Tottenham were unrecognisable from last week's win at over Aston Villa at Villa Park as they failed to score for the first time this season.
Fulham never looked under siege against Ange Postecoglou's side and deservedly cruised to victory, thanks to a Rodrigo Muniz brace, either side of Sasa Lukic's first goal for the Cottagers.
The result leaves Fulham two points off the Premier League's top ten, while Spurs are once again in pursuit of Villa for guaranteed Champions League qualification.
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Fulham's defensive setup pays dividends for their survival
For years Fulham have been renowned as one of Englands 'yoyo' clubs, lacking the strength and depth needed to establish themselves as Premier League faithfuls.
However, Marco Silva's defensive strategies have ensured security at the back, with Fulham boasting the fourth-best defensive home record in the top flight - It seemed certain the Cottagers would avoid defeat after taking the lead shortly before half time, but Marco Silva's side went one further.
They denied Spurs from scoring and in doing so, ended their 39-game streak. Calvin Bassey and Tosin Adarabioyo stuck to their defensive structure and didn't allow the likes of Son Heung-Min, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson to create any clear-cut chances and trouble Bernd Leno.
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Tottenham still a long way off the top three
It was clear in November, when Spurs suffered a surplus of injuries, that they would not have the depth to continue their title push.
So it will be disappointing for Spurs fans that their side haven't rekindled the blistering form displayed earlier in the season, as many key players have since returned.
It was always going to be a long-term process and there's no doubt that Postecoglou's first season in charge has exceeded all expectations. Today's performance though seems like two steps backwards, especially in contrast to last week's thumping of Villa.
It just seems as though something isn't quite clicking, the levels of consistency needed to compete at the very top level are evidently not there, despite fielding what seemed to be a full strength team. This raises the question - if reinforcements are made in the summer, which players will Postecoglou look to replace in the starting line-up?
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Fulham are killing teams off after going in front
Fulham didn't just beat Spurs, they completely dismantled them and this is no surprise.
It has become clear that they are not the type of team to rely on converting minimal opportunities and then protecting their lead. This is backed up by the fact that they have won ten of the 12 games where they have scored first, drawing the other two.
This shows the change in mindset since they regained promotion in 2022 - the mindset of a club with far higher ambitions than simply surviving.
The solid defensive base has allowed freedom for the attack to gather numbers forward with confidence, with many forward players contributing to goals - most notably Muniz, who will surely be gaining attention from top clubs after netting seven times in his previous six games.
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Micky van de Ven's absence was costly for Tottenham
There has been much attention surrounding Spurs' centre backs in recent weeks.
Eric Dier, who is on-loan at Bayern Munich, has recently established a place in their starting 11, ahead of South Korean Kim Min-jae. This comes as a surprise as Min-jae has established himself as one of Europe's elite defenders since moving to Napoli in 2022. While Dier has been an outcast during the entire reign of Postecoglou.
Although Dier's move hasn't troubled fans, van de Ven's injury last week was a major blow, as the Dutchman has had a terrific debut season. The flip side of this was that January signing, Radu Dragusin, finally got his first call up to the starting eleven. However, it was a day to forget for the Romanian. Perhaps it was the pressure of the occasion but Dragusin lacked the authority shown time and time again by van de Ven.
Of course, Dragusin will have many opportunities to prove himself and we will likely see the qualities the 21-year old displayed at Genoa, but Tottenham will be hopeful for the return of van de Ven after the international break.
