Tottenham vs Burnley: Review

Spirits were high at the lane as Spurs hoped to end their week of three games with a third win. Following a hard fought win in the dying minutes against Swansea, and a convincing 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle in the capital one cup, Mauricio Pochettino’s side had a boost of confidence going in to Saturday’s game against Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

Source: tottenhamhotspur.com

Tottenham opened the scoring in the twenty-first minute with a superb glancing header from the ever-present Harry Kane, to put his overall goal tally to 14 this season in all competitions, an impressive feat for the young Englishman. Burnley, however, were quick to respond six minutes later as Ashley Barnes fired a fantastic solo effort past Hugo Lloris in the twenty-seventh minute to equalise. An impressive first half from Erik Lamela lead to the young Argentine scoring his first premier league goal in the thirty-fifth minute with a sublime strike from just outside the box to put Spurs in the lead for a second time. The game was subdued until half time as Tottenham made numerous attempts to break Burnley down before the whistle, but to no avail.

The second half continued as the first left off, and the game seemed to slow down until both teams seemed to switch on, which made for an impressive end-to-end game which would have any neutral glued to the screen. Spurs had a number of opportunities to raise Burnley’s goal deficit, and many would agree that Harry Kane should’ve left the game with a hat-trick. But a rather poor attacking display from Tottenham in the second half, accompanied by Ryan Mason picking up an injury just before half time, meant that the Lilywhites couldn’t find a way to dominate Burnley like they did Newcastle earlier that week. Tottenham were nearly made to pay on multiple occasions by Burnley, but either miraculous recovery from one of their back four, or the exquisite efforts of Hugo Lloris, meant that Burnley left the lane with zero points.

Noticeable improvement was seen from Erik Lamela today, and he is starting to show glimpses of the attacking force he was at Roma, with training and time to adapt, there is no reason why he should not go on to do great things with Tottenham. Eriksen was amazing once again, and Jan Vertonghen’s statement that he can be as great as Glenn Hoddle and Paul Gascoigne seems less and less unlikely as he continues to impress and improve. Kyle Walker and Erik Lamela seem to be forming a formidable partnership on the right hand side, and if Chadli and Davies can combine in a similar way, then Tottenham may prove to be a force to be reckoned with.

Source: tottenhamhotspur.com

Tottenham face a trip to a struggling Leicester next, and a convincing win may give Spurs the added confidence they need going into the match against Manchester United on Boxing Day. Hopefully Ryan Mason’s injury is minor, and we’ll see him back in the side soon. Untuil then, Stambouli, Dembele, Paulinho, and Capoue should provide cover enough for the foreseeable future should we need them. Get well soon Ryan, and come on you Spurs!