Burnley vs Tottenham a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
December 24, 2017
2,624 Views
- I haven’t done one of these in a while as I usually do it in podcast form, but with a Christmas hiatus it is time to return to the platform in which it all began so here are my few quick thoughts
- What a difference a week makes
- After a heavy defeat to Manchester City last weekend, Tottenham bounced back in the best possible way
- That coming in the shape of a 3-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor
- A win that gives Mauricio Pochettino a first Premier League away win in six matches
- But once again it is Harry Kane who rightfully earns the plaudits after his hat-trick
- Not only was it a match winning performance that blew Sean Dyche’s men away but it was also one that saw the England international equal Alan Shearer’s long standing record of 36 Premier League goals in a calendar year
- A comfortable win for Tottenham but not even 3-0 tells the whole story as it could and should have been more, but it is a small thing to quibble over after such a much needed win
- With it being this time of year you need a pantomime villain and in the Burnley fans’ eyes Dele Alli would have played that role
- Alli was booked for a tackle early on, of which the midfielder can have few complaints but the home fans felt that it should have been red
- And Alli would draw their ire just a couple of minutes later when he went to ground after a tackle for Kevin Long in Burnley’s area
- Referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot while Tottenham’s talisman Kane did the rest
- For the rest of the game everytime Alli touched the ball he was met by a cauldron of boos, but if anything he just seemed to thrive off the fact he was playing the baddie yesterday
- Tottenham started the game on the front foot which is something they had not done away from home since their comprehensive win over Huddersfield back in November
- The fact that they had gone ahead meant they were dictating the pace and they had a number of chances to make it two, Moussa Sissoko in particular should have doubled the advantage before the break especially when he had two bites of the cherry
- However Hueng min-Son’s miss in the second half was the more guilt edged miss and at that point you did start to wonder if those missed opportunities would see Tottenham punished
- Burnley were just finding their feet and getting back into the game, while looking to take advantage of Tottenham’s profligacy
- So with that in mind, Kane’s second of the game came at the perfect time
- It was Sissoko who threaded a slide rule pass through and Kane showed the French international how it should be done
- 2-0 and Tottenham very much in the ascendancy with 21 minutes remaining
- 10 minutes later Kane would take his 7th match ball home of 2017 when he completed his hat-trick to wrap up all three points for the North London outfit
- Kane has scored 44% of Tottenham’s Premier League goals this season, but if he plays like that every week who cares if they are the ‘Harry Kane Team’
- It probably comes as no coincidence that Tottenham looked assured at the back after the return of Davinson Sanchez from suspension
- This allowed Eric Dier to play in his more comfortable centre midfield position and both players gave very assured performances
- Tottenham fans would probably be lying if they said they were happy with 5th place at the moment
- But the fact they are just a point behind Liverpool at present with the return of Victor Wanyama just around the corner means there is cause for optimism
- And that is before we also mention the fact that Toby Alderweireld is still out injured
- It was an almost idea combination of results for Tottenham as all the teams around them dropped points
- Boxing Day kicks off the second half of the season and the race for those three Champions League places is going to be incredibly tight
- Tottenham now need to make sure that they do not see their momentum halted once again as they play host to Southampton at Wembley
- Can Kane make it 37 goals in a calendar year, I sincerely hope he can
- Merry Christmas Tottenham fans!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
