Ange Postecoglou has described Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 victory over Manchester City a week ago as “a millstone to bring us down” after his side struggled to hold on to a draw against Fulham.

Spurs ended City’s 52-match unbeaten Premier League run at the Etihad, but Marco Silva’s visitors were in control for much of the game in north London.

At times they played with real skill, commitment and penetration. But Postecoglou was quick to suggest afterwards that the two games had nothing in common.

“I know people are going to keep using City as a reference point,” he said. “But if you can’t see even in seven days we’ve copped some significant blows, it’s too easy to say why can’t we play like we do against City every day. It seems with this club every time we do something well, it’s used as a millstone to bring us down at every opportunity. The players are working really hard to progress us where we want to be. We are in a decent position. It’s about us maintaining our position.”

Postecoglou went on to point out that, with his injury problems exacerbated by Dominic Solanke pulling out ahead of the game because of illness, the performance of Fulham — even after they had their substitute and goalscorer Tom Cairney sent off after VAR ruled his rash foul on Dejan Kulusevski was a red-card offence — may have contributed something to the result.

“We were playing tough opposition. It was a tough game, a tight game,” he said. “We got our nose in front, but we couldn’t push on. It was not for want of trying. We tried to get some momentum when they went down to 10, but it was not happening. The players gave absolutely everything, working their socks off to try and keep us progressing.”

Spurs had taken the lead when Timo Werner’s chopped cross was neatly converted by Brennan Johnson. But unlike against City, they could not build on that opening. Instead Fulham equalised with a superb goal from Cairney, completing a move begun by the excellent pair of Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi. And, never mind City, Postecoglou was not keen to make any comparison between the two performances by his side.

“In that game,” he said of the City victory. “I could bring on [Timo] Werner and [Brennan] Johnson and had [Guglielmo] Vicario in goal. I guess people are looking for easy targets, but people don’t know what we’re dealing with [injury-wise]. Yeah, we’ll have days like today when things aren’t going smoothly.”

Patchwork Spurs lucky to escape with a draw against Fulham

After Guglielmo Vicario, the Tottenham goalkeeper, broke his ankle in a collision with Savinho last weekend, there was many a Spurs fan who worried about what might lie ahead. With both of the club’s first-choice centre-backs confined to the treatment room, now shorn of their excellent shot-stopper, it looked as if the busy pre-Christmas period would be compromised. Not least when Dominic Solanke, the in-form striker, was obliged to pull out of this game because of illness.

But such a fear proved unfounded. Fraser Forster, the 36-year-old reserve keeper, who had not started a Premier League game in 18 months and a player who had been in effective semi-retirement for the past couple of seasons, proved himself to be a more than capable replacement. Four times at the Tottenham Stadium, he made crucial interventions, somehow pushing Alex Iwobi’s fearsome shot on to the crossbar with one save. It hardly suggested a player seizing up with rust.

And in truth Tottenham needed him. Fitful, misfiring, unable to deliver the kind of coherence that had not so much upended Manchester City last weekend, this was a game they were lucky to draw. True, James Maddison almost gave them the lead with a typically cheeky free-kick at the tail-end of the first half. But for much of this game they were off the pace, casual in possession, unable to construct anything approaching a coherent chance. And when they did, spurning it as the usually lethal Son Heung-min did in the first minute.

But then simply to blame Spurs for their failure to secure three points is to understate quite how well Fulham played. After being embarrassed at home by Wolves a week ago, here they bounced back with real conviction. They were the more coherent side, better on the ball, quicker to break into advanced positions. Antonee Robinson and Iwobi were a particular threat, while a headlong charge of a run by the substitute Harry Wilson in added time was an example of their counter-attacking ambition. A couple of lengthy moves, involving lots of first-time touches and flicks, full of deft touches and clever lay-offs, really should have sealed the points. Indeed, their manager Marco Silva reckoned afterwards he had foreseen how well they would play.

“I got a feeling throughout the week we had all the conditions to come here and match them,” he said. “I think we deserved to win. We had control of the game. Though there are moments we should be more ruthless.”

And maybe a bit less careless in defence. A couple of times in the first half Calvin Bassey, wearing a pair of shorts so voluminous they could well serve as sails for Ben Ainslie’s next America’s Cup yacht, gifted the ball to opponents.

Indeed after a mistake-strewn first half, Spurs took the lead midway through the second. It may have been against the run of play, but when Timo Werner’s scooped cross found Brennan Johnson alone and unmarked to fire home, the winger made no mistake. But Spurs could not build on the breakthrough. Largely because Fulham did not let them, responding with a brilliant equaliser. For the umpteenth time, Robinson and Iwobi combined before the former Arsenal man, who, like the other three ex-Gunners in the Fulham line-up was booed throughout by the home support, found the substitute Cairney lurking on the edge of the area. His shot was magnificent. As it had to be to beat Forster.

Postecoglou had not started with Dejan Kulusevski, the principal agent of City’s demolition. He explained afterwards that the player had been involved in almost every moment of the side’s season thus far, and needed a break. But when he came on, Spurs suddenly looked more threatening. Indeed, Cairney was sent off after a lengthy VAR intervention, having brought the Swede down as he swept forward.

But, perhaps indicatively, Spurs could not take advantage of the numbers. With 10 minutes remaining, never mind seizing the momentum, they could barely string a couple of passes together. Amid a flurry of boos from the home supporters, the 10 visitors held on. And the Spurs faithful went home grateful that, while many of their favourites were nursing their Etihad hangover, Forster at least had come to the party.