Tottenham Hotspur recorded their third Premier League win inside a week with a 3-0 triumph over London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon.
Jermain Defoe scored a second-half brace as Martin Jol's Cottagers were condemned to a seventh winless game by his former club.
The result lifts Spurs back into the Champions League positions, but another game without victory saw Fulham drop into the bottom half of the table.
Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action in West London.
Match statistics:
Fulham:
Shots: 8
On target: 2
Possession: 42%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 10
Spurs:
Shots: 10
On target: 6
Possession: 58%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 8
Was the result fair?
Spurs were very flat in the first period, and despite not being that much better in the second, they are deserving of the points due to a couple of excellent moments going forward. It was not that they had more chances, but just that they had a clinical striker in Defoe to take them when they came around. After Spurs were gifted the opener by a Mark Schwarzer mistake, Defoe applied the finishing touches to great work from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Clint Dempsey respectively to make the result more emphatic than the action suggested.
Fulham's performance
They were the better side during the opening period. Berbatov's magical feet were on top form as he cut the Spurs defence open several times with an array of delightful first-time flicks. Unfortunately, none of his fellow Fulham attackers had the quality to build on his good work. Ashkan Dejagah was lively down the wing, and Steve Sidwell feisty and energetic in midfield but their belief seemed to drop when Schwarzer gifted Tottenham the lead.
Tottenham's performance
Very slow and uninspired in attack during the first half, with even Gareth Bale and Moussa Dembele lacking in ideas. Seemingly buoyed by Sandro's opener, Sigurdsson and Dempsey did well to carve out chances for Defoe and the England predator was assured as ever with his finishing. A quiet day for Hugo Lloris, whose defence, particularly Jan Vertonghen, were very solid in front of him.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jermain Defoe - Goals win games and the England international's clinical finishing was probably the difference between the two teams on this day. Credit to Sigurdsson and the ever-improving Dempsey, who was also excellent, for providing the frontman with the service that he thrives on.
Biggest gaffe
Schwarzer's error could have been the game-changing moment. The usually-reliable Australian was fooled by a long-range Sandro strike, which he let slip under his body and into the net.
Referee's performance
Chris Foy awarded Gareth Bale a harsh yellow card for diving, meaning that the Welshman has now been cautioned for simulation in consecutive games. Apart from that, he had very little to do.
What next?
Fulham: A nine-day rest before hosting another out-of-form side in the shape of Newcastle United next Monday night.
Spurs: A crunch Europa League tie against Panathinaikos, where a point is needed to secure qualification to the knockout stages.
Joe Fish
