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Three things learned about Tottenham v Fulham

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OPINION

Tottenham Hotspur started the Harry Kane-less era by labouring to a late 2-1 victory over Premier League strugglers Fulham on Sunday.

With the striker injured in the defeat to Manchester United last time out Mauricio Pochettino was forced to start Fernando Llorente up front against the Cottagers.

The Spaniard and his team mates never really got firing on all cylinders, but managed to steal all three points through Harry Winks’ late strike after Dele Alli had cancelled out Llorente’s first half own goal.

As usual there is much to be gleaned from the game, and This is Futbol has identified three things that can be learned from Tottenham’s win over Fulham.

Alli injury a major worry for Spurs

The injury suffered by Alli late on was the worst possible thing that could have happened in this game for Tottenham. The 22-year-old is one of Pochettino’s most important players and so to have him out for any length of time would be a big blow.

What makes it even worse, of course, is that Kane is already sidelined and Son Heung-min is away on international duty. The lack of goalscorers was evident at Craven Cottage even when Alli was on the pitch, imagine what it would be like without him.

Pochettino will be scrabbling for options and you wouldn’t be surprised to see the Argentine dip into the transfer market for a goalscorer after potentially losing a player who many people thought would provide the goals in Kane’s absence.

Llorente needs axing

Obviously Alli would have been a natural replacement for Llorente in a false nine sort of role, however, that may not be possible after seeing him come off injured on Sunday.

Still, Llorente, on a reported £75,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac], needs to be dropped. It was clear in this game that he’s just not on the same wavelength as his team mates and that he’s past his best.

Playing a fluid attack of Lucas Moura, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela would surely be preferable to watching any more of the former Swansea City man’s drivel. He’s just not up to the task of replacing Kane and so Pochettino should turn to a radical alternative.

Eriksen poor for majority

Eriksen, like many of his team mates, improved after the break, but he was woeful in the first half against Fulham. He didn’t look anything like his normal self, giving the ball away sloppily and failing to produce anything of note.

He did get an assist with a beautiful cross that was headed home by Alli, but other than that he did little of consequence on Sunday. He is such an important player for Tottenham and when he isn’t firing Spurs don’t really either.

He needs to do better in the coming weeks because the pressure will be firmly on his shoulders if Alli does, as expected, join Kane on the treatment table.

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