2-0 v Burnley FC - 1 April 2017 - Away

Tottenham Hotspur Badge

Spurs 2

Burnley FC

Burnley FC

0

Details
Match Number

7228

Opposition
Burnley

Burnley FC

Competition
Premier League

Premier League

Season

2016/17

Date

1st April 2017

Kick Off

15:00

Venue

Turf Moor

Attendance

21,684

Referee

Stuart Attwell

League Position

2nd

Opposition League Position

15th

Opposition Form

DLLLDL

Weather at Kick Off

10.3° - Drizzle

Facts & Milestones
  • 7192nd overall match (3425 wins, 1588 draws, 2166 losses)

  • 5612th competitive match (2521 wins, 1320 draws, 1771 losses)

  • team

    112th match vs Burnley FC (46 wins, 26 draws, 40 losses)

  • competition

    953rd Premier League match (392 wins, 247 draws, 314 losses)

  • 6577th match in England (3087 wins, 1482 draws, 1995 losses)

  • 53rd match at Turf Moor (9 wins, 16 draws, 28 losses)

  • 7th consecutive match with a goal scored

  • 7th consecutive match without losing

  • There were 3 changes to the starting lineup from the last match.

Report

Tottenham cut the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to seven points as they overcame a stubborn Burnley at Turf Moor.

The visitors struggled in a drab first half as Dele Alli fired wide when well-placed and both central midfielders Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks were withdrawn through injury.

Winks suffered a particularly nasty fall, tumbling into the Burnley dugout after trying to tackle Stephen Ward, before he was carried off on a stretcher at the interval.

Despite a lack of attacking fluency, Spurs continued to exert pressure on the Clarets from corners, with Eric Dier firing in after the hosts failed to properly clear Christian Eriksen's delivery.

Vincent Janssen, making his first Premier League start of 2017, became the third Tottenham player forced off injured but that allowed the introduction of Son Heung-min.

And the South Korea striker made sure of victory as he tapped in Alli's squared pass on 77 minutes as Spurs controlled the final stages.

Victory, coupled with Chelsea's shock 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, ensures Mauricio Pochettino's side stay in contention for the title with nine games remaining.

A perennial worry with Tottenham is whether they possess the depth required to match the undoubted quality of their starting side and sustain a season-long challenge.

Victory over Southampton in the absence of injured striker Harry Kane last time out suggested those concerns could be consigned to the past, only to reappear in the first half at Turf Moor.

Kyle Walker's deputy Kieran Tripper made several mistakes against his former club, Winks was guilty of trying to force passes in midfield and Janssen was again ineffective, lacking the pace and guile to test the organised duo of Michael Keane and Ben Mee.

While not in the circumstances Spurs would have wanted, the added quality of Mousa Dembele and especially Son ultimately ensured a more comfortable afternoon.

The Korean's movement was vital in opening up a tiring Burnley as Alli made amends for his earlier uncharacteristic miss to calmly find the striker free to side-foot in.

After the game, Pochettino said Kane could be back "in a few weeks," yet in the meantime Son could again prove a stellar stand-in, while Janssen's spell on the sidelines looks set to resume.

Burnley's feted home form this season had seen them only lose to Arsenal, Manchester City and Swansea before this game and they once again followed a similar blueprint of pressing and cutting off lines of passing to frustrate superior opposition.

Andre Gray and Ashley Barnes kept the Tottenham defence honest through the first half, while Keane and Mee easily repelled much of what Spurs attempted.

Yet the Clarets were undone by a rare lapse in concentration at a set-piece as Jeff Hendrick failed to firmly decide whether to let Eriksen's corner run or hack it clear, only to put the ball straight into Dier's path for the opener.

The hosts looked notably tired and bereft of ideas in the final 20 minutes as they fell to 15th, five points above the relegation zone.

Home games against Stoke City, Manchester United, West Brom and West Ham during the run-in should see Sean Dyche's side pick up enough points to avoid a relegation scrap, but they may rue a missed opportunity to secure a point here.

After this season had started to look like a procession to the title for Chelsea, Saturday's results hint that a coronation of Antonio Conte's side remains premature.

Tottenham's challenge is tough - but not unprecedented.

In 2012, Manchester City overhauled an eight-point gap in six games to beat Manchester United to the title on goal difference.

If Spurs are to pull off a miraculous comeback, this victory could be the first step in a crucial week that sees Chelsea host Manchester City and Tottenham travel to relegation-threatened Swansea.

Manager reaction

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino: "We showed great character and I'm very proud and pleased because the performance in the second half was very good.

"This win is massive for us - we have to be there if Chelsea fail and we are there. We are fighting for the Premier League.

"When you reduce the gap to seven points it's completely different to 10 points - we just have to be there if Chelsea fail and want to be there until the end of the season."

Burnley boss Sean Dyche: "Up until the first goal we were solid and kept them from using the lines of passing that they like.

"We created some good positions but not good chances and then gave away a really poor goal.

"That lifted them and they looked more assured after that and showed what a tope side they are."

Timeline
KO
HT

Michael Keane

47'

Ashley Barnes

79'
FT
Location
League Table
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Chelsea
28 22 3 3 59 21 38 69
2
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
28 17 8 3 55 21 34 59
3
Manchester city
28 17 6 5 54 30 24 57
4
Liverpool
29 16 8 5 61 36 25 56
5
Manchester united
27 14 10 3 42 23 19 52
6
Arsenal
27 15 5 7 56 34 22 50
7
Everton
29 14 8 7 51 30 21 50
8
West bromwich albion
29 12 7 10 39 38 1 43
9
Stoke city
29 9 9 11 33 42 -9 36
10
Southampton
27 9 6 12 33 36 -3 33
11
Afc bournemouth
29 9 6 14 42 54 -12 33
12
West ham united
29 9 6 14 40 52 -12 33
13
Burnley
29 9 5 15 31 42 -11 32
14
Watford
28 8 7 13 33 48 -15 31
15
Leicester city
28 8 6 14 33 47 -14 30
16
Crystal palace
28 8 4 16 36 46 -10 28
17
Swansea city
29 8 3 18 36 63 -27 27
18
Hull city
29 6 6 17 26 58 -32 24
19
Middlesbrough
28 4 10 14 20 33 -13 22
20
Sunderland
28 5 5 18 24 50 -26 20
# Team PL W D L GF GA GD PTS
1
Chelsea
29 22 3 4 60 23 37 69
2
Tottenham Hotspur Badge Tottenham Hotspur
29 18 8 3 57 21 36 62
3
Liverpool
30 17 8 5 64 37 27 59
4
Manchester city
29 17 7 5 56 32 24 58
5
Manchester united
28 14 11 3 42 23 19 53
6
Arsenal
28 15 6 7 58 36 22 51
7
Everton
30 14 8 8 52 33 19 50
8
West bromwich albion
30 12 8 10 39 38 1 44
9
Stoke city
30 9 9 12 33 44 -11 36
10
Southampton
28 9 7 12 33 36 -3 34
11
Afc bournemouth
30 9 7 14 42 54 -12 34
12
Watford
29 9 7 13 34 48 -14 34
13
Leicester city
29 9 6 14 35 47 -12 33
14
West ham united
30 9 6 15 41 54 -13 33
15
Burnley
30 9 5 16 31 44 -13 32
16
Crystal palace
29 9 4 16 38 47 -9 31
17
Swansea city
30 8 4 18 36 63 -27 28
18
Hull city
30 7 6 17 28 59 -31 27
19
Middlesbrough
29 4 11 14 20 33 -13 23
20
Sunderland
29 5 5 19 24 51 -27 20
Previous 5 Matches

13 days earlier

4 days later