Fulham players celebrate a goal. Photo: Photosport
Fulham put a sizeable dent in Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League top-four hopes as in-form Rodrigo Muniz's double earned them an impressive 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage.
Tottenham could have moved above Aston Villa into fourth place in the standings with a win but apart from a brief spell before halftime were lackadaisical and could have no complaints.
Muniz broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute and scored again just past the hour mark to finish off Tottenham after Sasa Lukic had doubled Fulham's lead shortly after the interval.
It completed a notable home double for Fulham over Tottenham having also knocked them out of the League Cup.
Tottenham remain in fifth place with 53 points from 28 games while Fulham are in 12th spot with 38 points from 29 games.
A 4-0 win at Villa last week had given Tottenham momentum in the race for Champions League qualification but they came back down to earth with the sort of capitulation their fans hoped had become a thing of the past since Ange Postecoglou took charge.
"In the second half we didn't get to grips with the game. The intensity dropped," Postecoglou said.
"Our final third play wasn't great. But it's more the overall play that was disappointing. There are things we've done all year we've prided ourselves on, our intensity and tempo, but that wasn't there in the second half.
"We couldn't get any control or traction in the game."
The only surprise in a chance-packed first half was that it remained scoreless for 42 minutes.
Fulham started with far more urgency than their visitors with Andreas Pereira in the thick of the action.
He almost scored with Fulham's first attack, his shot deflecting off Cristian Romero and fizzing wide. Soon afterwards when Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario spilled a low cross into his path he again was denied by a superb block from Romero.
Vicario also made smart saves from Lukic and Willian before Tottenham finally began to offer some threat.
Son Heung-min blazed one chance over, Brennan Johnson shot straight at Bernd Leno after a slick passing move and Radu Dragusin, making his first start for Spurs, dragged an effort well wide having found himself in a great position.
James Maddison also went close for the visitors but Fulham went ahead when Antonee Robinson's superb low cross took out the entire Tottenham defence and Muniz's touch was perfect before drilling his shot across Vicario and into the net.
It took only four minutes of the second half for Fulham to double their lead as Alex Iwobi fed a pass to the over-lapping Timothy Castagne and his low cross was touched in by Lukic.
Tottenham were reeling and were on the canvas just past the hour mark as 22-year-old Brazilian Muniz poached his second goal of the game and seventh in his last seven, bundling in after Calvin Bassey's shot hit the post.
Tottenham were spared further embarrassment a minute later when Joao Palhinha's shot was glanced in by substitute Raul Jimenez but he was ruled offside.
Substitutes Richarlison and Timo Werner had some late chances for Tottenham whose run of scoring in 38 successive league games came to a disappointing end.
For Fulham it was another joyful day on the banks of the river Thames as they secured their ninth home win of the season.
Chris Wood scores for Forest
Luton Town salvaged a point against Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw after substitute Luke Berry scored an 89th-minute equaliser to cancel out Chris Wood's first-half goal.
Forest looked set to move up to 15th with three valuable points but Berry equalised four minutes after coming on to secure Luton's first point at Kenilworth Road since January, sparking wild celebrations from the home fans.
Visitors Forest remained 17th in the standings with 25 points from 29 matches. Luton are three points behind in 18th place.
Forest's Divock Origi came close to scoring in the 17th minute when he beat Luton keeper Thomas Kaminski with a flick but could not finish, and his shot in the 32nd minute was blocked by a sprinting Reece Burke.
Wood, who scored a double against Luton in October's 2-2 draw, put Forest ahead just two minutes later when he volleyed Morgan Gibbs-White's perfectly lobbed cross into the net.
Teden Mengi thought he had equalised for Luton from a corner eight minutes later but referee Darren England spotted the former Manchester United defender controlling the ball with his arm and disallowed the goal.
Luton built pressure on the visitors with back to back corners towards the end of regulation time and it finally paid off when Ross Barkley's corner was headed down in the box by Reece Burke for Berry to score.
"The manager told me to get forward, get a goal. Get off the strikers and sniffing on the knockdown from the corner," Berry said.
"We needed to not lose... we're still three (points) off them with nine games to go so still a lot to play for."
"The players have shown quality and bravery as well as that fighting spirit," Luton manager Rob Edwards told the BBC.
"We will never give up. We will always keep going. They're a special, special group."
Burnley notch rare win
Jacob Bruun Larsen and David Datro Fofana scored either side of halftime to give relegation-threatened Burnley a 2-1 victory over 10-man Brentford, only their fourth Premier League win this season.
Vincent Kompany's Burnley are 19th in the table and eight points adrift of safety, while Brentford are four points above the drop zone in 15th.
"It had been coming. We started the game well and there was a lot of energy in the team," Kompany told Sky Sports.
"On another day we could have scored more - we didn't make life easy for ourselves - but we get to celebrate with three points.
"These teams are always able to do something with their quality, but we did what we had to do to manage this game."
Brentford's Sergio Reguilon was shown a red card in the ninth minute -- the fastest sending-off of a player in the league this season -- after a lengthy VAR check determined he grabbed Vitinho as the Brazilian was about to shoot.
Bruun Larsen calmly converted the penalty past the outstretched hands of Mark Flekken, prompting a big celebration from Kompany.
Datro Fofana, who missed a sitter in the first half, doubled Burnley's advantage in the 62nd minute on the counter-attack with a shot into the far corner.
Kristoffer Ajer pulled one back for the visitors with a diving header from Shandon Baptiste's cross in the 83rd minute, but the hosts held on for what could be a vital win.
Brentford piled on the pressure in added time and Burnley fans breathed a sigh of relief after Ivan Toney was penalised for a challenge on keeper Arijanet Muric as the ball curled into the net.
Burnley dominated possession in their first win in 11 Premier League games, having 17 shots to nine for Brentford who have gone six matches without a win.
"I'm very proud of the players and very proud of the effort they put into the game," Brentford manager Thomas Frank said.
"The effort and mentality to keep staying in the game was incredible. It's remarkable with 10 against 11 for more than 100 minutes."
- Reuters
