Tottenham missed out on third spot despite a comfortable 2-0 win over Fulham on Sunday.
Emmanuel
Adebayor finished low after just 90 seconds as Spurs dominated
possession, and Jermain Defoe struck in the second half to put the
result beyond doubt.
But Arsenal’s win at West Brom means Spurs
will have an anxious wait to see if they will make next year’s Champions
League, as victory for Chelsea in next Saturday’s final means fourth
place would not be enough.
Looking to keep the pressure on Arsenal, the home side made the perfect start, taking the lead in just the second minute.
Luka
Modric worked inside from the left to find Rafael van der Vaart, who
played a delightful through ball into the path of Adebayor, and the Togo
international coolly slotted home confidently.
After the frantic opening moments, the game settled down as Spurs enjoyed the majority of the possession.
Clear-cut
chances were at a premium though; a tame Kyle Walker free-kick trickled
wide, but there was little to speak of in the opening 25 minutes, with
Fulham content to let Spurs have the ball.
There was a distinct
lull as the game moved past the half-hour mark, but then Spurs finally
fashioned another decent chance. Lennon burst down the right and pulled
back to Adebayor, who laid back for Van der Vaart to volley wide from
the edge of the box.
Fulham finally tested Brad Friedel eight
minutes before half-time. Jon Arne Riise drilled an effort from range
which the American parried away superbly, before Moussa Dembele forced
another fine save moments later with a left-footed effort which looked
bound for the bottom corner.
Danny Murphy picked up a yellow card
after bringing down Lennon in the first minute of the second half,
conceding a free-kick on the right-hand edge of the box. Modric whipped a
dangerous ball in, but Aaron Hughes did well to steer the ball away.
The
game reached the hour mark with little incident, until Dembele showed
quick feet to work some space on the edge of the area, and drove a low
effort from 20-yards which rattled the far post.
Defoe came on as a substitute for Van de Vaart as the hosts continued to enjoy possession, and he immediately made an impact.
Fulham
failed to clear their lines and Lennon’s deflected strike fell to
Defoe, who managed to scramble the ball home from six yards and double
Tottenham’s advantage.
Fulham were finally taking charge with just
five minutes to go. Dembele struck another long-range effort which
swerved late and tested Friedel, but the veteran shot-stopper was able
to tip over.
Spurs saw out the remaining minutes, but Arsenal’s
3-2 win at the Hawthorns means Tottenham will be hoping Chelsea do not
lift the Champions League trophy next weekend.
