Fulham vs Tottenham analysis: Dele Alli, Fernando Llorente, Christian Eriksen, Ryan Babel and more

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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP20 January 2019

Tottenham survived the absence of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son as Harry Winks' stoppage-time header secured a vital 2-1 victory at Fulham.

The striker's ankle injury and Son's absence due to international duty had meant a rare start for Fernando Llorente, who after scoring an own goal also missed two fine chances to make amends.

Dele Alli's seventh of the season and then one from Winks, from essentially the match's last move, instead cruelly edged 19th-placed Fulham closer to relegation.

It kept Spurs on course for a top-three finish, even thought they are under increasing pressure from Manchester United.

Dan Kilpatrick assesses the key talking points at Craven Cottage...

In Pictures | Fulham vs Tottenham | 20/01/2019

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Llorente dismal

The big question pre-match was could Spurs cope without Harry Kane, sidelined with ankle ligament damage until at least the end of February.

Without the England captain – as well as Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura – Mauricio Pochettino handed a first league start in over 12 months to Fernando Llorente and there was more than a little irony when the Spaniard turned Jean-Michel Seri's corner into his own net after 17 minutes.

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It was a tidy finish, in fairness. The own goal, and two fluffed headed efforts either side of half-time, were Llorente's only memorable contributions in a dismal performance that did little suggest

Pochettino has been unfairly ignoring him over the past 18 months, nor that he can be an adequate stop-gap while Kane is sidelined.

Dele Alli and Eriksen step-up

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With Llorente abject, Dele Alli stepped up, equalising with a trademark back-post header from Christian Eriksen's cross. But any hopes that Alli could deputise for Kane in the next few weeks appeared to be dashed as he crumpled in a heap in the 83rd-minute clutching his hamstring.

Alli has already missed nine games this season with hamstring problems and it did not look good. A serious injury to the 22-year-old at the moment would genuinely be the worst possible news for Spurs given their other absentees, although his replacement Georges-Kevin Nkoudou genuinely surprised everyone with a brilliant assist for Harry Winks' winner.

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Given Spurs face four more games in the next two weeks, including Thursday's League Cup semi-final, second leg against Chelsea, they must hope Alli's injury is not as bad as it looked.

Dier return a welcome boost

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On the plus side for Spurs, they can be a little more optimistic about their other problem area – centre midfield – after Eric Dier returned from over a month on the sidelines.

Dier has been missing after surgery to remove his appendix but he played the final 15 minutes, adding control after replacing the woeful Erik Lamela.

Harry Wink's late, late winner would also have been encouraging for Pochettino, who has been encouraging the England international to get forward more in the last few months.

With Moussa Sissoko injured and Mousa Dembele departed for China, Spurs remain short of bodies in the middle of the pitch - but they can at least rely on the fit-again Dier and the improving Winks for now.

Babel impresses on Fulham debut

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Ryan Babel seems to belong to a different era of English football but the 32-year-old showed he can help Fulham in the here and now with an eye-catching debut. Babel was a thorn in the side of Spurs' back-three before being replaced by Ryan Sessegnon after 55 minutes – no-one more so than Davinson Sanchez.

Babel should have scored early when he shrugged the Colombian off the ball from Aleksandar Mitrovic's flick and drove towards goal, only for Hugo Lloris to deny him with a fine one-handed save.

Before the first half was done, Babel should have added a second with a header from Cyrus Christie's cross and he played a part in Mitrovic's goal ruled out for offside.

Notably, the Serb appeared to enjoy having a pacy runner for his flicks and Babel's impressive debut suggests Fulham's plan to buy their way out of trouble this month could yet be successful after all.

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