Spurs Crush Fulham

A brace from Jermain Defoe helped Tottenham Hotspur to a 3-0 away win over London rivals Fulham FC on Saturday. The win pushed Spurs into a 3-way tie for third in England’s Premier League at 26 points with Chelsea FC and West Bromwich Albion, who both lost matches on Saturday.

Brazilian Sandro opened the scoring with a 55th minute strike from 35 yards before Defoe netted his pair of goals. U.S. International star Clint Dempsey, who moved to Spurs in late August after playing the previous six seasons with Fulham, recorded an assist in his first match against his former club.

Spurs (8-5-2, 26 points) have won three Premier League games in a row to climb back up the table following a disappointing spell where they lost three in a row. Fulham (4-6-5, 17 points) continue their fall down the standings after a promising start to the season, extending their current winless run to seven games.

“Difficult place to come, we knew we would have to be patient and take our chances,” Dempsey told the @SpursOfficial Twitter. “Three wins in a row. Sandro showed he can score those goals before. He got us moving in the right direction”

Dempsey looked dangerous from the opening whistle, coming close to scoring in the sixth minute. The former New England Revolution star made a nice move at the top of the box, beating his defender before curling a shot just wide. Dempsey would fire just wide again twenty minutes later.

But despite Spurs controlling the possession, the visitors were unable to really test Fulham ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer in the first half and the two sides went into the break scoreless.

Brazilian midfielder Sandro would break the deadlock in the 55^th minute. After receiving the ball, Sandro took a few touches before seeing an opening and blasting a shot from 35 yards. Schwarzer looked to be in position to make the save, but the ball bounced right in front of him and past the Australian’s outstretched arms.

Five minutes later Spurs nearly added a second as Defoe played Gareth Bale behind the defense. The Welsh midfielder’s shot was punched away by a well-positioned Schwarzer. Bale appeared to pull a muscle taking the shot and was substituted out for Gylfi Sigurdsson soon after.

Defoe would put the visitors ahead 2-0 in the 71^st minute after Sigurdsson managed to turn his defender just inside the box and then slide a pass across goal. Defoe was well positioned to tap the ball in.

Six minutes later it was Defoe with his second. This time Dempsey pushed forward through the Fulham defense before sending a through ball through several defenders to Defoe. Defoe took a touch before slotting it past Schwarzer to give Spurs a commanding 3-0 lead. It was Defoe’s ninth Premier League goal of the season and 12^th through all competitions for Spurs. The assist was Dempsey’s third of the season and second in three games.

Tottenham returns to action on Thursday with a home match against Greek side Panathinaikos in Europa League action. A draw would clinch a spot in the knockout stages for Spurs.

Dempsey’s assist: