Spurs suffered a 15th league defeat of the season after conceding twice late on
The result leaves Ange Postecoglou's strugglers 10 points adrift of the top half
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Tottenham and boring are two words that have rarely appeared in the same sentence during the Ange Postecoglou era. For everyone connected to this club, a goalless draw would've felt like a welcome relief from the usual madness.
And just as they looked set to be coasting to their first in 109 games, the inevitable happened.
It was a game that started with the vigour and tempo of a Sunday afternoon stroll along the Thames. But ultimately it was one settled by a decisive tactical tweak by Fulham boss Marco Silva.
After watching Postecoglou bring Son Heung-min, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison off the bench to great effect, Silva, taking charge of his 200th Premier League game, rolled the dice too.
On came Rodrigo Muniz for Raul Jimenez. A quarter of an hour later, it was Muniz who finally broke the deadlock, stroking nonchalantly past Guglielmo Vicario from inside the box.
It still managed to get even worse from there for Postecoglou. Substitute Ryan Sessegnon, who only rejoined Fulham from Tottenham in the summer, out-muscled Ben Davies before bending the ball delightfully past Vicario.
And with that, Tottenham were brought crashing back down to earth with a bump following their crucial win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League.
Postecoglou made seven changes to his side from Thursday and the recalled Mathys Tel created the first chance after an opening 20 minutes.
The Frenchman jinked his way into the box, evading the Fulham legs flung in his direction, and Dominic Solanke lurked in the middle. But Tel's cross just had too much on it for Solanke, who was unable to make decisive contact from 10 yards out.
That was as good as it got, though, for Tottenham. Rather than kick on, they contrived to shoot themselves in the foot at every opportunity.
Djed Spence stuck his hands into the back of Jimenez as the Fulham forward leapt to meet a cross. The Mexican forward implored referee Andy Madley award a penalty.
The vociferous message from manager Silva to the fourth official suggested similar. But VAR Paul Tierney saw no reason to overturn the on-field decision.
But by this point Tottenham were struggling to get out of their own half, their cause not helped by wayward passing. Yves Bissouma's pass straight out of play under little pressure marked a particular low-point.
Yet another mistake led to Fulham's best chance of the half. Luckily for Tottenham, it fell to Fulham defender Timothy Castagne. He picked up Davies' dreadful clearance but curled a tame effort straight at Vicario.
Last-ditch blocks from Archie Gray, who was given a rare starting berth in his preferred midfield position, and Cristian Romero followed as Postecoglou’s side continued to live dangerously.
He turned to Son and Bergvall at the break and got the impact he desired.
The Swede, in particular, was impressive. He added impetus and drive in the midfield and saw his cross nodded narrowly wide by Solanke.
He was soon joined in the middle of the park by Maddison, on for Romero with 20 minutes to play, and it was Maddison's first touch that should have set up the opener.
Bernd Leno was finally called into action to palm away Tel's curling shot. But the Fulham keeper pushed the ball straight into the path of Maddison, who deftly used his chest to find Solanke, who volleyed horribly high and wide from a few yards out.
Chances for Fulham were few and far between.
Willian, the former Arsenal and Chelsea winger, received a chorus of pantomime boos from the away end with his every touch. He almost settled the game with a stunner too, curling inches wide from the edge of the box.
But with 12 minutes to play, it was Silva's sub that came up trumps.
MATCH FACTS
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Pereira, Berge, Iwobi (Traore, 63), Smith Rowe (Cairney, 72), Willian (Sessegnon, 87), Jimenez (Muniz, 63)
Subs not used: Reed, Cuenca, Benda, King, Sessegnon, Godo
Goals: Muniz 78, Sessegnon 88
Booked: None
Manager: Marco Silva
Tottenham: Vicario, Spence, Romero (Maddison, 68), Davies, Udogie, Bentancur (Scarlett, 86), Gray, Bissouma (Bergvall, 46), Johnson (Son, 46), Solanke, Tel (Odobert, 77)
Subs not used: Porro, Sarr, Kinsky, van de Ven
Goals: None
Booked: None
Manager: Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham failed to clear their lines from an Antonee Robinson cross and allowed Adama Traore and Andreas Pereira to exchange passes before the ball dropped to Muniz. The Brazilian had no time for a backswing, but that proved no problem as he stroked into the far corner beyond Vicario.
Things got even worse for the visitors in embarrassing fashion too when Davies failed to deal with Leno's long ball. Sessegnon proved too determined in his pursuit of possession and left the Welshman on his back-side.
The full back was beset with injuries during his time at Tottenham but curled emphatically past Vicario to seal the win.