Postecoglou off to record PL start with Spurs win
LONDON — Ange Postecoglou has set a new record for the most points earned by a manager in their first nine Premier League matches (23) after his Tottenham Hotspur team won 2-0 against Fulham on Monday night.
The Spurs boss’ tally surpassed the previous record of 22 points jointly held by Mike Walker and Guus Hiddink from their first nine matches in charge of Norwich City (1992-93 season) and Chelsea (2008-09 season), respectively.
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Goals from Son Heung-Min and James Maddison at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were enough to earn Spurs a comfortable victory over Fulham and send Postecoglou’s team two points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Asked how proud he was of his record-breaking achievement, Postecoglou said: “Look, it’s credit to everyone. It’s a really encouraging start to the season for sure. Performance wise, we’ve been really consistent.
“We had to work hard tonight. for the first half we held it really well. We had to be pretty patient in the way we looked for the openings and I thought they [Fulham] were very well organized, particularly defensively.”
However, the Spurs boss was critical of his side’s second half performance after Fulham missed chances to get back into the match.
“I thought our pressing was outstanding all game,” he said. “But with the ball it was probably the worst 45 minutes we’ve had all year.
“We’ve got to make sure we stay disciplined in our approach. In the end Vic [Guglielmo Vicario] made a couple of great saves to keep a clean sheet. In that context we should have had much better control in the game.”
Despite Postecoglou’s frustrations, this is the furthest into a Premier League season that Spurs have been top of the league since Dec. 15, 2020 (top after 12 PL games under José Mourinho).
Postecoglou left Celtic to manage Spurs in the summer and is still yet to taste defeat in the league with his new side.
The Spurs head coach has breathed new life into Tottenham when they were at a low ebb after their eighth place finish in the league last season meant they failed to qualify for European football for the first time since 2009.
Tottenham’s start to the season is their best since the 1960-61 season when they started the campaign with 11 straight wins on their way to winning the league title.
The north London club has the opportunity to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League — having played a game more than their rivals — when they face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday.