‘Unbelievable baller’ – Tottenham fans blown away by what ‘mental’ player did vs Fulham
Thomas Frank only had a handful of Tottenham players stand out during a frustrating home defeat to Fulham.
Kenny Tete opened the scoring after just four minutes before Harry Wilson capitalised on an awful Guglielmo Vicario mistake to hand the Cottagers a two-goal advantage after six minutes.
Mohammed Kudus has been a creative force for Spurs, and while the fans had to wait until the hour mark, it was the Ghanaian’s brilliance which got the home side back into the game on Saturday, 29 November.
However, it was another of the Lilywhites’ big names that caught the spotlight for mostly good reasons, with Micky van de Ven making sure it was only two goals that Fulham scored in the first half.
Micky van de Ven limits the damage vs Fulham
That is not to say that Marco Silva‘s side didn’t have chances; they definitely did. Using all of his experience, power, and pace, though, he was the final line of defence on multiple occasions.
Van de Ven has been linked with a Tottenham exit, with several European giants keeping tabs on the defender, and fans are fearful of exactly that after his performance on Saturday.
As well as labelling him an “unbelievable baller”, supporters marvelled at how “miles above” he was compared to his teammates, and other clubs clearly agree with the sentiment ahead of January.
- @DreThfc: “Kolo Muani & Van de Ven are too good for this team.”
- @CharlieLloydT: “It’s quite remarkable how Van de Ven is miles above any of our other players. He could improve any position on our side, including goalkeeper.”
- @TrickTrick85SC: “Van Der Ven has stopped 2 1v1s. Could’ve been 5 so far.”
Tottenham star’s impressive performance by numbers
Despite picking up a yellow card early in the first half, screaming at Joachim Andersen after he felt the Fulham defender dived, he was immaculate when it came to tackling.
All by himself, as Spurs struggled with their own high line, the centre-half sprinted back home on multiple occasions, stopping the Cottagers from taking a bigger lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
| Micky van de Ven vs Fulham | Stats [FotMob] |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 88% (60/68) |
| Successful dribbles | 100% (1/1) |
| Recoveries | 4 |
| Ground duels won | 67% (2/3) |
Those interventions were nearly crucial, with Kudus getting the comeback started before the Lilywhites missed a multitude of chances to equalise for just their third game without defeat in seven.
It was not to be, however, and with his teammates unable to reach his quality or level of performance, more and more supporters are becoming concerned by the prospect of him leaving.