.

Tottenham took the lead from a quick counter-attack in the 19th minute when Son Heung-min's cross was met by Dele Alli before going over the line following a touch by Adarabioyo.

Fulham began the second half with purpose and thought they had equalised through Josh Maja but his effort was chalked off by VAR after Davinson Sanchez kicked the ball onto Mario Lemina's hand as Tottenham looked to clear.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.