Two-goal Muniz helps on-fire Fulham savour rare triumph over sleepy Tottenham
Fulham (1) 3 Muniz 42, 61 Lukic 49
Tottenham (0) 0
Rodrigo Muniz fired home his sixth and seventh goals in as many games as the Whites cashed in on their greater appetite to claim a first home win in the league against the north Londoners for more than 15 years.
They played on the front foot from the word go and Spurs' response was wholly inadequate, making a mockery of the supposed incentive of climbing up to the fourth Champions League spot with a win.
The Brazilian has been a revelation in recent weeks and has undoubtedly played a key part in rescuing Fulham from mid-table atrophy. He is starting to warm to his role and the fans are warming to him as the potential heir to Aleksandar Mitrovic they yearn for.
His first goal came just before the break, courtesy of a truly sublime low cross from way out on the left flank from Antonee Robinson to give the Whites a deserved lead. His second came not long after Sasa Lukic had bagged his first goal for Fulham.
The second half had barely begun when Alex Iwobi found Timothy Castagne overlapping and the defender's low cross was met by Lukic - darting between defenders to deflect the ball home off his knee to make it 2-0.
Could it get better? It definitely could, and when Calvin Bassey turned around Cristian Romero to fire a left-footer powerfully at goal, the parry from Guglielmo Vicario fell into space and Muniz nudged it home, taking a whack from Radu Dragusin for his troubles, which cut short his contribution. But it was probably worth it.
Ange Postecoglou threw on Timo Werner, Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison. Finally there were some signs of life from the visitors, and several chances went begging, but the damage had been done.
With only 11 wins in 77 previous league encounters between the sides, Whites fans know they should make the most of this winning feeling against Spurs.
A League Cup win on penalties against them at the beginning of the season was a welcome break from a tired losing routine. In the previous nine league meetings, Fulham had lost eight with just a solitary draw for comfort.
Marco Silva's men started so brightly., you could sense there was something in the air. Willian and Andreas Pereira both lead forceful raids, with Iwobi doing his bit with bursts down the right channel and Robinson getting behind the Spurs defence several times to get in dangerous crosses - one of which led to the opener..
It took Spurs a while to find their feet. They could easily have led when Destiny Udogie's cross found James Maddison in space on the edge of the area and a low shot flashed past a static Bernd Leno.
But the early optimism soon evaporated and this was as far removed as is possible from the high-press masterclass at Aston Villa which saw them win so handsomely in the Midlands last Sunday.
Once again, Joao Palhinha played as if it were his last day on earth with not a second to waste.
He was punching the air with glee as he ran towards the Hammy End following Muniz's second goal, going wild when he thought he'd added a fourth goal (It was ruled out) and picking up a record 12th booking of the campaign.
His uncompromising approach set the tone that the others followed in what may well have been Fulham's best performance of the season - even factoring a brace of 5-0 wins and that famous victory at Old Trafford.
Whites: (4-2-3-1) Leno - Castagne (Tete 82), Tosin, Bassey, Robinson - Joao Palhinha, Lukic (Reed 82) - Willian, Pereira (Wilson 72), Iwobi (Decordova-Reid 82) - Muniz (Jimenez 64)
Spurs: (4-2-3-1) Vicario - Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Udogie - Bissouma (Hojbjerg), Sarr (Werner 66) - Kulusevski, Maddison (Bentancur 66), Johnson (Richarlison 80) - Son (Lo Celso 87)
Attendance: 24,410
