Harry Kane finally breaks his August goal drought as Spurs maintain perfect start with victory over Fulham

Tottenham 3-1 Fulham: Aleksandar Mitrovic cancelled out Lucas Moura’s opening goal but England duo Kieran Trippier and Kane gave Spurs a comfortable victory at Wembley

Striker scored his first goal in August in his professional career (AFP)

More summer 2018 heroics from two of England’s World Cup semi-finalists made this look a far more comfortable victory for Tottenham Hotspur than it was. With the scores level at 1-1 and Fulham beginning to believe that they might just frustrate signingless Spurs, man-of-the-match Kieran Trippier curled home a 28-yard free kick that was every bit as good as his effort in the semi-final against Croatia in Moscow. Not to be outdone, Harry Kane, the Golden Boot winner in Russia, struck three minutes later, scoring an overdue first league goal in August.

Lucas Moura had put Spurs ahead two minutes before half-time with his first Premier League goal since moving from Paris Saintt-Germain in January for £25m. Aleksandar Mitrovic levelled seven minutes into the second half.

So Spurs have taken maximum points from their opening two fixtures despite becoming the first Premier League club to make no additions to their squad during a summer transfer window. Fulham, who acquired 13 new players on permanent or loan deals for an outlay of over £100m, have lost both their first two games after gaining promotion last season. But few conclusions should be drawn from those statistics.

More challenging opponents than Newcastle United and Fulham lie in wait for Tottenham, who have distractions over their new ground to overcome. And although Fulham looked naïve at times, they were dangerous and canny at others, forcing Hugo Lloris to make good saves at key moments.

True, the first half was mostly a procession towards the Fulham goal. Moura, unmarked, headed Ben Davies’ cut-back wide from six yards, then wasted a clever interception with a heavy touch. Kane pulled a shot past the near post on the turn and Christian Eriksen drove two good chances wide.

Luvas Moura celebrates after putting Spurs ahead (Reuters)

Fulham captain Tom Cairney did better when a chance finally came Fulham’s way in the 27th minute but Lloris was equal to his curling low shot. Eriksen finally got one on target after 33 minutes, an ambitious 30-yard free kick, but Fabri was down smartly to his left to save.

Fulham, though, could have gone ahead six minutes before the interval as Ryan Sessegnon charged onto Jean Michael Seri’s cute ball over the defence only to find Lloris charging off his line to smother his shot.

Instead Tottenham went in ahead. In the 43rd minute, Trippier, returning to the team after World Cup duty, sent the latest of many probing passes to the near post, Eriksen pulled the ball back towards Kane and although Calum Chambers flicked it away from the England striker, Moura ran onto his clearance and curled a first-time shot in off the far post from 18 yards.

Aleksandar Mitrovic fires home Fulham's equaliser (Reuters)

But if Tottenham expected Fulham to wave a white flag, they were disappointed. Mitrovic sent a low shot against the base of a post and after 51 minutes he equalised. The Spurs defence was asleep as Mitrovic lunged unsuccessfully at Joe Bryan’s cross from the left, and still flat-footed to a man when Sessegnon returned the ball to the Serbian striker, who headed in from a prone position a yard out.

Would Tottenham have the resources to respond? Alli mis-hit a shot when Fabri flapped at a cross from the right, allowing Maxime Le Marchand to block, and both Alli and Kane over-elaborated when a shot was on. Eric Dier’s angled shot turned into a brilliant cross that Kane volleyed against the crossbar from four yards out.

Kieran Trippier scores free-kick to put Spurs back in front (Getty)

Fulham scented a first point on their return to the Premier League but when they conceded a free kick 28 yards out after 73 minutes, their resistance was broken. Trippier stepped up and sent the ball curling over the wall and away from Fabri’s right hand and into the corner of the net.

The visitors had to come out again, but Tottenham substitute Erik Lamela charged through the gaps they left and found Kane, who cut inside from the left and poked a low shot past Fabri for his first ever professional goal in August.

Teams

Tottenham Hotspur (3-5-2): Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez (Dembele 63), Vertonghen; Trippier, Eriksen, Dier (Lamela 73), Alli, Davies; Moura, Kane (Winks 89).

Substitutes not used: Vorm, Rose, Sissoko, Aurier.

Fulham (4-5-1): Fabri; Fosu-Mensah, Chambers, Le Marchand, Bryan (Christie 84); Sessegnon, Anguissa, Cairney (Johansen 73), Seri, Kamara (Schurrle 88); Mitrovic.

Substitutes not used: Rico, McDonald, Kebano, Vietto.

Referee: Anthony Taylor